Japanese firm Silex Technology has introduced a Wifi 6E module for medical and industrial IoT devices.

The SX-PCEAX is a tri-band (2.4, 5 and 6GHz) wireless LAN combo module that supports Wifi 6E plus Bluetooth v5.2, using Qualcomm’s QCA2066. Wifi 6E extends the benefits of Wifi 6 into the 6GHz communication spectrum, enhancing speed and reliability.

With seven 160MHz channels available in Wifi 6E, devices have six times the bandwidth capacity available on Wifi 6 networks running in 2.4 and 5GHz bandwidth.

The module supports both station and access point modes. It is equipped with features unique to Wifi 6, such as orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) and target wake time (TWT), to enable high-speed communication and enhanced communication efficiency and stability. Combining Wifi 6 features with the expansion into 6GHz communications makes it suitable for developing wireless LAN systems.

The Wifi 6E standard moves wifi communications into the 6GHz spectrum where legacy devices operating in 2.4 and 5GHz cannot negatively impact the network performance. Those designing medical and industrial devices can now jump to Wifi 6E for better performance, less crowded networks and a longer lifecycle for their designs.

“It is common to find a mix of legacy clients operating on the wifi network, making the network sub-optimal,” said Andreas Pape, wireless specialist at Phoenix Contact. “Legacy clients are inefficient, and the overhead needed to maintain backward compatibility contributes to further efficiency losses. Wifi 6E does not only make the new products future-proof, but it also does away with the complexities of the past by limiting access to only Wifi 6 and newer protocols in the 6GHz band. Coupling the Wifi 6 protocol with Wifi 6E spectrum will allow Wifi 6 abilities to shine in a greenfield installation.”

As a Qualcomm design centre, Silex provides wireless technology with design support worldwide. It provides driver support for operating systems such as Linux and Windows, and can help users port the driver to their specific platforms.

Its reference platforms for driver evaluation and development are NXP’s iMX 8M and Nvidia’s Jetson AGX Xavier. To expedite the product development process, Silex also provides engineering services, including custom driver development, certification services and hardware schematic design reviews.

The module supports two separate wifi networks simultaneously using 2.4 and 5GHz frequency bands. This doubles the available bandwidth and allows for a more reliable dedicated wifi network.

OFDMA effectively shares channels to increase network efficiency and lower latency for uplink and downlink traffic in high-demand and dense environments. Multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) allows more downlink data to be transferred at once and enables an access point to transmit data to a larger number of devices concurrently. TWT improves battery life in wifi devices, such as for IoT devices.

The SC-PCEAX is available in three form factors – M.2, Mini PCI Express and surface-mount – all of which will obtain module certification in Japan, North America, and Europe. Mass production and shipping will begin in March 2022.