Multi-protocol 2.4GHz radio and ARM Coretex-M0 integrated in low power SoC
Nordic’s novel software architecture for Bluetooth low energy and ANT System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions frees designers from the integration effort, complexities, and restrictions of chip vendor-supplied software frameworks and instead allows customers to develop their designs quickly and easily using the highly popular and familiar ARM Cortex programming environment.
This major benefit is achieved by using a new and novel software architecture featuring a unique and powerful separation between protocol stack and user application code. This separation provides developers a clean boundary between application and protocol stack, and removes the need to struggle with integration of application code as part of a vendor-imposed application development framework. Code development is now greatly simplified and accelerated and at the same time risks associated with integration of application and stack code are significantly reduced. Customers can expect lower bug rates and improved robustness for their applications.
The first two ICs to debut in the nRF51 Series are the nRF51822, a multi-protocol Bluetooth low energy / 2.4GHz proprietary RF SoC, and the nRF51422, the world’s first ANT / ANT+ SoC. These devices share a new higher performance, lower power 2.4GHz multi-protocol radio and a 32bit ARM Cortex-M0 based processor. These enhancements deliver up to 50% lower power consumption, RF link budget improvements of up to 9.5dB, and over 10x more processing power compared to Nordic’s previous generation of ULP wireless ICs.
“We have worked closely with our most trusted customers for several years on the nRF51 Series and we are confident that this latest Nordic product range once again sets a new benchmark for Bluetooth low energy, ANT, and 2.4GHz RF proprietary ultra low power applications,” said Thomas Embla Bonnerud, Director of Product Management at Nordic Semiconductor. “Our new multi-protocol radio combined with the ARM Cortex-M0 based processor not only slashes power consumption, but also significantly improves performance and available processing power, and also extends the range of applications we can cover with our new SoC solutions. We have also taken a completely novel approach with our software architecture for Bluetooth low energy and ANT SoCs that accelerates product development and lowers risks by offering developers unprecedented flexibility, ease-of-use, and code safety.”
The nRF51 series software architecture features a unique and powerful separation between protocol stack and user application code providing application developers maximum flexibility, ease-of-development, and code safety.
Protocol stacks, for example Bluetooth low energy or ANT, are delivered as a pre-compiled binary or pre-programmed on devices; stacks are 100% asynchronous and event driven and provide thread-safe Supervisor Call (SVC) based application program interfaces (API) to the application layer; and a simple programming model with no proprietary application framework or scheduler/RTOS dependencies eases and accelerates code development. The protocol stack and application code have no link time dependencies and can be compiled and updated/programmed separately and the stacks are fully run-time protected ensuring interoperability and reducing the risk of application bugs affecting stack operation.
All nRF51 Series ICs are code-compatible and groups of ICs will be pin-compatible enabling developers to keep and maintain a single code base that can be used and re-used across a range of different projects. Pin compatible ICs enable developers to both re-use hardware designs for different projects and migrate easily from one IC to another during development, prototyping, and production.
The nRF51822 and nRF51422 are sampling to lead customers now. General availability is scheduled for early September 2012 and mass production is scheduled for Q4 2012.
Nordic will continue to introduce additional ICs and protocol stacks for the nRF51 Series expanding customer’s choices of memory size, package types, serial interfaces, mixed signal peripherals, and wireless connectivity.
www.nordicsemi.com
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