With Industry 4.0, the rapid rise of AI, digitised manufacturing and the age of IoT everything, demand for wireless connectivity in commercial and industrial applications is growing at an exceptional pace. These applications typically require reliable connectivity that can withstand extreme environments exposed to high temperatures, background noise and obstructions. To help meet this need, Microchip Technology has added 20 products to its Wi-Fi portfolio.
The company offers high-performance Wi-Fi microcontrollers (MCUs), network and link controllers and plug-and-play modules designed to simplify development and speed up time to market.
The Wi-Fi solutions are designed to support various application needs and developer skill levels. The selection ranges from modules that are regulatory certified in several countries and do not require radio frequency (RF) expertise and little programming to robust systems-on-chip (SoCs) with industrial-level features.
The Wi-Fi portfolio includes
- Wi-Fi MCUs: an all-in-one solution designed to combine the functionality of MCU with reliable wireless connectivity
- Link controllers: SDIO interface enables Wi-Fi addition to Linux® MPUs
- Network controllers: SPI interface allows wireless connectivity addition to MCU
- Plug-and-play modules simplify wireless-to-cloud connectivity by sending simple text commands from MCU over UART interface.
“For decades Microchip has been a respected MCU provider and we’ve leveraged that background along with our comprehensive support ecosystem to build a portfolio of Wi-Fi products and services that is unmatched in the industry today,” said Rishi Vasuki, vice president of Microchip’s wireless solutions business unit. “Our experience allows us to provide developers with wireless solutions designed to support advanced applications such as precision sensing and motor control operating under harsh conditions.”
The latest PIC32MZ-W1 Wi-Fi MCUs build on Microchip’s trusted 32-bit MCU line and feature advanced analogue peripherals including CAN, ethernet, capacitive touch and ADCo offering exceptional versatility. Additionally, the new devices feature some of the highest general-purpose input/output (GPIO) capabilities in the market.
Also included in the lineup are next-generation WINCS02 network controllers and WILCS02 link controllers. Updates of the popular WINC and WILC solutions include improved radio performance and enhanced security features. The new wireless modules are pin-to-pin compatible with previous generations to ease migration from legacy devices.
To simplify Wi-Fi to cloud connectivity, Microchip has also expanded its plug-and-play product line with new RNWF02 modules. These modules connect MCUs to a cloud platform using simple ASCII commands sent over UART interface.
Secure connections, which are critical for Wi-Fi applications that send or receive data from the cloud, can be challenging to implement depending on the developer’s skill level. To ease this process, Microchip has integrated its Trust Platform into many of its Wi-Fi products. Trust&GO module variants are pre-provisioned for secure authentication with popular cloud services, including AWS® and Azure®, to streamline the process of network authentication.
