SoC system-on-chip IWR6843

single-chip programmable system

Overview
The IWR6843 is a single‑chip FMCW mmWave radar sensor operating in the 60–64 GHz band. Implemented in a low‑power 45 nm RFCMOS process, the device integrates RF transceiver, baseband, ADC, DSP and microcontroller functions in a compact 161‑pin FCCSP package. Variants include Functional‑Safety‑Compliant and non‑safety versions for industrial radar applications.

Key features

• FMCW transceiver
  • Integrated PLL, transmitter, receiver, baseband and ADC
  • 60–64 GHz coverage with 4 GHz continuous bandwidth
  • Four receive channels (4 Rx) and three transmit channels (3 Tx)
  • Supports 6‑bit phase shifter for TX beamforming
  • High‑precision chirp engine based on fractional‑N PLL
  • TX power: 12 dBm; RX noise figure: ~12 dB; Phase noise (1 MHz): –93 dBc/Hz
• Built‑in calibration and self‑test
  • Arm Cortex‑R4F radio control system and on‑chip firmware (ROM)
  • Self‑calibrating across process and temperature
  • Embedded self‑monitoring (no host processor required on Functional‑Safety variants)
• On‑chip compute and accelerators
  • C674x DSP (IWR6843 variant) for advanced signal processing
  • Hardware accelerators for FFT, filtering and CFAR
  • Memory compression and radar hardware accelerator
• Interfaces & application support
  • Arm‑R4F microcontroller for object detection and interface control; autonomous mode loading from QSPI flash supported
  • User interfaces: up to 6 ADC channels, up to 2 SPI, up to 2 UARTs, CAN‑FD, I2C, GPIOs, 2‑lane LVDS for raw ADC/debug
• Functional safety & security
  • Functional‑Safety‑Compliant variants available with documentation for IEC 61508 up to SIL 3 (hardware integrity up to SIL‑2)
  • Security features: cryptographic acceleration, device attestation & anti‑counterfeit, secure boot, secure firmware update, software IP protection
• Power, clock & packaging
  • Recommended power solution: LP87745‑Q1; built‑in LDO network; I/Os support 3.3V / 1.8V
  • Clock: 40.0 MHz crystal with internal oscillator; external 40 MHz oscillator or driven clock supported
  • Package: 0.65 mm pitch, 161‑pin flip‑chip BGA (FCCSP), 10.4 × 10.4 mm
• Operating conditions
  • Junction temperature range: −40 °C to 105 °C

Functional description
The device integrates Arm Cortex‑R4F radio control and, for the IWR6843 variant, a C674x DSP @ 600 MHz enabling edge AI and on‑chip object detection. It targets low‑power, self‑monitored, ultra‑accurate radar systems for industrial applications and can perform advanced signal processing without a separate host processor.

Documentation & support (examples of available technical documents)

• Datasheets, user guides, technical reference manuals and errata
• Functional‑safety design guides and certification information
• EVM user guides and evaluation kits documentation (EVM datasheets, application notes)

Technical specifications

• Type: IC, single‑chip mmWave sensor
• Frequency range: 60–64 GHz (4 GHz bandwidth)
• Receivers: 4
• Transmitters: 3
• ADC sampling rate: 25,000 ksps
• TX power: 12 dBm
• RX noise figure: ~12 dB
• Arm CPU: Arm Cortex‑R4F @ 200 MHz
• DSP: C674x 1 core @ 600 MHz (IWR6843)
• Hardware accelerators: FFT, filtering, CFAR, radar accelerator
• Edge AI: yes
• Interfaces: CAN‑FD, I2C, LVDS (2‑lane), QSPI, SPI, UART, GPIO
• RAM: 1792 kByte
• Operating temperature: −40 °C to 105 °C
• Package: FCCSP (ABL), 161 pins, 10.4 × 10.4 mm