Spark Microsystems of Montreal is sampling a series of low power UWB wireless transceiver ICs for short-range wireless connectivity. Production is planned for Q3.

The SR1000 transceiver series offers an extremely low latency symmetrical bi-directional data link coupled with ultra-low power consumption and provides high quality of service in order to support the uninterrupted low power and latency streaming of data.

 The  SR1000 UWB transceiver can send 1kb of data in  50µs. Power consumption, typically 1nJ / bit, is significantly lower than BLE, typically 40x lower when operating at 1 Mbps.

With a data transfer rate up to 10x higher than BLE, the SR1000 series’ 10 Mbps capability suits content-rich applications, such as video streaming, where high bandwidth low latency links are essential.

The SR1000  operates in the unlicensed 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz frequency range using a wide spectrum low power density that is typically -41.3 dBm/MHz. Transmitting at levels that may be perceived as noise to other receivers, the UWB wide spectrum approach greatly aids wireless coexistence, further enhancing the link performance characteristic.
 
The series comprises two pin-identical product variants to accommodate the different regional spectrum allocations; the SR1010 for 3.1 GHz to 6 GHz, and the SR1020 for 6 GHz to 9.5 GHz.

The transceivers aid product development teams to differentiate their products by enhancing the user experience, requiring less battery changes. They can also be used for a variety of ranging and positioning applications in addition to provisioning a low emissions, low power, low latency symmetrical data link.
 
A range of evaluation tools, development boards and application-specific reference designs for the SR1000 series are available and aid the rapid prototyping of initial designs.