Nordic Semiconductor launches ultra-thin Bluetooth Smart solution for space-constrained smartcards and wearable applications.

Nordic Semiconductor launches ultra-thin Bluetooth Smart solution for space-constrained smartcards and wearable applications.

The Thin WL-CSP nRF51822 is designed to address the needs of the fast-growing Bluetooth® connected payment and subscription smartcard market, as well as miniaturized wearables applications where the physical profiles of standard devices are unsuitable for workable solutions.

The Thin WL-CSP nRF51822 measures just 3.83mm by 3.83mm with just a 0.35mm in height profile, making it as thin as the thinnest available Bluetooth Smart single chip solution on the market.

“Even with the ultra-thin packaging format, however, the Thin WL-CSP nRF51822 offers the identical feature set and performance of standard nRF51822 components,” says Kjetil Holstad, Product Manager Bluetooth Smart, Nordic Semiconductor. “This includes being fully compatible with Nordic’s Bluetooth v4.2 software stacks and SDKs, and also pin and footprint compatible with existing Nordic nRF51822 CSP packaging variants, thus offering a simple migration path for developers.”

“There is a burgeoning market in Bluetooth Smart enabled smartcards across a range of applications right now,” comments Geir Langeland, Sales and Marketing Director, Nordic Semiconductor. “These include the use of smartcards in door lock systems, subscription authentication, ticketing, and wireless payments. In parallel wearables products now include products such as smart notification rings and jewelry that have very demanding size and thickness requirements that only a Thin WL-CSP solution can meet.”

The Thin WL-CSP nRF51822 is available with 256kB Flash and 32kB RAM Memory.