The ATSAMR34J18 from Microchip Technology is a Sub-GHz LoRa System-in-Package (SiP) that operates from 137 to 1020 MHz. It combines an ultra-low power microcontroller unit (MCU) with a UHF transceiver communication interface in a single chip-down package. This SiP consists of a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M0+ processor, an integrated LoRa technology transceiver, a frequency synthesizer, a memory unit (256 KB of flash and 40 KB of SRAM), ADCs, voltage regulators, timers, event controllers, bus matrix, and five serial communication interfaces. It requires a DC supply of 1.8 to 3.6 V, consumes 16 mA of current in the Rx mode, and 790 nA of current in sleep mode, making it ideal for battery-powered remote sensor applications. The package supports sophisticated power management technologies, such as power domain gating, SleepWalking, ultra-low power peripherals, and more, allowing for very low line-power consumption.
The ATSAMR34J18 supports LoRa, which is a spread spectrum protocol optimized for low-datarate ultra-long range signaling, OOK, and FSK modulation schemes. It also supports automatic RF Sense and CAD with ultra-fast automatic frequency control (AFC) packet engine up to 256 bytes with CRC error checking codes. This SiP includes three 16-bit timer/counters, 32-bit real-time counters, and 16-channel DMAC for maintaining clock information of events. It integrates a 12-bit ADC with a sampling rate of 1 MSPS and 8 external channels (oversampling and decimation to support 13/14/15/16-bit resolution). The SiP uses LIN, SPI, I2C, and USART interfaces for full-duplex or single-wire half-duplex remote communication,
The ATSAMR34J18 delivers an output power of 17 dBm, has a receiver sensitivity of -136 dBm (LoRa-compliant modes), and a dynamic range RSSI of 127 dB. It is available in a 64-lead ball grid array (BGA) package that measures 6 x 6 mm and is ideal for sensor applications.
