Battery-Saving Wireless MCUs Optimized for Remotes
The STM32WL3R wireless microcontroller, derived from STMicroelectronics' STM32WL3 sub-GHz wireless MCU, is optimized for remote-control units in consumer products and home automation. The STM32WL3R has a low-power RF transceiver, flexible power-saving states, and six individual wake-up pins to facilitate the development of energy-efficient remotes.
Co-developed with France's building-automation Somfy group, the compact and cost-efficient STM32WL3R is the first Cortex-M0+ multiband wireless MCU to operate in the 315-MHz band allocated for remote controls in North America. It also supports the 850- and 950-MHz ISM bands, qualifying its use in products approved for sale worldwide.
The emitter draws only 10 mA at 10-dBm output power, and the MCU’s extra power-saving states provide greater control to deactivate unused circuitry while also optimizing the system wake-up time. Among the states available, ultra-deep stop draws just 450 nA while retaining 16 kB of RAM data. There's also a 14-nA shutdown mode with up to six wakeup pins to simplify circuit layout and facilitate reuse of the PCB design in multiple product variants.
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About the Author
Alix Paultre
Editor-at-Large, Microwaves & RF
Alix is Editor-at-Large for Microwaves & RF.
An Army veteran, Alix Paultre was a signals intelligence soldier on the East/West German border in the early ‘80s, and eventually wound up helping launch and run a publication on consumer electronics for the U.S. military stationed in Europe. Alix first began in this industry in 1998 at Electronic Products magazine, and since then has worked for a variety of publications, most recently as Editor-in-Chief of Power Systems Design.
Alix currently lives in Wiesbaden, Germany.