May 3, 2012, Seoul – STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM), a global semiconductor company in various electronic device applications and a leader in smart meters and industrial applications, has launched 'SPIRIT1', a high-performance, ultra-low-power wireless transceiver used in Automatic Meter Infrastructure and wireless sensor node applications such as alarm and security systems, home and building automation, and industrial monitoring and control.

The biggest features of the newly introduced SPIRIT1 transceiver are 50% lower power consumption and excellent reception sensitivity compared to existing solutions.

Smart electronic meters, primarily used for the supply of utilities such as electricity, gas, and water, help utility providers and consumers supply and use electricity, gas, and water more efficiently and economically through features such as remote control, power peak and consumption analysis, tamper-proof mechanisms, fault alarms, and time-varying rates.

ST's SPIRIT1 transceiver is used in smart meters for homes and businesses to handle communication with local data collection devices, and the collected information is transmitted to the utility provider's control center. SPIRIT1 enables short-range data transmission in the frequency band below 1 GHz, allowing wireless signals to be transmitted even between cement walls and buildings.

Meanwhile, power consumption is a critical variable for battery-operated wireless metering applications, but SPIRIT1 consumes only half the power of existing solutions, allowing SPIRIT1-based applications to maintain twice the lifespan without battery replacement.

In addition, SPIRIT1 boasts an excellent reception sensitivity of -120dBm. This contributes to reducing overall current consumption by allowing the transmitter output power to be lowered while maintaining active communication of the device. Furthermore, it supports advanced technologies such as frequency hopping, automatic reception acknowledgment, and antenna diversity to ensure safe and error-free data transmission.

Additional features such as 128-bit encryption, error correction and detection, FIFO (First in first out) memory blocks, and flexible and programmable data packet management contribute to reducing the load on the host microcontroller and overall system costs.

ST's SPIRIT1 Sub-GHz RF transceiver is currently available for sample orders, and the price is $1.8 per unit for orders of 1,000.

Note
SPIRIT1 is compatible with Wireless M-BUS, ETSI EN 300 220, FCC CFR47 part 15 (sub-parts 15.247, 15.249, 15.205, 15.209, and 15.231), and ARIB STD T-67/T-96 worldwide regulatory standards.