Imagination iEW220 Low Power Dual-band 802.11n WiFi IP Solution Targets IoT, Automation and Wearables

Imagination Technologies is better known for their PowetVR GPUs and as the previous owner of MIPS technology, but they do have other products as well and the company just announced their second generation 802.11n WiFi IP designed for low power applications

Ensigma iEW220 is an IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n 1X1 SISO Wi-Fi IP solution comprised of RF, baseband and MAC, and supporting both 2.4GHz and 5GHz spectrum.

iEW220 specifications:

• RF Features
  • Dual-band 2.4 and 5 GHz RF including PA
  • Power efficient AGC
  • Optimized PLL power consumption
  • Customized PA to minimize Tx power consumption
  • Power optimized DAC/ADC design
  • Integrated transmit/receive switch for RF
  • Single pin RF antenna interface
  • IEEE 802.11 PHY Support (2.4/5 GHz)
    • IEEE 802.11b DSSS/CCK (up to 11 Mbps)
    • IEEE 802.11a/g OFDM (up to 54 Mbps)
    • IEEE 802.11n OFDM
    • MCS 0-7, (20/40 MHz channels, up to 72.2/150 Mbps)
  • Station, soft AP and Wi-Fi direct with up to four associated devices
  • Tx power up to 19 dBm and Rx sensitivity up to -97 dBm
• Security – Wi-Fi Alliance WPA3 security, including optional GCMP encryption, and the Chinese encryption standard WAPI
• Power Management System
  • DC-DC converters
  • LDO regulators
  • Supports an external 32 kHz XTAL interface
  • Sleep Controller to ensure overall system level power consumption reduction – Always On Block (AON, logic for 32 KHz design
  • Multiple Power Domains
  • Single 2.9 to 4.5 v battery supply
  • PMU area less than 1mm²
• Process – Designed for TSMC 40nm LP CMOS
• Packages – Designed for QFN packages

Software for the IP solution includes a Linux host reference driver, and patch RAM facility for ROM-based LMAC and UMAC firmware upgrade. The company also notes the lower MAC Runs inside the RPU.  The company provides a hard macro for the analogue section and synthesisable RTL for the digital sections in order to reduce development costs.

iEW220 should be found in microcontrollers or processor targeting Internet of Things (IoT), connected consumer products,  industrial automation,  or wearables applications.

Imagination confirms the IP is already being using by a “tier one semiconductor manufacturer”, but without giving a company name. Further information may be found in the press release and product page.

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