Is this the rhythm of "crossing"? In the field of wireless meter reading, Silicon Labs' RF transceiver Si4432 is known as the “wall-to-wall†because of its high receiving sensitivity and industry-leading output power. Today, the upgraded version of the Si4432, the Si4438, will help the wireless meter readers from the chip - (module) - the terminal "crossing"! You may be confused about this, but this is just the beginning, the fog is about to unveil!
Si4438 is specially tailored for Chinese smart meters
China is accelerating grid upgrades to achieve a more “green†smart grid, where smart meters for residents and businesses are key to grid retrofits. According to the latest report from Pike Research, the number of smart meters installed in China will increase from 139 million units in 2012 to 377 million units in 2020. The occupancy of smart meters in the Chinese electricity meter market will reach 74% by 2020. Such a broad market space prompted Silicon Labs to tailor the Si4438 specifically for the Chinese smart meter market.
Although Silicon Labs is not the first to enter the Chinese smart meter market, it is one-third of the market for wireless meter reading with the high cost performance of the Si4432, and is known as the “Walking the Wallâ€. In the past 2013 EDN China Innovation Awards, Silicon Labs won the Network Best Product Award in the upgraded version of the Si4432 EZRadioPRO wireless transceiver launched in March this year specifically for the Chinese smart meter market.
“The EDNChina Innovation Award highlights the success of the Si4438 in the market, which demonstrates its recognition by Chinese engineers. The reason why the Si4438 transceiver is tailored for the Chinese smart meter market is because it is designed for the 425-525MHz ISM band. Designed to meet the stringent regulatory requirements for China's smart meter 470-510MHz band," said Chen Jianhua, product manager from Silicon Labs authorized agent Shiqiang.
One of the most significant benefits of customization is the reduction in cost, while the performance of the Si4438 is also improved relative to the Si4432. Figure 1 below compares Si4432 and Si4438.
Figure 1. si4432 VS. Si4438
As can be seen from the above figure, the Si4438 has improved compared to the Si4432 in several important characteristics. The maximum transmission rate is increased from 256 kbps to 500 kbps; the standby current is reduced from 450 nA to 50 nA; the receiving sensitivity is increased from -121 dBm (1.2 kbps) to -124 dBm (500 bps). So, if you are researching a new design or reducing the cost of a wireless meter reading module, the Si4438 is definitely the best choice.
Excellent distance and performance advantages
“The performance parameters that customers are most concerned with when selecting products are receiving sensitivity, output power, power consumption and transmission distance. As can be seen from Figure 2 below, the Si4438 is superior to these competitive products in terms of these performance indicators. Chen Jianhua said.
Figure 2. Excellent distance and performance advantages
Utilizing an efficient on-chip power amplifier (PA), the Si4438 IC extends transmission distance and provides a reliable communication link for smart meters by providing +20dBm output power, -124dBm sensitivity, 114dB link budget, and 58dB adjacent channel rejection. . At the same time, the built-in diversity antenna and frequency hopping support can further extend the transmission distance and enhance wireless performance. Because the diversity antenna is tightly integrated into the Si4438 transceiver, it can increase the system link budget by 8~10dB, which can effectively extend the transmission distance even under harsh environmental conditions.
“We can't give a specific transmission distance because it is often affected by the environment. The transmission distance will be different from that in an open environment in a multi-obstacle environment such as buildings. But it can be calculated that the system link budget is increased by 6dB. The transmission distance can be doubled. The system link of our products is more than 6 dB more than the similar products in the market. It can be imagined how much the transmission distance of our products can be extended." Chen Jianhua pointed out.
Lowest power and bill of materials (BOM) cost
Power consumption and cost are always the focus of wireless products. Designed for the Chinese smart meter market, the Si4438 wireless transceiver delivers high performance, ultra-low power consumption and high integration to extend wireless transmission distance and battery life while reducing the material cost of smart meters by 30%. The most energy efficient sub-GHz wireless solution in the electricity meter market.
Figure 3. Lowest power and bill of materials (BOM) costs
As shown in Figure 3 above, the Si4438 wireless transceiver has a 50nA sleep/standby current, which is 40 times lower than comparable transceiver products on the Chinese market. In 50nA sleep mode, the Si4438 transceiver can switch to receive (RX) or transmit (TX) mode in as little as 450μs. In operation mode, its TX current consumption is 75mA at 20dBm and RX current consumption is 14mA. Together with ultra-low standby current and fast wake-up time, the battery life of power-sensitive wireless applications is maximized. The number of battery replacements and/or battery size can be reduced during the same product run cycle.
Thanks to the high performance and high integration of the Si4438 transceiver, there is no need to add devices such as off-chip power amplifiers (PAs), low noise amplifiers (LNAs) or surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters for wireless applications, significantly reducing BOM costs (and Compared with similar solutions in the market, it can be reduced by 30%).
On-chip PA can be used to compensate for low-cost antenna performance, while other products require larger, more costly off-chip PAs to achieve equivalent performance. The integrated temperature sensor, power-on reset circuit, and GPIO further reduce system cost and board size. Because integrated FIFO, packet processor and other technologies help offload the main MCU tasks, the Si4438 can be combined with low-cost MCUs, crystals and a small number of passive components to build a cost-effective wireless system. In addition, its 4mm & TImes; 4mm package size is the smallest of its kind, minimizing board area.
Pin compatible with Si446x EZRadioPRO transceiver
Prior to Si4438, Silicon Labs also introduced the Si446x EZRadioPRO transceiver, a sub-GHz ISM band designed for the deployment of smart meters and smart grid products worldwide. The Si4438 is pin compatible and software compatible with the Si446x family. This means that if the system manufacturer has previously had a smart meter solution for foreign countries, it can be easily transferred to the Chinese smart meter solution, which only needs to replace the chip and modify the frequency band.
Figure 4. Pin compatible with the Si446x EZRadioPRO transceiver
“The Si4438 has lower cost than the Si446x family. The pin compatibility and software compatibility make it easy for system vendors to switch from an existing solution to a new solution with low migration costs and short time. It will help speed up time to market." Chen Jianhua said.
In addition, to help developers accelerate smart meter product development and speed time to market, Silicon Labs offers a range of hardware and software development tools, such as the 4438-490-PDK development kit based on the F930 motherboard, which includes two motherboards based on the C8051F930 MCU. The two RF pico-boards and two antennas optimized for the 425-525MHz band make it easy to build wireless connections. There is also a GUI-based Wireless Development Kit (WDS) software that automatically generates sample code that enables developers to quickly and intuitively create and develop reliable, cost-effective wireless applications with little or no professional RF design or configuration. experience.
"design-in" - Shiqiang boosts wireless meter reading design
Although the Si4438 was born for smart meters in China, it is also very suitable for water, gas and heat meter applications.
According to Chen Jianhua, the demand for water meters in China was nearly 65 million in 2011, and it is still growing at a rate of about 10% per year. At the same time, about 6% of old water meters need to be replaced every year. There are currently about 600 water meter manufacturers in China, including more than 60 varieties and more than 300 specifications. By 2015, the total demand for gas meters in China can reach about 35-37 million units, of which smart gas meters account for about 50%-55% of the total demand. The market for smart four-meter (water, electricity, gas, heat) is huge, and wireless meter reading will gradually become the mainstream of the smart meter reading market.
Faced with such a huge wireless meter reading market, Shiqiang, as the main agent of Silicon Labs in mainland China, will participate in the “design-in†of customers. Shiqiang has a dedicated FAE team to help customers design. For example, starting with the schematic, Shiqiang will help customers check schematics, check PCB layouts, help debug boards, and work with customers to advance product development.
The Si4438 makes wireless meter reading design simple and easy, at a lower cost, and Shiqiang is more focused on technical support for service customers. This makes the wireless meter reading industry mentioned at the beginning of the article from the chip - (module) - the terminal's 'traversal' into reality. Now, terminal manufacturers can not only develop products through wireless modules, but also design directly from the chip.
“No matter which part of the customer chain the customer is in, no matter how the customer develops the product, Shiqiang will adhere to the customer-centered service concept and provide professional and truly valuable service to the customer based on the customer's needs. Customers improve product quality, achieve product innovation, compress production cycles and costs, and win competition." Chen Jianhua finally said.
About Shiqiang
Founded in 1993, Shiqiang is headquartered in Shenzhen, including Anwara, Renesas Electronics, Infineon, acam, Rogers, Silicon Labs, Micrel, Littelfuse, NEMICON, EMC & RF Labs, EPSON, Flir, Agilent, etc. The world's leading semiconductor companies and test and measurement equipment companies in the Greater China region, is also an important supplier of electronics manufacturing and R & D companies, product business covers a wide range of communications equipment, industrial electronics, intelligent four-meter, automotive electronics, consumer Electronics, smart phones and other fields.
As a technology-driven distribution company, Shiqiang also has a mature technical support team and system service processes to provide customers with new product introduction, rapid sample, application consulting, solution and software design, development environment, after-sales and logistics. Professional services.
In 2012, Shiqiang Telecom had annual sales of 190 million US dollars, 17 branches and offices across the country, and more than 400 employees.
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