New Microchip SAM R34 / 35 component for LoRa technology
Microchip has introduced a new component for LoRa® technology, integrated with the LoRa® System-in- Package family, which offers the lowest power consumption for long-range projects. The R34 / R35 SAM includes a low-power, high-performance 32-bit microcontroller (MCU), LoRa® transceiver and integrated LoRaWAN Stack.
With certified reference projects and proven interoperability with leading LoRaWAN gateway and network providers, SAM R34 / 35 SiPs components significantly reduce the time to market for Internet of Things (IoT) projects.
LoRa® technology
LoRa® technology, an acronym for Long Range, uses radio frequency for long-distance communications, always seeking the least energy. The use of Sub-GHz radio frequencies and the low consumption allow communication in places with low RF penetration and use in distances of up to 5km in urban areas and 15km in rural areas.
These features are perfect for the application of LoRa® technology in IoT (or Internet of Things) projects, with sensors and remote monitors as controls of pressure, light and temperature, for example. Therefore, this technology has been gaining more and more space in this market.
The SAM R34/35 benefits
A compact and highly integrated solution, the SAM R34 / 35 is the component that uses the least amount of power to operate, with high speed and up to 5 serial communication interfaces. Check out the features:
Compact, highly integrated solution
- Arm Cortex M0+ MCU & LoRa Radio
- 6×6 mm compact BGA package
- Up to 256 KB Flash accommodates application code and stack
- Up to 40 KB RAM including 8KB LP-RAM
- One full-speed 12 Mbps USB and up to five Serial Communication Interfaces (SERCOM), each configurable as USART, I2C, SPI or LIN
- 12-bit, 1 Msps Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) with up to eight external channels
- Two analog comparators with window compare function
Radio Feature Highlights
- 862 MHz to 1020 MHz coverage
- Up to 20 dBm (100 mW) max power
- Up to +13 dBm (20 mW) high-efficiency PA
- High sensitivity
- Down to -136 dBm (LoRaWAN™ protocol compliant modes)
- Down to -148 dBm (proprietary narrowband modes)
- Up to 168 dB maximum link budget
- Low RX current of 17 mA (typical)
- LoRa Technology, (G)FSK, (G)MSK and OOK Modulation
- Automatic RF Sense and CAD with ultra-fast Automatic Frequency Control (AFC) Packet Engine up to 256 bytes with Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)
Applications
The applications of this new component are diverse. The manufacturer aims to make LoRa® networks smarter and faster.
Some segments that may benefit from this release, according to Microchip:
Smart Agriculture
- Cattle Tracking
- Irrigation Monitoring
- Smart Tractors
Supply Chain and Logistics
- Container Tracking
- Cold Chain Monitoring
- Vehicle Tracking
Smart City
- Street Lighting
- Waste Management
- Metering and Leak Detection
Reference projects for technology development
Microchip offers several reference materials for those who want to start developing with their solutions:
Kit de Avaliação SAM R34 Xplained Pro
The SAM R34 Xplained Pro is a hardware platform designed to evaluate the SAM R34 family of LoRa devices. This FCC, ISED and RED certified board is not only an evaluation platform but also an excellent reference design for developing SAM R34 based LoRa end-node applications.
IDP Atmel Studio 7
IDP Atmel Studio 7 is the integrated development platform (IDP) for developing and debugging all AVR® and SAM microcontroller applications. The Atmel Studio 7 IDP gives you a seamless and easy-to-use environment to write, build and debug your applications written in C/C++ or assembly code. It also connects seamlessly to the debuggers, programmers and development kits that support AVR and SAM devices.
To learn more about this launch and other products related to LoRa technology, click here and contact us with our consultants.