Infineon AIROC CYW5557x WiFI 6/6E targets IoT and streaming devices

WiFi 6E is a new wireless standard that operates in the 6 GHz frequency band. We’ve already seen it used in consumer products such as premium smartphones and routers, as well as some embedded SBCs that take Qualcomm WiFI 6E cards.

But now Infineon, who purchased Cypress Semiconductors last year, has unveiled the AIROC CYW5557x family of WiFI 6/6E chipsets designed for the IoT, enterprise and industrial applications for the 1×1 models, and for multimedia, consumer and automotive applications with 2×2 MIMO.

Infineon AIROC CYW5557x has three SKUs that share most of the same specifications:

Devices
- CYW55573 with Wi-Fi 6E, 2×2 MIMO
- CYW55572: with Wi-Fi 6, 2×2 MIMO
- CYW55571 with Wi-Fi 6E, 1×1 (80MHz)
Wireless features
- WiFI
  - Arm Cortex-R4 core
  - Wi-Fi 6/6E, Tri-band (2.4/5/6 GHz)
  - OFDMA, MU-MIMO, TWT, DCM
  - 2×2 MIMO or 1×1 SISO
  - 20/40/80 MHz channels, 1024-QAM, up to 1.2 Gbps PHY data rate
  - STA and Soft AP mode
  - Enhanced range, power savings, network efficiency features
  - Zero-wait DFS
- Bluetooth 5.2, 5.1, 5.0
  - Arm Cortex-M33 core
  - Optional features
    - LE Audio
    - LE- 2Mbps, Long Range, Advertising Extensions
    - Direction finding with AoA/AoD
    - SCO and eSCO

- Coexistence interfaces (Coex) – Built-in advanced Bluetooth/WLAN Coex, 2-wire SECI for external Coex, Bluetooth/GPS/LTE radio
Host Interfaces
- WLAN – PCIe, SDIO
- Bluetooth – UART, I2S, PCM
Other I/Os – 15x GPIOs
Security – Secure boot, FW authentication and encryption; Lifecycle management; Anti-rollback protection; WPA3
Packages – FCGBA, WLCSP
Temperature Range – -40°C to 85°C

Infineon CYW55573 WiFi 6E Block Diagram — CYW55573 Block Diagram

The built-in advanced on-chip Wi-Fi/BT coexistence is said to improve multimedia streaming and gaming responsiveness in overlapping network environments, but this can be further enhanced thanks to external coexistence interfaces.

Typical applications will include gaming, smart speakers, voice assist systems, AR/VR, digital cameras, security systems, industrial gateways, and other AI-enabled products.

One of the first CYW5557x modules will come from Murata, and the press release also mentions CYW89570 Wi-Fi 6E chip specifically designed for automotive applications that will be found in LG Innotek, u-Blox, and nFore modules.

WiFi 6E EVB — CYW5557x WiFI 6E EVB and Linux drivers are available

Infineon AIROC Wi-Fi 6 / 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 combos are currently sampling to select customers and are showcased in Infineon’s virtual booth at Embedded World 2021. Additional details may be found on the product page.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.