Toshiba Electronics Europe has announced a system IC that combines full Bluetooth® functionality with audio processing capabilities and supporting circuitry. The TC35668IXBG offers a highly integrated solution for automotive hands-free and audio streaming subsystems.It is suitable for integration by automotive equipment manufacturers and for automotive aftermarket systems. It can also form the basis of a subsystem, such as a wireless speaker.
In addition to Bluetooth v4.0 support with a built-in battery, several classic Bluetooth profiles, and GATT, Toshiba has incorporated a DSP that enables acoustic enhancement in noisy environments, such as in a car, and echo cancellation for hands-free systems. The signal processor is also capable of decoding audio content, including SBC, WBS, MP3, and AAC files. Another integrated MCU allows for the execution of software applications.
The TC35668 features three core components: a system core based on a 104 MHz ARM® Cortex®-M3; a Bluetooth core with a 52 MHz ARM7TDMI-STM; and a 208 MHz Ceva TeakLite-IIITM DSP core. The Bluetooth core combines a transceiver, antenna switch, balun, low-noise amplifier, and power amplifier. Toshiba has integrated not only the standard Bluetooth HCI (Host Controller Interface) hardware and software, but also a complete software suite and a set of 14 classic and BLE GATT profiles, which are Bluetooth SIG compliant. The software suite and profiles are pre-certified and reside in an external Flash ROM, while the application code is stored in an external serial flash memory and executes from internal SRAM. This combination of hardware and software results in a very small bill of materials that can help companies minimize system size and cost, and enables faster time to market due to the integrated, proven software. The device also incorporates a 6-wire Bluetooth® - Wi-Fi® coexistence interface to suppress conflicts from simultaneous radio signals in the 2.4 GHz band.
The TC35668 is supplied in a compact 97-ball P-VFBGA package measuring 6.0 x 6.0 x 1.0 mm. Samples are already available, and mass production is planned to begin in July 2015. LSI automotive qualification (AECQ100 compliant) will be launched concurrently.
