SoCs deliver enhanced cryptography acceleration

10th July 2017

Mick Elliott

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Datasheet

The EFR32BG12 and EFR32BG13 Blue Gecko systems-on-chips (SoCs) from Silicon Labs are now being shipped by distributor Mouser Electronics. Part of the Wireless Gecko portfolio, these Bluetooth low energy SoCs deliver RF performance, enhanced cryptography acceleration, larger memory options, on-chip capacitive touch control, and additional low-power peripherals and sensor interfaces.

The SoCs integrate a high-performance 32-bit 40MHz ARM Cortex-M4 core with a 2.4GHz and sub-1GHz radio transceiver. They offer more memory than previous generations of Blue Gecko devices, with EFR32BG12 devices offering 1Mbyte of flash memory and 256kbytes of RAM, while the EFR32BG13 devices offer 512kbytes of flash memory and 64kbytes of RAM.

This significant memory expansion makes it easier to develop complex, feature-rich Internet of Things (IoT) applications supporting multiple protocol stacks, real-time operating systems such as Micrium OS, backup images for devices and over-the-air (OTA) updates for field upgrades to extend the life of IoT products.

The devices feature a 2 Mbps Bluetooth PHY, providing ample throughput for applications running a Bluetooth 5-compliant stack.

The Bluetooth 5 standard enables four times the range, twice the speed, and 800 percent greater broadcasting capacity plus improved co-existence with other wireless IoT protocols.

The devices also support a robust set of peripherals, including a hardware crypto accelerator, 12-bit analogue-to-digital converter (ADC), digital-to-analogue-converter (DAC), a 12-channel Peripheral Reflex System, and various communication interfaces. In addition, the devices handle multiple security options, including AES with 128- or 256-bit keys, elliptical curve cryptography (ECC), SHA-1, and SHA-224/256.

An on-chip oscillator eliminates the need for an external 32KHz crystal typically required for Bluetooth low energy devices.

This integrated precision low-frequency resistor-capacitor oscillator (PLFRCO) enables developers to reduce BOM costs when used in high-volume designs requiring a 32KHz crystal to meet Bluetooth low energy sleep clock accuracy specifications.

The PLFRCO is guarantees robust, reliable Bluetooth low energy connections across the devices’ entire operating temperature range.

The EFR32BG12 and EFR32BG13 Blue Gecko SoCs are ideal for enabling energy-friendly Bluetooth 5 networking for IoT devices, wellness products, home and building automation, and smart metering.