STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, is accelerating designs with a new industrial smart-sensor evaluation kit featuring IO-Link transceivers and STM32 MCUs.

ST announced on the 17th that it recently launched the STEVAL-IOD04KT1 industrial sensor kit with a slim main board measuring 45.8mm x 8.3mm.

This kit simplifies the development of compact IO-Link (IEC 61131-9) sensors, supporting fieldbus-independent, point-to-point, bidirectional communication.

The main board integrates ST's L6364W IO-Link transceiver and STM32G0 microcontroller, as well as the IIS2MDC high-precision 3-axis digital output geomagnetic sensor and the ISM330DHCX iNEMO inertial module with machine learning core.

The board supports ultra-small sensor enclosures with its compact size in ultra-small chip-scale packages (CSP) of the L6364W in a 2.5mm x 2.5mm CSP19 and the STM32G0 in a 2.3mm x 2.5mm WLCSP25.

It is also equipped with a 4-pole M8 industrial connector and can be connected to any IO-Link main controller supporting IO-Link 1.1. A 10-pin expansion connector allows for additional sensing options.

The accompanying STM32Cube software pack, STSW-IOD04K, provides IO-Link Device Description (IODD) files, an ST-specific IO-Link demonstration stack, and routines for managing the L6364W and MEMS sensors.

Featuring hotpluggable functionality, the software includes libraries that support the development of various types of sensors and is designed to be easily integrated with additional X-CUBE software to further expand sensor functionality.

The L6364W transceiver handles IO-Link communications, offloading the STM32G0. The IC implements an IO-Link-compliant electrical interface, as well as digital functions such as wake-up recognition, a 15-byte data buffer, and quartz-free IO-Link clock extraction. Surge-pulse protection up to ±2.5kV, ESD protection, and reverse-polarity protection are all integrated on-chip, eliminating the need for user-designed additional components and saving PCB space and bill-of-materials (BoM).

It also features built-in 3.3V and 5V LDOs and a digitally configurable step-down D/DC converter, capable of sourcing up to 50mA of load current, enabling developers to meet the efficiency and EMC requirements of their applications.

The L6364W belongs to ST's family of ICs that provide a complete set of solutions for implementing the IO-Link physical layer in a simple manner. This product family also includes the IO-Link control-side transceiver L6360 and the IO-Link device ICs L6362A and L6364Q.

The STEVAL-IOD04KT1 kit includes everything you need to quickly evaluate and use the sensor, including an IO-Link M8-to-M12 adapter cable and ST's STLINK-V3MINI programmer. The kit is available now from the ST eStore for $95.55.