Wireless SoCs take aim at IoT applications

1st June 2016

Mick Elliott

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Datasheet

The Wireless Gecko SoCs from Silicon Labs are now in stock at Mouser Electronics. This new Wireless Gecko portfolio of ARM Cortex-M4 core-based SoCs is aimed toward wireless Internet of Things (IoT) designs and integrates a 2.4GHz radio and advanced hardware cryptography to support more secure applications. The devices are divided into three families that target specific protocols.

The Blue Gecko supports Bluetooth low energy connectivity. The Mighty Gecko enables ZigBee and Thread connectivity for mesh networks. The Flex Gecko provides popular proprietary wireless protocol options. All three product families provide up to 19.5dBm output power through an integrated power amplifier (PA) and are pin-to-pin and software compatible.

The SoCs are mulltiprotocol radio devices that support a robust set of peripherals, including a hardware crypto accelerator, a 12-bit analogue-to-digital converter (ADC), a current digital-to-analog-converter (DAC), a 12-channel Peripheral Reflex System, up to 31 general-purpose inputs and outputs (GPIO), and various communication interfaces.

In addition, the portfolio provides up to 256 kBytes of flash memory and 32 kBytes of RAM, and handles multiple security options, including AES with 128- or 256-bit keys, elliptical curve cryptography (ECC), SHA-1, and SHA-224/256.

The EFR32BG Blue Gecko family specifically targets Bluetooth low energy applications, including the Bluetooth 4.2 specification as well as proprietary wireless protocols. The devices are designed to support the emerging Bluetooth mesh network, and Silicon Labs offers a Bluetooth low energy software stack for these SoCs, as well as the BGScript scripting language to enable designers to accelerate their time to market.

The EFRMG Mighty Gecko family targets low power 802.15.4 mesh networks based on Thread and ZigBee protocols. These devices include a pre-certified Thread stack for IP-based mesh networks and a ZigBee Pro stack, making these SoCs one of the best-in-class multiprotocol solutions for mesh networking applications.

For diverse applications including building automation, security, and electronic shelf labels, the EFR32FG Flex Gecko supports popular proprietary protocol options. This family of SoCs gives developers the ultimate design flexibility to select the optimal proprietary protocol they require for their IoT applications without constraints from industry alliances and standards.

The entire Wireless Gecko portfolio is supported by Silicon Labs’ Simplicity Studio development platform including AppBuilder to configure wireless applications, Network Analyzer for debugging, and Energy Profiler for profiling energy consumption. Three development starter kits are also available from Mouser Electronics.