The Monarch 2 from Sequans Communications is a Multi-Chip, Multi-Band System-in-Package (SiP) that supports 5G massive IoT (LTE-M/NB-IoT) platforms. It is based on the 2nd generation of Sequans’ Monarch LTE Cat M1/NB1/NB2 chipsets and consists of an entire front-end, transceiver, power management, RAM memory, crystals, and baseband modem for an LTE multi-band radio operating from 699 to 2200 MHz. This SiP complies with the ultra-low power and reduced complexity feature requirements of the 3GPP Release 14 LTE-Advanced Pro standard that defines narrowband low datarate technology for machine-type communications (MTC) and can also be upgraded to 3GPP Release 15/16. It requires a DC supply from 2.8 to 5.5 V and consumes 1 µA of current (deep sleep mode).
The Monarch 2 SiP supports optional low-power GNSS technology for intermittent tracking with optimized chips for half-duplex operation for LTE-M and NB-IoT devices. It includes a built-in filter that can be programmed for global bands in a single SKU design. This SiP has provision for open SDK for running customer applications and integrates an optional UICC, allowing a versatile choice of connectivity. It is fully tested and calibrated for easy integration into the product hardware and boasts advanced packaging techniques to reduce the overall footprint.
This SiP delivers significant improvement in power consumption, owing to Sequans’ proprietary Dynamic Power Management and eco-Paging technologies, which adapt sleep and active state power consumption levels according to the use case. It delivers a data rate of up to 300 kbps (DL) and 1.1 Mbps (UL) in the LTE-M mode and up to 120.7 kbps (DL) and 160 kbps (UL) in the NB-IoT mode. This chip delivers an output power of less than +23 dBm. It is available in a ball grid array (BGA) package that measures 8.800 x 11.300 x 1.585 mm and is ideal for smart meters, industrial asset tracking, home monitoring, wearable medical devices, and space-constrained IoT applications.
