New Bluetooth® LE wireless MCUs make high-quality RF and power performance more affordable

Texas Instruments (TI) expanded its connectivity portfolio with a new family of wireless microcontrollers (MCU) that enable high-quality Bluetooth® Low Energy (LE) at half the price of competing devices. Featuring best-in-class standby current and radio-frequency (RF) performance, the SimpleLink™ Bluetooth LE CC2340 family is built on the foundation of TI’s decades of wireless connectivity expertise.

Implement high-quality RF and power performance at an affordable price

The CC2340R2 and CC2340R5 wireless MCUs, offering flash memory of 256KB and 512KB respectively, provide exceptional flexibility for engineers and ample space for application code. Additionally, with the proliferation of Bluetooth LE applications, designers need additional memory capacity to easily update software remotely. The new wireless MCU family features 36KB of RAM with over-the-air download support.

The new MCUs include industry-leading standby current of less than 830 nA, which is 40 percent lower than competing devices. The reduction in standby current helps extend battery life for up to 10 years on a coin cell battery in wireless applications such as electronic shelf labels and tire pressure monitoring systems. The CC2340 family also features an operating temperature range of –40ºC to 125ºC to help ensure a stable connection across applications, from industrial sensors and medical laboratories to outdoor environments such as EV chargers or smart meters.

Engineers are also able to expand RF performance and connection range with an output power up to +8 dBm, the industry’s highest among competing Bluetooth LE wireless MCUs. In addition, the CC2340 devices feature an integrated RF balun to enable a simpler design with fewer external components, leading to cost savings.

Enable broader adoption of Bluetooth LE technology

With the increased memory, longer battery life and wider temperature range at an affordable price, engineers can enable more connected everyday applications such as:

• Medical devices: In glucose meters, for example, the CC2340 MCUs’ standby current of less than 830 nA leads to an end-product shelf life of 18 to 24 months and two weeks of active Bluetooth LE operation on a coin cell battery.
• Building automation: Smart-home hubs can take advantage of the CC2340 MCUs’ wireless protocol support and output power range up to +8 dBm.
• Personal care: For products such as an electric toothbrush, the CC2340 wireless MCUs offer low power consumption in sleep mode, and can extend battery life.

Connectivity solutions to match your design needs

The CC2340R2 and CC2340R5 wireless MCUs are the latest addition to the SimpleLink portfolio that provides innovative connectivity solutions to serve the industrial, automotive and personal electronics markets.

TI is developing affordable, quality and low-power wireless MCUs, certified modules, and transceivers, along with complete software offerings to fit any RF design need. For more information, see www.ti.com/wireless.

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