Renesas Electronics Corporation, a provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, is expanding its line of low-power WAN products as part of its strategy to provide connectivity devices used for smart cities, smart homes, medical devices and industrial applications.
The new RYZ024A supports Cat-M1 and NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) Internet connectivity without the need for a gateway and consumes just 1 µA (microamp) in power saving mode, significantly less than competing products.
The RYZ024A supports extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) and has an extended voltage range of 2.2 to 5.5 V, making it ideal for battery-powered applications. Renesas announced new product details at electronica, Munich, Germany, November 15-18, 2022.
Similar to its predecessor, the RYZ014A module, the RYZ024A offers seamless Cat-M1 wireless capability, but the new module adds the option of NB-IoT integration. Although Cat-M1 and NB-IoT are low-power wide area network (LPWAN) technologies, NB-IoT uses only a portion of the available spectrum, making it more energy efficient and extending operational life of battery-powered systems.
NB-IoT also offers excellent depth of coverage, including underground and in enclosed spaces. The module provides two power amplifier output levels: 20dBm (decibels-milliwatts) and 23dBm, ensuring coverage at the edge of the cellular network and in deep indoor environments.
The RYZ024A is being developed in collaboration with cellular IoT technology provider Sequans and will be fully tested and certified to work with all major radio frequency regulatory specifications defined by organizations such as the Global Certification Forum (GFC) and the PCS Type Council Certification Review Board (PTCRB).
Certification ensures compliance with complex RF regulatory and carrier-specific requirements so engineers can immediately begin building IoT systems for leading carriers in North America, Asia Pacific, and Europe.
“The cellular LTE-M and NB-IoT categories are now the de facto wireless standards for connecting low-power IoT devices with global network coverage,” said Georges Karam, CEO of Sequans. “Renesas’ second-generation wireless module based on our Monarch 2 platform offers a certified combination of hardware and software with all the advanced features needed to accelerate the deployment of wireless IoT systems around the world.”
Renesas will provide all the tools and software engineers need to design energy-sensitive and IoT-ready systems based on the RYZ024A, including an evaluation kit, software stack and RF certifications. Compared with conventional chipset-based designs, the RYZ024A on-module design will reduce PCB size by 60% and reduce development time by up to 90% as the product offers full hardware and software support to integrate the RA family or RX of MCUs.
“Renesas has been aggressively expanding its connectivity portfolio with strategic partnerships and acquisitions over the past five years,” said Roger Wendelken, senior vice president of the Infrastructure and IoT Business Unit at Renesas. “The RYZ024A is a great example of our expansive connectivity solution offerings that complement our broad range of integrated microcontrollers and microprocessors to deliver exceptional performance, scalability and reliability.”