In June 2022, the Raspberry Pi Foundation launched the Pico W, a cheap wireless-enabled variant of the Pico platform, a microcontroller board built around the RP2040 micro.
The Pico platform is a low-cost, high-performance microcontroller board with flexible digital interfaces that was designed in-house by the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
The unit consists of a dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ processor with a clock running at up to 133 MHz, 264 kB of SRAM and 2 MB of flash memory onboard. USB 1.1, with host and device support, is available and provides drag-and-drop programming using mass storage mode.
With 26 multi-function GPIO pins, and a multitude of digital ports including 2x SPI, 2x I2C, 2x UART, 3x 12-bit ADC, 16 controllable PWM channels, and an integrated temperature sensor, the diminutive Pico is ready for most maker applications. Finally, eight programmable PIO state machines allow for custom peripheral support.
Onboard Wi-Fi is provided by Infineon’s CYW43439 chip which contains a 2,4 GHz radio that is capable of handling both 802.11n and Bluetooth 5.2 (supporting both Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth LE) signals. Up until now, however, only Wi-Fi was enabled, leaving makers needing Bluetooth out in the cold.
With the release of version 1.5.1 of the C SDK and the latest MicroPython build, the Pico W has now gained the ability to communicate with Bluetooth and BLE devices. The system is configurable, allowing both Bluetooth Classic and BLE to be available simultaneously.
According to Raspberry Pi Foundation’s Eben Uption, “Routing both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth traffic over the single three-pin SPI bus between RP2040 and CYW43439 has been a substantial engineering challenge. We’d like to express our thanks to our friends at Infineon for their assistance in productionising this capability.”
PolarFire SoC FPGAs achieve AEC-Q100 qualification ASIC Design Services
DSP, Micros & Memory
Microchip Technology’s PolarFire SoC FPGAs have earned the Automotive Electronics Council AEC-Q100 qualification.
Read more...Integrated STM32WBA6 wireless microcontrollers Altron Arrow
DSP, Micros & Memory
Cost-efficient and highly integrated embedded controllers for emerging 2,4 GHz wireless applications in smart home, health, factory, and agriculture.
Read more...Ultra-low-power MCU with FPU Arm Cortex-M33 Altron Arrow
DSP, Micros & Memory
STMicroelectronics has expanded its STM32 ultra-low-power family with the launch of the STM32U3 for cost-sensitive applications in industrial, medical, and consumer electronics devices.
Read more...Low-jitter oscillators
DSP, Micros & Memory
The JOH21, JOE21 and JOD21 low-jitter oscillators with differential output are designed for applications that require accurate timing and precise synchronisation.
Read more...Raspberry Pi 5 SBC Electrocomp Express
DSP, Micros & Memory
The Raspberry Pi 5 single board computer builds on the phenomenal success of its predecessor, the Raspberry Pi 4, delivering a 2-3x increase in CPU performance.
Read more...The world’s first RISC-V MCU to achieve PSA-L2 iCorp Technologies
DSP, Micros & Memory
Espressif’s ESP32-C6 is the world’s first RISC-V MCU to achieve PSA-L2 security certification, security certification, underscoring the company’s commitment to delivering robust, secure, and reliable IoT solutions.
Read more...32 Mbit SRAM chip Brabek
DSP, Micros & Memory
To meet the demand for high-density fast CMOS SRAM, Alliance Memory has introduced a new 32 Mbit device in the 6 x 8 mm 48-ball FBGA package, which offers a wide power supply range from 1,65 to 3,6 V.
Read more...Large capacitance MLCCs at 100 V RS South Africa
Passive Components
TDK Corporation has expanded its CGA series for automotive multilayer ceramic capacitors to 10 µF at 100 V in 3225 size.
Read more...Power-over-coax inductors RS South Africa
Passive Components
TDK has expanded the ADL3225VF series of wire-wound inductors for automotive power-over-coax (PoC).
Read more...Compact EMI suppression capacitors RS South Africa
Passive Components
These new components from TDK are 20% smaller than previous models and meet Grade III Test B standards for temperature, humidity, and bias.
printer friendly version