[STM32WB55 Review] +ST's Attack

freebsder

[STM32WB55 Review] +ST's Attack [Copy link]

STM32WB55 Review 1: ST's Attack

First of all, I would like to thank ST and EE for organizing this review and giving me the opportunity to participate.

As early as the middle of last year, I heard that ST had released a new Bluetooth SoC. My first reaction was probably that it might be an MCU+transceiver architecture like BlueNRG. Later, after seeing the press release of the product, I learned that this product is a dual-core design, model STM32WB, one of the cores is dedicated to protocol processing. From the name, it is obvious that ST has classified this new product into its very successful STM32 product series (different from BlueNRG). Later, I saw reports that ST launched a heterogeneous dual-core microprocessor of CortexA7 and CortexM4, which is based on the Linux operating environment. Not surprisingly, it is also classified into ST's STM32 product series, that is, the STM32MP1 series.

This is interesting. The STM32 brand originally covered the microcontroller series, and the impression it gave to the market was also a microcontroller. Now, through the new SoC and the new MPU, this brand has been further expanded and strengthened. Now it can (partially) completely cover low, medium and high-end general-purpose microcontrollers (original STM32), functional microcontrollers (Bluetooth SoC) and higher-end processors (STM32MP1).

Personally, I think such a product layout has market and technical advantages over single-chip microcomputers with higher development frequencies.

For STM32WB, it evolved from the STM32L4 series product line and inherited from STM32, which has a wide range of user experience. This is the most cost-effective time and manpower for users who use STM32 devices to make products, and there will be no obstacles to getting started. For end users, it can be considered as just one more functional component (consider SPI, ADC, and BLE as a level). In this chess piece, I tend to think that ST provides the native IoT short-distance access capability of the STM32 ecosystem.

It is reported that the wireless SoC series also has Lora waiting to be released:

For STM32MP1, my point of view is that once the main frequency requirement of the MCU of an application reaches 200MHz, it means that the application itself has a certain complexity in both function and design. Then meeting the application requirements according to the low-level development method of the MCU is far from providing the cost-effectiveness of time, cost and manpower. People need the assistance of more powerful resources, such as Linux, such as various development libraries on Linux to accelerate the development and release of applications. I tend to think that ST provides an optimized choice of high-end processing power and rapid development capabilities for the STM32 ecosystem.

A very comprehensive offensive formation. What's more interesting is that all the above products are brought together by STM32Cubemx to form a complete system. What's more interesting is that ST recently released STM32CubeIDE based on TrueSTUDIO and STM32Cubemx, which combines most of the value of the STM32 brand in a more concentrated way. Technology is not all of a company, and I have to give a thumbs up to ST's market and product personnel.

I've talked a lot. The protagonist of this evaluation, p-nucleo-wb55, is ST's first SoC chess piece on the STM32 production line. At the same time, we also hope that ST and EE can provide opportunities to evaluate STM32MP1.

This article first takes a look at the appearance of the two evaluation boards provided by the kit.

The development kit is divided into two parts, one is the white classic nucleo64 layout board, and the other is a USB dongle. The main components on the whiteboard are the STM32WB55 and the onboard STLink emulator. The re-arrangement of the detachable emulator part of nucleo64 makes the whiteboard look smaller and more proportional.

The micro USB interface is smaller than the mini USB interface used before.USB is easier to use, after all, there are not many mobile phones (cables) that use mini USB.

The white PCB antenna and unsoldered SMA pads can provide convenience out of the box and further provide convenience for high-performance users. The irregular design of the onboard antenna part does not appear abrupt with the irregular layout below the nucleo64 layout, but has a streamlined design sense that echoes up and down.

The sky blue silk screen is slightly lighter than the silk screen color of the previous generation nucleo64, and the visual transition is more natural than the previous generation.

The main device STM32WB55 is covered by a shield. We cannot see the general internal structure without destroying the whiteboard, but we can get a glimpse of it in the p-nucleo-wb55 user manual.

The RF part integrates PA, LNA, AGC and other components, so the peripheral circuit of STM32WB55 does not need to be so complicated, which is a relatively excellent performance among a number of BLE SoC devices. At the same time, compare the corresponding parts of BLE5 of some friendly companies.

The shielding covers of the two boards are bare and have nothing on them, not even a LOGO, advertisement, brand, nameplate, etc., not to mention additional information such as a QR code, and there is no silkscreen around them. If you are not sure what MCU model this board uses and need to check it, you will not find any specific device information on the whiteboard and can only look up the user manual. This is a bit troublesome, and it is recommended that ST consider engraving some specific information on the shielding cover without affecting performance.

The whiteboard is equipped with an external power inlet, an external antenna seat, and an external STLink interface, which separates these special needs from the board, retaining functionality and saving board layout space.

The back of the whiteboard originally carries a large CR2302 battery lying on the milky white battery holder. Since the M4 core of the STM32WB55 is derived from the STM32L4 series, low power consumption is naturally a plus for this SoC.

The USB port has been protected by ESD, so you don't have to worry about the dry weather in summer.

A green USB dongle is provided for the experiment and sniffer, with an onboard antenna and an external ipx socket. Since the M0 core of the STM32WB55 is a dedicated 2.4G coprocessor, it can provide physical protocols and communication protocols such as BLE, Thread, and Zigbee. These choices are made by burning different firmware, so a firmware burning switch is provided on the USB dongle to configure different functions.

In terms of product series, ST gradually improves the structural composition of the STM32 brand, providing STM32-style experience for users of SoC and MPU.

In terms of appearance, compared with the incoordination and twist of other series of nucleo evaluation boards, this p-nucleo-wb55 evaluation board can be described in four words: beautiful, really good.

This content is originally created by EEWORLD forum user freebsder. If you want to reprint or use it for commercial purposes, you must obtain the author's consent and indicate the source. 4G coprocessor, it can provide BLE, Thread, Zigbee and other physical protocols and communication protocols, these choices are completed by burning different firmware, so the USB dongle provides a firmware burning switch to configure different functions.

In terms of product series, ST gradually improves the structural composition of the STM32 brand, providing STM32-style experience for users of SoC and MPU.

In terms of appearance, compared with the incoordination and twist of other series of nucleo evaluation boards, this p-nucleo-wb55 evaluation board can be given four words: beautiful, really fragrant.

This content is originally created by EEWORLD forum user freebsder. If you want to reprint or use it for commercial purposes, you must obtain the author's consent and indicate the source.

lcofjp

Fushu's articles are well illustrated and well written

okhxyyo

Shushu, your article is just as beautiful

chenzhufly

Free brother is awesome!

damiaa

Learned.

df_flying

The picture comparison is a bit far-fetched. It is obvious that ST uses balun IC, but the one being compared is built with discrete resistors and capacitors. The biggest difference is the price.

freebsder

df_flying posted on 2019-5-5 11:42 The image comparison is a bit far-fetched. It is obvious that ST uses a balun IC, but the one being compared is built with discrete resistors and capacitors. The biggest difference is the price.

The chip has a built-in balun. The picture on the data sheet is different from the picture on the actual board. It is mainly the matching network and the bandpass filter.