Benefits Of Bluetooth Low Energy IP Integration Into A Single SoC

A recent Synopsys-executed user survey showed significant IoT system-on-chip (SoC) design growth from 2013 to 2015 with contributions from the new wearable IC market. Also, according to Teardown.com, in over 800 teardowns of mobile and wearable products from 2012 to 2015, wireless chips outnumbered the actual number of products, indicating multiple wireless ICs in some designs. Based on these reports, the growth in wearable and nearable applications is on the rise with each design utilizing off-chip wireless solutions, which creates an opportunity for designers to reduce the cost and power of their IoT SoCs with wireless integration.

Today, Bluetooth technology with low energy features is emerging as the standard of choice for wearable and tracking, or “nearable,” IoT applications. Bluetooth 5 is expected to enable the technology to move into the smart home applications with extended reach, higher speeds, and capabilities to manage communications beyond peer-to-peer. This article explains the advantages of integrating wireless technology such as Bluetooth low energy in a single SoC with a complete Bluetooth low energy PHY and Link Layer IP solution.

Wireless architectures
Over the past few years, multiple wireless technology implementations have evolved:

• Standalone RF transceiver: This legacy implementation includes a controller and PHY, or in the case of Bluetooth, a Link Layer and PHY, in the transceiver chip that connects to the main SoC which houses the software stack and application code.
• Wireless network processor: This implementation has gained popularity as the wireless chipsets are providing more value by integrating a dedicated processor for the wireless protocol stack, enabling the main SoC to dedicate its resources solely to the application.
• Fully integrated wireless SoC: This is a monolithic, single die implementation ideal for certain wireless technologies, in particular Bluetooth with the low energy technology for IoT applications, where the Link Layer and PHY are integrated into the SoC that runs all software stacks and application codes.
• Combo wireless chipset solution: This traditional architecture for mobile applications combines several wireless technologies such as WiFi and Bluetooth into a single transceiver that is connected to the SoC that includes the digital modem. All software, wireless stacks, and application codes reside in an external non-volatile memory.

Bluetooth chip implementation options (Source: ti.com)

Process technologies play a key role in determining which implementation is most advantageous for a target application. The standalone RF transceiver uses legacy nodes such as 180nm. The wireless network processor, where the wireless protocol stack is embedded into the RF transceiver, leverages the mature 90nm node. The 40nm and 55nm technology nodes are becoming popular in monolithic wireless solutions due to the combination of embedded flash and highly available mixed-signal IP, including wireless IP. The 28nm node is expected to be viable for similar monolithic wireless SoC solutions where the protocol stack, RF transceiver, and application code are integrated into a single SoC.

The combo wireless IC chipset solution is still a prevalent architecture for mobile application processors leveraging the most aggressive process nodes available to optimize die size and cost. These systems have unlimited off-chip memory which gives programmers more resources, but the number of total chips in the system can be as many as three, versus one or two chips in the other three implementations. This clearly demonstrates how wireless integration can be beneficial when the process nodes and available IP solutions align, and why the fully integrated wireless SoC architecture will become pervasive.

Industry examples
Current wearable designs, such as fitness bands, that only implement Bluetooth low energy for wireless connectivity, consist of an SoC connected to an external Bluetooth low energy IC via a UART or I2C bus. Similarly, virtual reality goggles use a standard Bluetooth wireless network processor to communicate with gaming controllers. External Bluetooth low energy chipsets are also found in smart home products such as door locks, lighting, and indoor location beacons. These examples show opportunities for wireless integration into SoCs already in the system for additional cost savings.

If higher bandwidth wireless technologies, such as WiFi, are also included in the design, a wireless combo chip solution is used with multiple wireless technologies, a processor and external memories. For example, augmented reality goggles require more processing power so designers leverage a similar implementation as in the mobile platform.

Wireless is replacing many functions that traditionally were wired. Bluetooth Low Energy in particular is being used for diagnostics and passing low bandwidth information where UART, I2C, SPI, and USB had traditionally been used.

Advantages of integrating wireless technology in a single SoC
Now that we’ve identified the opportunities for wireless integration into a single SoC, let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages.

Wireless network processors, such as standalone Bluetooth low energy solutions, have been consistently utilized in certified systems, easing designers’ module certification processes. These standalone Bluetooth low energy solutions not only ease certification but provides proven reliable connectivity with common system design methodologies in regards to items such as antennas.

A monolithic solution offers greater benefits that include lower power, lower costs, lower latency, and smaller footprints, pushing the market to start adopting and designing fully monolithic wireless SoCs. It is expected that data sent over the AMBA AHB bus versus the SPI bus can reduce latency by 5 to 10 cycles, enabling longer idle times for the processor and saving power. In fact, in a recently published report from Microsoft Wireless Power Research, “the parameters that dominated power consumption were not the active or sleep currents but rather the time required to reconnect after a sleep cycle and to what extent the RF module slept.”

Beyond power and latency improvements, wireless integration enables the removal of complete chip sets, reducing packaging costs and the required additional pads and power management IP. This can save over $0.15 in packaging costs and 20-30 extra pads that are required to support the additional wireless network processor. These savings, in conjunction with removing duplications of power management and a reduced PCB footprint, make the total system cost savings very attractive.

As noted in the teardown.com report, multiple wireless ICs are found in a system like virtual reality goggles. Bluetooth and WiFi have commonly been combined in a single chip but requirements for these wireless technologies are very different. WiFi supports high bandwidth, whereas Bluetooth Low Energy minimizes power. WiFi supports speeds up to 300 Mbps, uses well over 40-100 microWatts of receive and transmit power and a sizable memory requirement. To support the WiFi throughput, the SoC must operate at appropriate voltages per the target process technology. Alternatively, Bluetooth Low Energy supports 2 Mbps in Bluetooth 5 and uses less than 10 microWatts of transmit and receive power, with much smaller memory footprints and lower voltages such as 0.9V in the newest 40nm and 55nm ultra-low-power processes.

The advantages of integrating Bluetooth Low Energy are clear, and monolithic wireless SoC implementations are expected to become common in the near future. The advantages become greater for IoT SoCs that require extremely low power consumption on 55nm and 40nm technologies. Such IoT SoCs also leverage power management techniques, DC-DC down-converters and use thick oxide technologies to reduce the active power and the leakage power even more.

Synopsys offers a wide range of wireless and analog IP options for 5G, WiFi and LTE for cellular, wireless 802.15.4 and Bluetooth technologies with optimized analog front-ends, data converters and a complete Bluetooth low energy IP solution with PHYs and Link Layer IP. The advantages of wireless integration into an IoT SoC is paramount, and Synopsys has the expertise, silicon-proven IP and track record to help designers enable efficient wireless connectivity for IoT SoCs.