UWB (Ultra-Wideband) technology is a kind of short-distance high-speed wireless communication technology.
Its working frequency band is extremely wide, covering multiple frequency bands, and the time domain of transmitting signals is very short, which allows it to have great application potential in short-distance high-speed communication. This paper will introduce the development and application of UWB technology and the functional characteristics of various UWB modules introduced by Murata.
UWB technology to promote the development of intelligent applications
The principle of UWB technology is to send very short pulse signals, which are very short in time domain, usually only a nanosecond in length, but very wide in frequency domain, covering hundreds of MHz or even several GHz in bandwidth. Because the energy of a UWB signal is very low, it will not interfere with other radio systems.
The bandwidth of UWB technology is extremely wide, which enables UWB technology to realize high-speed data transmission. UWB can also support the function of anti-multipath interference. The time domain characteristics of UWB signals enable it to penetrate obstacles in a multipath environment, reduce the influence of multipath interference, and then improve communication reliability.
On the other hand, UWB technology is conducive to safe and accurate distance measurement based on the application of time-of-flight (ToF) of radio waves, and can achieve very high-precision positioning, usually reaching the positioning accuracy of several centimeters. In addition, the transmission power of UWB technology is very low, which makes it very useful in low-power applications, such as Internet of Things devices and wireless sensor networks.
UWB technology is a very promising wireless communication technology, which has the characteristics of extremely wide bandwidth, anti-multipath interference, high-precision positioning and low power consumption, and has a wide application prospect in future intelligent applications.
UWB technology for high-precision positioning and navigation
UWB technology is widely used. For example, UWB technology can achieve very high-precision positioning and navigation, which is very useful for indoor navigation, indoor positioning, shopping mall navigation, logistics management, and other applications. UWB technology can also accurately locate assets, so as to realize asset tracking, logistics management, product traceability, and other applications. Because UWB technology can accurately monitor people and articles, it can be applied to security applications such as access control management, personnel tracking, anti-theft systems, and monitoring systems.
In smart home applications, UWB technology can accurately locate and track home products, e.g. judging the position of human beings in the home environment, and adjusting the temperature and wind direction of air conditioners, so as to realize smart home, smart home appliances, and other applications. In addition, UWB technology can be applied to the field of medical care to realize accurate monitoring and positioning of patients, so as to realize medical intelligence, health monitoring, and other applications.
Highly integrated and reliable ultra-small UWB modules
In order to speed up the development of UWB application products for customers, Murata has introduced a variety of UWB modules, which can be divided into two product series. The first one is based on the NXP chipset, which is a highly integrated and reliable UWB solution. Murata's modules integrate NXP UWB chipsets, filters, clocks, and peripheral components. These modules are suitable for IoT devices using UWB technology to achieve accurate location detection. Murata has two products in UWB modules based on NXP chipsets, namely Type 2BP and Type 2DK.
The Murata Type 2BP is an ultra-small UWB module, which uses NXP's Trimension SR150 UWB chipset, clock, filter, and peripheral components, which is very suitable for general Internet of Things devices, and its low power consumption characteristics are also quite suitable for battery-powered devices. Type 2BP is a small-sized UWB module with conformal shielding, which supports two UWB channels, Ch 5 and 9, and the frequency is between 6250mhz and 8250mhz. It has an SPI interface and can support three antennas (supporting 3D AoA or 2D AoA).
The Murata Type 2BP adopts resin molding and a conformal shielding structure, and its appearance is quite compact, which supports power calibration and Xtal calibration. It adopts an ARM Cortex-M33 CPU core, built-in 128kB code RAM and 128kB data RAM, supports external antennas, but does not include RF connectors and antennas, supports a power supply voltage of 1.71V-1.98V, and adopts LGA packages and SMT mounting, with a size of only 6.6 mm × 5.8 mm × 1.2 mm. It can work in the temperature range of -30°C to 85°C. The Murata Type 2BP has passed FCC/IC/MIC (Japan) certification, with ETSI reports and FiRa certification, and conforms to ISO9001 specifications.
Murata also launched an evaluation kit for the Type 2BP ── LBUA0VG2BP-EVK-P ── to assist customers in product evaluation. The evaluation board of Murata’s UWB module has Type 2BP, NXP QN9090 (BLE chip), and USB-UART conversion chips, which can be powered by USB cables and PC COM ports, and the Type 2BP can be controlled by a QN9090. At present, the development kit has been approved by Apple® to evaluate the accessories supporting UWB. These accessories can use Apple's Nearby Interaction framework to interact with Apple products containing U1 chips.
Integrated combination module supporting Bluetooth and UWB technology at the same time
Murata's another UWB module based on NXP chipsets is the Type 2DK, which is an integrated combo module of UWB and Bluetooth® LE. It integrates NXP Trimension™ SR040 UWB chipsets, NXP QN9090 Bluetooth® LE and MCU chipsets, integrated UWB/Bluetooth® LE onboard antennas and peripheral components, and its low power consumption is very suitable for UWB Tag/Tracker and general Internet of Things devices powered by button cell batteries.
The Murata Type 2DK supports two UWB bands, Ch 5 and ch 9, with the frequency ranging from UWB 6250 MHz to UWB 8250 MHz. It adopts an ARM Cortex-M4 (QN9090) CPU core, built-in 640KB flash memory and 152KB SRAM (QN9090), has an integrated antenna and supports a power supply voltage of 1.9V-3.6V. It adopts LGA packages and SMT installation, and its size is only 19.6 mm × 18.2 mm × 2.3 mm, and it can work in the temperature range of -30°C to 85°C. Type 2DK is still in the certification stage, and plans to pass FCC/IC/MIC (Japan) certification in the future, as well as ETSI reports and compliance with ISO9001 specifications.
The evaluation kit for the Type 2DK is the LBUA2ZZ2DK-EVK. This evaluation kit has Type 2DK, UART-USB chips, SWD ports, and a button cell battery holder, and the size is 36 mm × 35 mm × 12.45 mm.
UWB module suitable for small, battery-powered Internet of Things devices
Murata also has another series of UWB modules, the Type 2AB, which are designed as ultra-small, high-quality, low-power UWB modules, and are very suitable for small, battery-powered IoT devices and applications. Type 2AB adopts Qorvo DW3110/3120 UWB chipsets, supports two UWB bands, Ch 5 and 9, and Bluetooth LE 2.4GHz. It has an hostless module integrated with Nordic nRF52840 chips, and it also has a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) function for waking up UWB and updating firmware. A 3-axis sensor has been integrated to save battery power consumption, and a reference clock with UWB and MCU is embedded.
Type 2AB is the smallest and highly integrated UWB module in the market, and its square area is 75% smaller than that of CoB (Chip On Board) solutions. The frequency, Tx power, and antenna delay of each device are calibrated, and it supports multi-antenna design and evaluation, which can contribute to the product development of customers.
The Murata Type 2AB adopts an ARM Cortex-M4 CPU core, built-in 1MB flash memory and 256KB memory, supports UWB 6250 MHz-8250 MHz, supports external antennas, but does not include RF connectors and antennas, adopts LGA packages and SMT mounting, and the size is only 10.5 mm × 8.3 mm × 1.44 mm. It can work in the temperature range of -40°C to 85°C. The power supply voltage of VDD1, VDD2, and VDDMCU is 2.5V to 3.6V, while that of VUSB is 4.35V to 5.0V. It supports Bluetooth 5.2, and has built-in USB, UART, SPI, and I2C host interfaces. It has passed FCC/IC/MIC (Japan) certification and ETSI reports, and conforms to ISO9001 specifications.
Murata also introduced the UWB/BLE module Type 2AB evaluation board ── LBUA5QJ2AB-828EVB ── which can connect the Type-C USB port on the development board to a PC through a USB interface, and has an available power supply and serial interface. Customers can input AT commands through the serial terminal to evaluate the RF performance. If customers reprogram the demo firmware into the module, simple evaluation of the functions, including two way ranging (TWR) and phase difference of arrival (PDoA), can also be performed.
Conclusion
UWB technology has the characteristics of high precision and low power consumption, and can realize very high-precision positioning and navigation applications. It can be widely used in the fields of Internet of Things and smart home, and has gradually attracted attention in the market, with great market development potential. Three UWB modules introduced by Murata have their own characteristics, which can meet the needs of many different application fields. Murata has also introduced their own corresponding development kits, which will speed up the product development of customers and be the best choice for manufacturers interested in investing in related products.