The RF Core is a highly flexible and future proof radio module which contains an Arm Cortex-M0 processor that interfaces the analog RF and base-band circuitry, handles data to and from the system CPU side, and assembles the information bits in a given packet structure. The RF core offers a high level, command-based API to the main CPU that configurations and data are passed through. The Arm Cortex-M0 processor is not programmable by customers and is interfaced through the TI-provided RF driver that is included with the SimpleLink Software Development Kit (SDK).

The RF core can autonomously handle the time-critical aspects of the radio protocols, thus offloading the main CPU, which reduces power and leaves more resources for the user application. Several signals are also available to control external circuitry such as RF switches or range extenders autonomously.

Dual-band and multiprotocol solutions are enabled through time-sliced access of the radio, handled transparently for the application through the TI-provided RF driver and dual-mode manager.

A Packet Traffic Arbitrator (PTA) scheme is available for the managed coexistence of BLE and a co-located 2.4-GHz radio. This is based on 802.15.2 recommendations and common industry standards. The 3-wire coexistence interface has multiple modes of operation, encompassing different use cases and number of lines used for signaling. The radio acting as a slave is able to request access to the 2.4-GHz ISM band, and the master to grant it. Information about the request priority and TX or RX operation can also be conveyed.

The various physical layer radio formats are partly built as a software defined radio where the radio behavior is either defined by radio ROM contents or by non-ROM radio formats delivered in form of firmware patches with the SimpleLink SDKs. This allows the radio platform to be updated for support of future versions of standards even with over-the-air (OTA) updates while still using the same silicon.