Toshiba Introduces New Bluetooth® 5-Compliant ICs with Industry-Leading Sensitivity Level of -105dBm (at 125kbps)

January 09, 2018

The new ICs deliver high-performance, long-range communication with low current consumption

Toshiba TC35680FSG TC35681FSG

IRVINE, Calif. – Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC), a committed technology leader, today announced that it has added two new devices to its lineup of ICs that are compliant with the Bluetooth® low energy standard [1]. The new TC35680FSG (featuring built-in flash memory) and TC35681FSG are well-suited to applications requiring long-range communication, including beacon tags, IoT devices and industrial equipment. Sample shipments will begin later this month.

The new communication ICs support the full spectrum of data rates required for the high-speed features – 2M PHY and Coded PHY (500kbps and 125kbps) – found in the Bluetooth 5.0 standard. In addition, the new devices deliver an industry-leading receiver sensitivity level of -105dBm (at125kbps )2 and a built-in high efficiency power amplifier in the transmission block that provides up to +8 dBm transmission power.

Bluetooth technology continues to evolve to meet wireless connectivity needs, and recent enhancements to the standard have been designed to increase Bluetooth’s functionality with the Internet of Things (IoT). By adding Bluetooth 5.0-compliant ICs to its extensive lineup, Toshiba helps companies integrate Bluetooth low energy products into IoT devices and addresses the growing demand for high-throughput, long-range communications.

Based on an Arm® Cortex®-M0 processor, the new ICs incorporate a 256KB Mask ROM to support the Bluetooth baseband process, and 144KB of RAM for processing Bluetooth baseband, stack and data.

Toshiba’s TC35680FSG and TC35681FSG also feature 18-port GPIOs as interfaces, which can be set to 2 channels each for SPIs, I2C, and UART. This allows for the structuring of systems that connect to various peripheral devices. These GPIOs can be set for a wakeup function, 4-channel PWM, 5-channel AD converter interfaces, an external amplifier control interface for long-range communication, and more.

The TC35680FSG includes 128KB4 of flash memory for storing user programs and various data in stand-alone operations, making it well-suited to a wide range of applications and removing the need for external non-volatile memory. This also lowers the part count, which reduces both the cost and mounting area..

The TC35681FSG, which does not include a built-in flash memory, operates in conjunction with an external non-volatile memory or host processor. A wide operating range of -40° to +125°C makes it suitable for applications exposed to high temperatures.

Key Features

  • Low power consumption:
    • 11.0mA (transmission operation at 3.0V, output power: +8dBm, at 1Mbps)
    • 5.1mA (receiver operation at 3.0V, at 1Mbps)
    • 100nA or less (at 3.0V) in Deep Sleep
  • Receiver sensitivity:    -94.5dBm(at 1Mbps), -105dBm (at 125kbps)
  • Transmission power:   +8dBm to -40dBm
  • Supports Bluetooth® low energy Ver. 5.0 central and peripheral devices
  • Built-in GATT (Generic Attribute Profile)
  • Supports servers and clients defined by GATT
  • Bluetooth® low energy Ver. 5.0 additional features3
    •  LE 2M PHY
    • LE Coded PHY (500kbps and 125kbps)
    • LE Advertising Extensions
    • LE Channel Selection Algorithm #2
  • Built-in 128KB flash memory (only TC35680FSG)

For more information on Toshiba’s Bluetooth products visit https://toshiba.semicon-storage.com/us/product/wireless-communication/bluetooth.html

About Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.

Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc. is the U.S.-based electronic components business of Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation. TAEC offers consumers and businesses a wide variety of innovative hard disk drive (HDD) products plus semiconductor solutions for automotive, industrial, IoT, motion control, telecoms, networking, consumer and white goods applications. The company’s broad portfolio encompasses integrated wireless ICs, power semiconductors, microcontrollers, optical semiconductors, ASICs, ASSPs and discrete devices ranging from diodes to logic ICs. For more company information visit TAEC’s web site at www.toshiba.semicon-storage.com.

1Low power consumption communication technology defined in Bluetooth® Ver.5.0.
2As of January 9, 2018. Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation survey.
3For details of features added to Ver. 5.0, see the Bluetooth® core specifications.
4Product density is identified based on the density of memory chip(s) within the Product, not the amount of memory capacity available for data storage by the end user. Consumer-usable capacity will be less due to overhead data areas, formatting, bad blocks, and other constraints, and may also vary based on the host device and application. For details, please refer to applicable product specifications.

The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc.

ARM and Cortex are registered trademarks of Arm Limited (or its subsidiaries) in the US and/or elsewhere. All other company names, product names, and service names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

 

Information in this press release, including product pricing and specifications, content of services and contact information, is current and believed to be accurate on the date of the announcement, but is subject to change without prior notice.

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