Infineon AIROC ACW741x Wi-Fi 7 ultra-low power tri-radio IoT SoC family support MLO, Wi-Fi sensing, BLE 6.0, and Thread

Infineon has introduced the AIROC ACW741x tri-radio Wi-Fi 7 wireless SoC family designed for IoT and smart home devices. The company mentions it’s the first Wi-Fi 7 solution with a “20 MHz” 1×1 Wi-Fi 7 radio, Bluetooth 6.0 (including Channel Sounding), and an 802.15.4 radio for Thread and Matter support, in a 7×7 mm QFN package.

When we think of Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), we usually picture high-end routers and smartphones with gigabits of data over the huge 320 MHz channels. But the standard also includes features specifically designed for low-power IoT devices. Infineon’s new AIROC ACW741x family, which they claim is the “industry’s first” Wi-Fi 7 SoC specifically optimized for IoT applications, including smart home, battery-powered sensors, access control systems, asset tracking, video doorbells, IP cameras, smart locks, thermostats, and other always-connected devices requiring secure, low-power wireless connectivity.

Infineon AIROC ACW741x specifications :

• Wireless Connectivity
  • Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
    • 1×1 SISO, Tri-band (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz)
    • 20 MHz channel bandwidth (PHY data rates up to 86 Mbps)
    • Performance – Up to +23 dBm Tx power, -100 dBm sensitivity
  • Bluetooth 6.0
    • Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) with Channel Sounding for high-accuracy ranging
    • Features – LE Isochronous channels, LE Long Range (sensitivity -109 dBm)
  • IEEE 802.15.4
    • Supports Thread and Matter ecosystems
    • Modes – Radio Co-processor (RCP), Thread Border Router capable
    • Performance – Up to +18 dBm Tx power
• Host Interfaces
  • Wi-Fi – SDIO 3.0, gSPI
  • Bluetooth / 802.15.4 – Shared SDIO/gSPI, UART, SPI
• Power – 70 µW Wi-Fi connected standby power (DTIM10)
• Package – 60-pin QFN, 7 x 7 mm, 0.4 mm pitch (optimized for 2-layer PCBs)
• Temperature – Industrial: -40°C to 105°C; Consumer: -40°C to 85°C

The most interesting feature of this chip is the combo support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0. While the Wi-Fi data rate is capped at 86 Mbps (MCS7) due to the 20 MHz limitation, it allows Infineon to reduce the die size and power consumption (claimed 70 µW in connected standby) while still having Wi-Fi 7 features like Multi-Link Operation (MLO).  The module supports power-efficient Wi-Fi 7 features such as Multi-Link Single Radio (MLSR), Multi-Resource Units (MRU), and Restricted Target Wake Time (r-TWT), along with various sensing features such as IEEE 802.11bf Wi-Fi sensing using CSI and IEEE 802.11mc Fine Time Measurement (FTM).

Bluetooth 6.0 introduces Channel Sounding, a phase-based ranging technology that offers much higher accuracy and security than traditional RSSI-based proximity. This makes the chip particularly interesting for “smart access” applications like secure digital car keys or smart door locks, where you need to know exactly how far the user is from the device.

As mentioned earlier, these ultra-low power Wi-Fi 7 tri-radio IoT SoCs can be used in various applications, including security cameras, video doorbells, smart locks, smart thermostats, home appliances, robotics, and smart speakers, and they can also be configured as a Matter border router to bridge Thread devices with local Wi-Fi networks. The company also provides an example with a hardware schematic and documentation to get started easily.

On the software side, the chip is designed to interface with various host processors, including both A-Class (Linux/Android) and M-Class (RTOS) systems. The chip communicates with the host via SDIO 3.0, gSPI, UART, and SPI, and Infineon will provide hardware design kits, software packages, and application guides to accelerate development when the product is released.

Infineon has released a total of 8 SKUs in the family, differing mostly by supported frequency bands and temperature ranges.

The models ending in ‘Q71’ instead of ‘Q7Q’ support the standard -40°C to 85°C temperature range.

The AIROC ACW741x family is currently sampling. Infineon mentions that a “module-vendor ecosystem” is available to accelerate time-to-market, which includes partners like Ezurio, Murata, Azurewave, Quectel, and more. More information is available on the product page and the press release.

Debashis Das

Debashis Das is a technical content writer and embedded engineer with over five years of experience in the industry. With expertise in Embedded C, PCB Design, and SEO optimization, he effectively blends difficult technical topics with clear communication

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