Handles all G3-PLC standards and frequency bands
Provides PRIME 1.4 standard authentication library
Power consumption less than 100mW in receive mode

STMicroelectronics today introduced the ST8500, a powerline-communication (PLC) solution with a G3-PLC CENELEC B-certified protocol stack targeting emerging industrial applications such as smart cities, street lighting, renewable energy management, and smart railway tunnels and stations.
The ST8500 provides certified libraries for all PRIME standards from PRIME 1.3.6 to PRIME 1.4 in CENELEC and FCC bands, in addition to handling all G3-PLC standards and frequency bands. Each stack features high-performance routing algorithms that ensure excellent network coverage across all application domains.

ST’s booth at the European Utility Week, held from 6th to 8th at Messe Wien in Vienna, Austria, showcased products developed by key customers in the smart metering and industrial sectors based on the ST8500.

The ST8500 includes a dedicated real-time engine for handling the modulation and coding schemes of different PLC standards, and an Arm Cortex-M4F core for upper-layer processing and system management. Fully programmable, it allows manufacturers to address multiple markets and regions with a single hardware platform, and to deploy assets in the field with remote updates. It also integrates dedicated peripherals for smart energy applications, including an AES encryption engine. Consuming less than 100mW in receive mode, it is suitable for new smart meters that must meet the most stringent industry specifications by minimizing grid load.

The ST8500, an on-chip Analog Front End (AFE), can be directly connected to ST's STLD1 line driver, enabling a single-vendor power line transceiver solution. The STLD1 features excellent drive performance and superior linearity over a wide output range of 18 V in single-ended or 36 V in differential mode, ensuring reliable communications even on noisy cables.

These two chipsets deliver best-in-class performance, ultra-low power consumption, flexibility, and cost-effective connectivity for smart grid and IoT applications.

The ST8500 is available in a 7mm x 7mm x 1mm QFN56 package, and the STLD1 is available in a 4mm x 4mm x 1mm QFN24 package.