STMicroelectronics expands its ultra-wideband focus as the company launches its ST64UWB family. It is said to be the first fully integrated UWB solution that supports both the current IEEE 802.15.4z standard and the upcoming IEEE 802.15.4ab UWB specification, complete with multi-millisecond ranging (MMS) and narrow-band assistance radio (NBA).
Built on ST’s 18 nm FD-SOI process, the ST64UWB family delivers industry-leading RF performance, with a higher link budget that extends range by roughly 50% beyond what IEEE 802.15.4ab already offers.
This combination of extended range, stronger processing power, and improved robustness opens the door to a new wave of applications in automotive, smart home, and smart building domains, including secure digital key entry, presence and motion sensing, and precise approach detection.
IEEE 802.15.4ab builds on the 802.15.4z UWB used in today’s hands-free digital car keys, adding features that push range and reliability even further.
Multi-millisecond ranging and narrow-band assistance make it easier for devices carried in bags or rear pockets to stay connected, improve short-range direction-finding, and help interpret user intent more accurately. The new standard also enhances UWB’s radar-like mode, strengthening use cases such as child presence detection (CPD) in vehicles, an important safety feature backed by Euro-NCAP.
The first three SoCs in the family, ST64UWB-A100, ST64UWB?A500, and ST64UWB-C100, are already sampling to major Tier 1 suppliers and OEMs.
Leadership Comment
“With the ST64UWB family, we’re bringing an industry-first system-on-chip that supports the latest ultra-wideband specification, including IEEE 802.15.4ab with narrow-band assistance,” said Rias Al-Kadi, General Manager of the Ranging and Connectivity Division at STMicroelectronics. “These chips are purpose-built for automotive, consumer, and industrial use cases, giving innovators a powerful platform for the next generation of UWB-enabled experiences.”
Technical highlights of the ST64UWB family
All three SoCs are built on 18 nm FD-SOI, which boosts link budget by nearly 3 dB versus standard bulk technologies, directly translating into longer range and better signal robustness.
- ST64UWB?A series (A100, A500) is aimed at automotive applications and is built around an Arm Cortex-M85 core, supporting ASIL A(B) automotive safety concepts.
- The ST64UWB-A100 focuses on digital key and precise vehicle localization.
- The ST64UWB-A500 adds AI acceleration and digital signal processing, enabling edge-AI-powered radar applications such as child presence detection, kick sensing, and outward-facing sensors for parking helpers and radar-based vehicle-sentinel modes. These capabilities benefit from the 802.15.4ab-defined Kaiser pulse shape and an upgraded 1.3 GHz channel bandwidth on UWB channel 11, roughly doubling accuracy compared with 500 MHz channels.
- ST64UWB?C100, also based on an Arm Cortex-M85 core, targets commercial and consumer devices, delivering best-in-class hands-free and tap-free user experiences while supporting the Aliro standard for secure UWB ecosystems.
To speed adoption, ST is providing a comprehensive development ecosystem, including a full UWB stack (PHY/MAC), a radar toolbox, development boards, antenna reference designs, and ready-to-use application examples for both automotive and consumer segments.
More details on the ST64UWB family and the 802.15.4ab standard are available at the company’s UWB product page.
