Freescale Semiconductor has introduced the new Kinetis KW41Z – the first multi-mode radio MCU to support concurrent operation of IEEE® 802.15.4 Thread and Bluetooth Smart/BLE connectivity while hosting associated applications. The Kinetis KW41Z MCU is a unique platform providing a comprehensive solution for applications and connectivity in a single package. An expansion of Freescale’s Kinetis KW40Z family of wireless MCUs, the new KW41Z MCU features extended memory – up to 512K Flash and 128K RAM – allowing multiple networking stacks to run on a single device and enabling true multiprotocol designs. The device also supports the latest Bluetooth specification v4.2, and offers exceptional RF performance with an on-chip balun facilitating wider coverage, better interference immunity, lower power and complexity, and fewer RF front-end components for a robust design.
The Kinetis KW41Z MCU helps transform a wide range of popular home devices such as thermostats, home security systems and door locks into advanced IoT systems by addressing multiple use cases in a single solution. The KW41Z MCU can run applications, add Thread connectivity, provide control of these systems with a smart phone or tablet via BLE, and use BLE to securely join devices to the network (sideband commissioning).
Designing with Kinetis W series MCUs and Thread
Freescale plans to demonstrate several wireless IoT applications next month at ARM TechCon 2015, including a BLE controlled robot and a BLE heart rate monitor. These designs are based on the Kinetis KW40Z MCU, which integrates an ARM® Cortex®-M0+ core with a 2.4 GHz multi-protocol radio to support both the BLE and 802.15.4 wireless protocols in a single device. The KW40Z MCUs are BLE 4.1 compliant and present low-power features to provide years of operation on a standard coin cell battery. Freescale will also present an IoT sensor edge node reference platform based on the Kinetis KW24 wireless MCU, which integrates an ARM Cortex-M4 core with an IEEE 802.15.4 radio able to run the Thread, ZigBee Pro, ZigBee RF4CE and IPv6/6loWPAN protocols. Reference designs and other development resources for these types of demos can be found at freescale.com/KinetisDesigns.
As a founding member of Thread Group, Freescale is also at the forefront of enabling its wireless MCUs for popular IoT wireless protocols. The company’s pre-certified Thread stack for Kinetis W series MCUs is now available and ready to use for building Thread-enabled solutions. The stack will be certified when Thread Group releases the certification program. For more information, go to freescale.com/thread.
Availability
Early access program sampling for the Kinetis KW41Z is planned for Q2 2016, with general availability expected in Q3 2016.
