Bluetooth low-energy RF transceiver simplifies board design
Stephen Law
Electronics Wireless Bluetooth RF technologies transceiver wirelessRENESAS ELECTRONICS Two 2.4 GHz RF transceiver technologies support Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) low-power, near-field communication standard. Technologies achieve a smaller mounting area and improved power efficiency. Technologies’ effectiveness has been verified on a Bluetooth LE RF transceiver circuit prototype built with a 22-nm CMOS process. Technologies reduce the circuit area including the power supply to 0.84 mm2, achieved by modifying the receiver architecture to reduce the number of inductors and making enhancements such as a low-current baseband amplifier with a small mounting area and a highly efficient class-D amplifier. These devices provide best-in-class power efficiency, with power consumption of 3.6mW and 4.1mW during reception and transmission respectively. These advances enable smaller size, reduced board cost, and lower power consumption, while simplifying the board design process.