Perhaps it is a clever combination of chance and luck that the development of BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) technology has successfully solved a series of low-power, screenless device and smartphone connectivity and interaction problems for us over the past years. Today, with the popularization of Bluetooth technology in various industries, BLE technology has gradually shifted from behind the scenes to in front of the stage, playing a stronger, broader, and bigger role in various application scenarios.
This also makes the BLE chip from the original only responsible for completing the BLE function, and gradually develops to today's multi-core MCU internal integration trend, which contributes to more and more MCU as well as microcontroller manufacturers more market opportunities. As a global connection technology field for many years the innovation leader and market leader, Dialog company in recent years in the BLE market has also made a lot of money, according to the reporter was informed that the company has announced the Bluetooth low-power SoC shipments have reached 250 million sets, an annual growth of 50%, and in the global market share occupies the second place in the high position. Now, in order to further consolidate Dialog's market position in the global BLE market and provide customers with more advanced Bluetooth low-power technologies, Dialog officially held a product launch event on February 25th in Beijing, and released four products in the DA1469X series, namely, DA14691, DA14695, DA14697, and DA14699.
From 2017 to 2021: IoT and automotive are home to BLE technology applications
As we all know, Bluetooth low-power technology focuses on a number of different topologies, including point-to-point, one-to-many, and mesh architectures, and is primarily targeted at low-power and low-data-transfer-rate applications. According to Gartner's 2018 market report, the CAGR (compound annual growth rate) for BLE applications in the IoT (including connected consumer applications, connected medical devices, and smart home appliances) as well as automotive markets reached a level of 17% between 2017 and 2021, with a huge market growth potential.
Bluetooth low-power products, Dialog's product portfolio is also very broad, Dialog Semiconductor low-power connectivity business unit director Mark de clercq told reporters: "Dialog's products not only support the latest Bluetooth 5.1 standard, but also able to support through the Bluetooth low-power technology to transfer the High-fidelity (Hi-Fi) audio via Bluetooth low-power technology. Our portfolio includes not only small front-end low-power products for simple applications, but also a more integrated and high-end product line for high-end products."
From Dialog's product roadmap (above), it can be seen that before 2018, which is the stage of BLE4.2, the company already had two feeder products, the 14680/1 and 14580/3, which belong to the DA146xx and DA145xx series; in 2018, which is the BLE5.0 era, the DA14680/ 1 was developed on the basis of the DA14682/3, while the DA14580/3 was developed on the basis of the DA14584/6; and now, empowered by BLE5.1, Dialog's new multi-core series DA1469x has also been able to be officially released, becoming the most powerful and advanced wireless MCU series products worldwide!
Architecturally, what makes the DA1469x the world's most advanced wireless MCU?
Today, consumer demand for connected devices is increasing with each new product cycle. And for chip vendors, for this reason, not only to keep pace in a timely manner, but also need to anticipate the direction of the next market demand as much as possible, and early technology layout, Dialog Semiconductor senior vice president and general manager of the Connectivity Business Unit, Sean McGrath said: "Our SmartBond wireless microcontrollers in the marketplace Not only does it meet the needs of today's users, but it also anticipates the direction of the market and provides our customers with growth opportunities in their next product cycle. With double the processing power, four times the available resources and double the battery life compared to previous products, the DA1469x family becomes one of the most advanced, feature-rich Bluetooth products we have developed to date."
More specifically, at the chip architecture level, Dialog's design is certainly unique in many ways, said Mark de clercq: "When looking at the IoT product base, we found that there are three main functions that customers are looking for on top of their IoT-related products, which are sensing, processing and communication. For this we chose three processors, each capable of performing their respective functions in an optimal way."
For sensing, for example, Mark further explains, "We chose a programmable DSP to handle the communication of data between sensors. And for computationally intensive applications, we chose the Arm Cortex M33 application processor with DSP extensions, floating point unit, etc. to process applications through complex applications and algorithms. For communications, we have the software programmable protocol engine, which is based on the Arm Cortex M0+ and supports the Bluetooth 5.1 standard and proprietary protocols."
Highlight 1: Integration of the Arm Cortex M33 application processor
Looking at the architecture of the M33, there is a floating-point unit, a memory protection unit, and a DSP extension included inside. As you can see from the diagram, the M33 is the latest in the Arm M family, with more processing power and better performance than the previous M4 and M3.
Mark told the press, "The Arm Cortex M33 computations are performed in memory and are memory scalable. This means customers have the option to scale if they want more memory." Moreover, the DA1469x is the world's first mass-produced wireless microcontroller based on Arm Cortex M33, in which the features and capabilities of M33 can be fully reflected and utilized.
Highlight 2: High Security
In the IoT field, security has always been a hot topic. In terms of security, the first thing on the chip side is to make sure that the IP is secure, and it's important that external data can be verified, as well as secure booting and so on.
Mark said, "By adding security options to the QSPI flash controller, we can perform authenticated and encrypted mirroring from external flash. To prevent unwanted key access, we also have a dedicated and separate OTP security key store. Key management is performed in hardware, and access from the processor or external ports can be blocked. All security functions are accelerated in hardware, implementing AES, hash functions, and true random number generators. These functions are dedicated to the processor, independently implementing end-to-end Bluetooth data encryption, encrypting the data link with the Bluetooth processor's own encryption engine, which is dedicated to the processor."
Additionally, the DA1469x is well equipped to respond to security attacks at the physical level, Mark said, "We keep the security key in a separate one-time programmable (OTP) Block, so even if someone launches a physical attack and tries to access the key from the serial board or the processor, the key is shielded and protected, and the cryptographic core is completely isolated from the serial circuitry and the processor. The cryptographic core is completely isolated from the serial circuitry and processor. This security feature can allow some applications to eliminate the need to add external security elements, but applications like bank-grade applications will add another layer of external security elements to achieve more advanced security features and avoid more sophisticated physical attacks like chip de-layering."
Highlight 3: Unique power and power management
The DA1469x is unique in terms of both power management and power management. This reporter was informed that the DA1469x chip is natively supporting rechargeable batteries, including Li-Polymer, Li-Ion, button cell, as well as Ni-MH and Alkaline batteries, etc., and all the internal power management is done inside the chip.
Of course, for complex systems, some external components need to be powered," said Mark, "so we use a DC/DC buck converter to power the external components. External devices, whether they are external sensors, displays or other chips, can be powered and controlled by our chips. For rechargeable batteries, we have also implemented a hardware USB charger on some of our models, whether it's a Li-Ion or Li-Polymer battery, meaning that no external charger is needed."
The power management side of the chip is also very good, as Mark further explains, "Inside the chip we have seven separate power domains, separate power domains that can provide power only when you need it, for example when you want to use Bluetooth, only the Bluetooth-related power domains will be powered. And when you need sensors, only the sensor node controller will be powered. Depending on each different function, you can make sure that the power usage is minimal."
Why did customers choose the Da1469x series?
It is important to emphasize that the DA1469x is a family of products, not just one product. Some of the models are available for the general-purpose MCU segment, such as the 14691 and 14695; and for specific applications, including the 14697 and 14699.
This product family is a true single-chip system solution, Mark said, "Because it is highly integrated, it makes end-application development very easy. Moreover, it helps customers reduce system cost and board space, while making production more reliable because there are fewer components. If you look at the PCB footprint and cost savings in detail, the DA1469x basically saves more than $1 and 30 to 40 square millimeters of board space. Some applications are more space-constrained, so 30 to 40 square millimeters of board space savings is a very significant amount."
Of course, the benefits of the world's most advanced wireless MCU don't stop there. In addition to the above, the product also supports the newly released Bluetooth 5.1 standard, with typical applications such as the heavy-duty 5.1 standard feature of using Angle of Arrival (AOA) and Angle of Departure (AOD) for direction finding, applications like indoor localization, object tracking, access control, and keyless entry, will benefit from this new 5.1 feature. Applications such as indoor location, object tracking, access control, and keyless entry will all benefit from this new 5.1 standard feature, creating tremendous market value.
New with Bluetooth 5.1: Multi-Antenna Direction Finding
In the past, triangulation was the only way to estimate direction, and a single device could only know the distance, not the direction. But now, only one device can also determine the direction through the antenna array. According to the new Bluetooth 5.1 specification, Bluetooth Direction Finding supports two methods of determining direction, both based on the angle of arrival (AoA) and angle of departure (AoD) of the antenna array.
AoA Angle Measurement
This measurement technique is used, for example, in the case of a "Bluetooth Location Tag" approach, where a single-antenna transmitter (the tag) transmits a specific direction measurement signal. The Bluetooth receiving device (Bluetooth base station) has multiple antennas arranged in an array. When the transmitted signal passes through the array, there is a phase difference in the signal received by each antenna due to the different distances from each of the antennas. Based on the phase difference and the position of the antennas, the direction of the Bluetooth tag can be calculated, and then combined with the signal strength, the location of the Bluetooth tag can be derived.
AoD Angle Measurement
Used in the "cell phone receives ibeacon signals" approach, Bluetooth beacons use multiple antennas to send multiple sets of special signals, and the cell phone is an ordinary cell phone with a single antenna. When multiple signals from the Bluetooth beacon pass through the antennas in the receiving device, the phone receives multiple different signals and calculates the relative direction based on the different signals.
In order to demonstrate the DA1469X's AoA and AoD-based direction finding capabilities to the media, Dialog has brought along a real-world demo. From the demo, you can see that the DA1469X's geo-positioning is really very accurate.
For Bluetooth 5.1 applications, the array antenna design for the angle of arrival and the angle of emission is unique, and Mark said, "We provide very clear application notes, as well as antenna reference designs, so that customers can mimic these designs to ensure that they are designed for optimal performance. There is also a companion RF antenna in today's demo, and we will be announcing that RF antenna design as well."
As for the release of several products, Dialog also said that these models are now available in mass production. Samples and development kits, too, are already available through global reseller partners. All software tools are now available on the official website. What are you waiting for?