Ceva has launched a new family of multi-protocol wireless platform IPs designed for edge devices with support for Matter, Zigbee and Thread. Ceva-Waves Links is aimed at providing connectivity-rich chips for devices in the smart home, consumer IoT, industrial, automotive, and personal computing markets. Connectivity includes include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ultra-Wideband (UWB)), and IEEE 802.15.4 (for Thread / Zigbee / Matter).

“Increasingly, wireless connectivity chips are required to handle multiple standards to meet the evolving needs and diverse use cases of consumer and industrial devices. The Ceva-Waves Links family offers a significant value proposition to semiconductor companies and OEMs, lowering the risk and investment required to integrate multi-protocol wireless connectivity into chip designs. Moreover with support for UWB, the Links family offers innovative micro-location and radar sensing features for truly advanced smart edge devices,” said Andrew Zignani, Senior Research Director, ABI Research.

“The Ceva-Waves Links wireless connectivity IPs build on our extensive portfolio that already powers more than 1 billion devices annually and has enabled us to establish a strong and diversified customer base across consumer and industrial IoT applications,” said Tal Shalev, Vice President and General Manager of the Wireless IoT Business Unit at CEVA. “With many customers designing chips employing multiple wireless standards, Links is a natural extension, leveraging our technology and expertise to dramatically reduce the technology barrier but yet delivering a tailored, optimal solution that provides the high-performance, low latency and low-power connectivity required.”

The first member of the Ceva-Waves Links family, the Links100, is an integrated, low power, Wi-Fi / Bluetooth / 15.4 communications subsystem IP for IoT applications, with features including:

• Wi-Fi 6 optimised for cost-sensitive IoT applications,
• Bluetooth 5.4 Dual Mode, supporting advanced Bluetooth Audio with Auracast, and with a comprehensive suite of Bluetooth profiles
• IEEE 802.15.4 (for Thread, ZigBee, Matter) for smart home applications
• Optimised co-existence scheme for efficient concurrent communications
• Pre-integrated with a low power multi-protocol radio at TSMC 22nm process

Upcoming Links platforms may include:

• Advanced Wi-Fi 6/6E/7 with MLO, for a variety of use-cases, from power-efficient IoT to high-speed data streaming
• Next generation Bluetooth for Channel Sounding and High Data Throughout
• UWB, supporting FiRa 2.0, CCC Digital Key 3.0, and Radar, for innovative micro-location and sensing features
• Optimised co-existence schemes for each specific configuration
• Pre-integrated radio solutions, including partner and customer’s own technology, to address a wide range of configurations and foundry process nodes