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Power efficient GNSS SiP targets small battery powered devices

13th September 2017

u-blox

Alice Matthews

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Datasheet

Global provider of wireless and positioning modules and chips, u‑blox, has announced the latest member of its ZOE‑M8 series of ultra-small GNSS SiPs. The company claims that the ZOE‑M8B is industry’s most power efficient GNSS System‑in‑Package (SiP) available for small battery powered consumer devices. It combines performance with ultra-low power to deliver an optimised solution for portable and wearable devices targeting the fitness, health monitoring, and personal tracker markets.

Small battery powered devices are defined by their limited size, weight and power, which dictates that any GNSS solution targeting this application space must provide exceptional performance while consuming minimal system resources. The ZOE‑M8B has been designed for this class of ultra-low-power applications, where size and power are critical parameters. The ZOE-M8B consumes 25mW on average in most environments (including urban), and as little as 12mW during instantaneous tracking. This is a three-fold improvement in power efficiency when compared with other variants in the ZOE‑M8 series.

“The ZOE‑M8B SiP offers the best trade-off between power consumption and location accuracy,” said Uffe Pless, Product Manager Positioning, u-blox. “This will enable manufacturers to develop entirely new battery powered devices that integrate GNSS functionality, without comprising performance or the user experience.”

This combination of ultra-low-power operation and high performance is thanks to u-blox’s proprietary Super‑E mode of operation, which automatically adjusts the power consumed by the system components based on the external conditions.

The footprint of a design with a chip and individual external components is about 50% larger than the PCB footprint of the ZOE-M8B. Measuring 4.5x4.5x1.0mm, the ZOE‑M8B integrates a GNSS receiver, TCXO, SAW and LNA in a single package, making it easy to add accurate location and positioning functionality to almost any device.

The ZOE-M8B is the latest addition to the ZOE-M8 GNSS module family, which consists of the ZOE-M8G for 1.8V powered devices and the ZOE-M8Q for 3.0V devices, both focusing on maximum accuracy.