Nordic Semiconductor recently provided a ‘sneak peek’ of its upcoming nRF91 series low-power cellular IoT solution. During an event in Oslo, the company also demonstrated the nRF91 operating on the Verizon Wireless Network in the US and on the Telia network in Norway.
Explaining the rationale behind the development of the new module family, Nordic said, “The Nordic nRF91 series is all about taking the unique value proposition of cellular and bringing simplicity and appeal to a broader market.” That concept manifests as a highly integrated, low-power, global multimode LTE-M / NB-IoT system-in-package (SiP). The SiP integrates a complete low-power cellular IoT system into a tiny 10 x 16 x 1,2 mm package that integrates modem, transceiver, RF front end, dedicated application processor, Flash memory, power management, and crystal and passive components.
Nordic partnered with Qorvo for both the RF front end and the SiP development and manufacturing. The nRF91 leverages Qorvo’s state-of-the-art, proven RF front end, advanced packaging, and MicroShield technology. The nRF91 series supports global operation with a single SiP variant thanks to the combination of Nordic’s multimode LTE-M / NB-IoT modem, SAW-less transceiver, and Qorvo’s custom RF front end solution.
The nRF91 emphasises security for low-power IoT devices by combining the inherent security of cellular connectivity with a cutting-edge security solution for the application hardware and software. The integration of an ARM Cortex-M33 processor and ARM CryptoCell-310 security IP enables an entire low-power cellular IoT application to be implemented on an nRF91 SiP.
The built-in host processor features TrustZone for ARMv8-M, helping secure application data, firmware and peripherals using an isolated, trusted execution environment across the CPU and system. This solution provides an efficient security foundation, and reduces size, bill-of-materials and power consumption versus using an external host processor. The nRF91 SiP also features built-in support for positioning via an integrated Assisted GPS (A-GPS) solution that combines cellular and GPS technology to deliver fast and accurate positioning.
The nRF91 series includes a complete suite of software and easy-to-use development tools to accelerate innovation and product development. Assistance is available from Nordic’s technical support team and development community.
Nordic is sampling devices to selected lead customers now, and plans to be ready for general sampling by mid-2018, with first production quantities available by the end of the year. The nRF91 SIP will be available in variants with and without integrated GPS.
For more information contact Carl van der Merwe, Avnet South Africa, +27 (0)11 319 8600, carl.vandermerwe@avnet.eu, www.avnet.co.za; Andrew Hutton, RF Design, +27 (0)21 555 8400, andrew@rfdesign.co.za, www.rfdesign.co.za
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