Renesas releases the DA14592, a new dual-core Cortex-M33/M0+ BLE chip with integrated flash

The DA14592 System-on-Chip (Soc) is Renesas’ “lowest power consumption and smallest, multi-core Bluetooth LE device.” According to the company, this chip’s design was achieved by making careful tradeoffs between on-chip memory and die size.

The chip offers an ultra-low power mode that uses only 2.3mA when transmitting radio signals at 0dBm and consumes 1.2mA to receive radio signals. It also supports a hibernation mode that uses about 90nA and can extend the operating life of battery-powered products. The active mode is best for processing-intensive products and uses 34µA for every MHz of CPU clock.

Projected key applications for the DA14592 chip include crowd-sourced location (CSL) tracking as used in Apple’s Airtags, remote control units, human interface devices, asset tracking, IoT end nodes, data logging, connected health, and activity tracking.

Renesas DA14592 specifications:

• CPU cores:
  • Cortex-M33F running at up to 64MHz as application core
  • Cortex-M0+ at 64MHz as configurable MAC
• Memory:
  • Embedded Flash – 256KB
  • RAM – 96KB RAM (+16KB cache)
  • ROM – 288KB (including boot ROM, PKI routines, and Bluetooth® LE stack
  • QSPI PSRAM/Flash interface
• Wireless
  • Standards – Bluetooth 5.2 LE and 2.4GHz proprietary
  • Configurable transmit output power: -18 to to +6 dBm
  • -97 dBm receiver sensitivity
  • Single wire antenna – no RF matching or RX/TX switching required
  • High-performance mode – TX output: -22 to +6 dBm, RX sensitivity: -97 dBm
  • Low-power mode – TX output -23 to 4.5 dBm, RX sensitivity: -96 dBm
• Peripherals
  • Audio
    • PDM interface with hardware sample rate converter
    • I2S/PCM master/slave interface up to eight channels
  • 32x General Purpose I/Os
  • 8-channel 10-bit SAR ADC, 2 Msamples/s
  • Delta-sigma (ΣΔ) ADC, 15 bits at 1 ksps, 13 bits at 16 ksps with a Programmable Gain Amplifier (PGA)
  • 2x UARTs up to 3 Mbps, one UART extended to support ISO7816
  • 1x SPI+ and 1x I2C controller at 100 kHz, 400 kHz, or 3.4 MHz
  • 3-axis capable Quadrature Decoder
  • 1x Real Time Clock with 10ms resolution
  • 4x general-purpose, 24-bit up/down timers with PWM capabilities
• Security – Application cryptographic engine with AES-256 and SHA-256
• Power/Clock management
  • Buck converter
  • Hibernation (Shipping mode) < 100 nA
  • Programmable thresholds for brownout detection
  • 32 MHz or 64 MHz system clock using a doubler
  • Fast wake-up from sleep in <15 μs
• Power consumption
  • RadioRx = 1.2mA, RadioTx = 2.3mA
  • Active = 34uA/MHz, Hibernation = 90nA
• Package
  • WLCSP39, 2.48 x 3.32, 0.42 mm diagonal pitch
  • FCQFN52, 5.1 x 4.3 mm, 0.4 mm pitch

The previously released DA1470x SoC shares several features with this new Renesas chip but has a dedicated 2D GPU & display controller for GUI applications. We also recently covered Renesas’ new Cortex-A55 microprocessor targeted at IoT edge and gateway devices.

Renesas has also announced an associated system-on-module, the DA14592MOD, featuring “all external components required to implement a Bluetooth LE solution.” A development kit for the SoC can be ordered from the product page and includes a motherboard, daughterboard, and cables. Also, more information about the DA14592 can be found on the product page, including a datasheet, release notes, manuals, and guides.

The DA14592 is currently in stock and can be bought for $4.35 per chip (with bulk discounts available). The module, however, is pending regulatory certification which should be granted around the second quarter of 2024.

Via Hackster.io

Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress