ST doubles memory in Matter wireless microcontroller
STMicroelectronics has doubled the memory in its latest Matter-enabled integrated wireless microcontroller.
The 2.4GHz STM32WBA6 wireless microcontroller series includes simultaneous support for the Matter and Thread protocol with Bluetooth and Zigbee transmission for connected, smart devices such as wearable healthcare and wellness monitors, animal collars, electronic locks, and remote weather sensors.
This follows the doubling of the memory in the low cost ST microcontroller, the STM32C01.
The 100MHz ARM Cortex-M33 wireless microcontroller supports up to 2MB of Flash and 512KB RAM on-chip, twice that of the previous STM32WBA5 series to reduce the bill of materials. More peripherals such as a USB High Speed, three SPI ports, four I2C ports, three USARTs, and one LPUART also reduce the complexity of the printed circuit board.
The wireless subsystem improves performance, with sensitivity increased to -100dBm for more reliable connectivity up to the maximum specified range.
The devices also include SESIP3 and PSA Level3 certifiable security assets, such as cryptographic accelerators, TrustZone isolation, random generator, and product lifecycle for compliance with the upcoming RED and CRA regulations.
“Robust and standardized wireless connectivity is central to the IoT’s success. Our STM32WBA6 MCUs bring richer features and larger memory to address high-end applications in smart home, health, factory, and agriculture,” said Patrick Aidoune, General-Purpose MCU Division General Manager, STMicroelectronics.
“Our customers can now increase the pace of development to meet demands from consumer and industrial markets for new products that deliver more features and increased capabilities within reduced size and power constraints.”
The STM32WBA6 series also contains single-protocol variants for simpler and more cost-conscious applications.
“The extensive hardware feature set, low power consumption, advanced cyber security, and excellent price/performance make the STM32WBA6 devices perfect for our advanced in-car driver monitoring, incident tracking, and emergency calling solution. Aided by the extensive ecosystem and ST’s strong technical support, we were able to quickly start prototype development and achieve qualification in accordance with all applicable industry requirements. We are on track to begin production in Q2 2025,” said Vittorio Ferrari, CTO, Meta System.
The X-CUBEMATTER software package, part of the extensive STM32Cube ecosystem, integrates the Matter SDK and comes with application examples to ease development.
Package options cover a wide range from a 7mm x 7mm UFQFPN48 to a 6mm x 6mm UFBGA121 with 121 pins and there is also a thin wafer-level chip-scale package, WLCSP88, that measures only 3.78mm x 3.46mm.
The STM32WBA6 MCUs are in production and available now, priced from $2.50 for orders of 10,000 pieces.
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