News: Microelectronics
8 January 2020
Qorvo launches first solution that seamlessly integrates Wi-Fi 6 and IoT
Qorvo Inc of Greensboro, NC, USA (which provides core technologies and RF solutions for mobile, infrastructure and defense applications) has launched what is claimed to be the smallest, highest-performing Wi-Fi 6 solution with seamless IoT integration. Available in second-quarter 2020, the QPK8642 kit provides what is said to be leading Wi-Fi performance in capacity and coverage, along with Zigbee, Thread and Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity, all while minimizing cross-radio interference in the connected home.
Qorvo says that, with this solution, it is helping designers meet the changing requirements of the rapidly growing global connectivity market. According to International Data Corporation (IDC), the worldwide market for smart home devices is expected to grow from nearly 815 million device shipments in 2019 to more than 1.39 billion devices in 2023.
“Wi-Fi 6 is positioned to provide the connectivity backbone for tomorrow’s smart homes,” notes Cees Links, general manager of Qorvo’s Wireless Connectivity business. “Our new kit has been designed specifically to speed time to market by delivering capabilities that enable Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Thread and Bluetooth Low Energy to play together in one box, without interference.”
The QPK8642 kit advances the firm’s concept of a smart, connected home where there is a pod in every room. It includes the QPQ1903, QPQ1904 and QPF4551 (all 5GHz) and the QPF7219 (2.4GHz) Wi-Fi filters, along with the QPG7015M IoT transceiver. This transceiver seamlessly manages coexistence with Wi-Fi and Zigbee, Thread and Bluetooth Low Energy protocols in a fully concurrent fashion.
The QPK8642 combines three unique Qorvo capabilities designed to maximize capacity and range:
- Qorvo edgeBoost - in the QPF7219 filter, this maximizes output power at channels close to the band edge, nearly tripling Wi-Fi capacity;
- Qorvo bandBoost - achieved by combining the QPQ1903/QPQ1904 filters with Qorvo’s latest-generation 5GHz front-end modules (FEMs), this enables high-performance, tri-band designs with footprints 20x smaller than those using traditional filtering technologies;
- Qorvo coexBoost - in the QPG7015M transceiver, this provides IoT connectivity and coexistence with in-box Wi-Fi, essentially boosting coexistence between different radios.
