The Imec Research Institute has introduced a SOC integrated support chip for five power networks of the IOT, Internet of Things. The chip has been developed in Netherlands and is expected to turn out to be a smart solution for meters used in high-traffic cities.
A SOC integrating support system has been designed by the team of Imec Research Institute, Leuven, Belgium. Such a system is introduced to support five low-power wide area networks (LPWA) for the Internet of Things (IOT). Also, the Imec Research Institute has entered into a collaboration with Infineon Technologies AG. The design of a CMOS-based 79 GHz radar chips for cars is the basis for the collaboration deal between the two entities. The declaration for the same has been made by Imec Technology in its current forum.
The LPWA chip by the Imec has been co-developed with the Holst Center, which is a sister institute located in Netherlands. According to the Imec, the chip invented by them is the most integrated and is lowest priced item of its kind till date. This chip supports five nets that operate in the 780-930 MHz ISM band. Also, it is geared to deliver excellent performance to smart meters of big or developed cities, such as KNX-RF, Wireless M –Bus, LoRa, and Sigfox.
The robustly structured and well-integrated SOC support system includes a power management, RF front end, 160 Kbytes SRAM, an unidentified ARM core, and peripherals. Low consumption rate is an added edge of the chip over similar items that were introduced in the previous years. It consumes only eight milliwatts in receive module and around 113mW in transmitting mode. During the transmitting more it delivers an output power of 13.5 dBm.
With a 120 dBm sensitivity rate at 0.1% BER at 1 Kbit per second, this chip possesses a dynamic range of 105 dBm. It comes with an easy to control power output feature that enables to control the output power at intensities ranging from less than -40 dBm to 15 dBm. The output control feature makes it a powerful chip that seems ideal for dynamic requirements of the developing and developed cities.
Considering Imec and Infineon as individual entities, both of the companies are going well along on strategies to develop a cohesive 79 GHz radar chip in 28nm CMOS. It is also expected that few samples will be released in the third quarter early next year. The complete board panel will be available to analyze the demonstration of the sample and to state essential changes if required. Such car controlling chips are expected to bring a rapid evolution in the industry of automobiles and are also expected to ease out various hazards, which are otherwise encountered on a routine basis.
Conclusion – As stated by Ralk Bornerfeld, the General Manager of Infineon Sense and Control Group, “We expect to create radar sensor chips as one single-chip solution in a typical CMOS process for various applications like automated parking, and more.” The thing is that even the consumers are looking forward to such an invention and its utility in the daily life.
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