Silicon Labs announced this week a new line of secure, ultra-low-power Zigbee system-on-chip (SoC) devices designed for eco-friendly IoT products deployed in mesh networks. The EFR32MG22 (MG22) family expands Silicon Labs’ Zigbee portfolio by delivering the smallest, lowest power SoCs optimized for Zigbee Green Power applications.
Based on Silicon Labs’ Wireless Gecko Series 2 platform, the MG22 SoCs are an ideal choice for Zigbee devices powered by coin cell batteries or energy-harvesting sources. Target applications include smart home sensors, lighting controls, and building and industrial automation.
Energy-friendly Zigbee Green Power technology can help address environmental concerns by reducing residential, commercial and industrial energy footprints, one IoT device at a time.
Using the same 802.15.4 PHY and MAC of the already energy-efficient Zigbee 3.0 protocol, Zigbee Green Power further reduces power consumption by decreasing the amount of data required for wireless transmission.
From its inception, Zigbee Green Power was designed to be a highly efficient protocol enabling IoT devices, whether powered by batteries or by “battery-less” energy harvesting options. Silicon Labs optimized the new MG22 SoCs to provide a best-in-class connectivity solution for these challenging, power-sensitive wireless applications.
The MG22 SoCs incorporate a high-performance, low-power 76.8 MHz Arm Cortex-M33 core with TrustZone. The SoCs’ combination of ultra-low transmit and receive power (8.2 mA TX at +6 dBm, 3.9 mA RX), 1.4 µA deep-sleep mode power and low-power peripherals provides energy efficiency.
“As the leading Zigbee provider, Silicon Labs is uniquely positioned to lead the way in Zigbee Green Power mesh networking solutions,” said Matt Johnson, senior vice president and general manager of IoT products at Silicon Labs. “Our new MG22 SoC solution offers an industry-leading combination of energy efficiency, security capabilities, wireless performance, and software tools and stacks to meet the growing market demand for eco-friendly, ultra-low-power IoT products.”
The EFR32MG22 SoCs are planned to start shipping next month in a choice of 5 mm x 5 mm QFN40, 4 mm x 4 mm QFN32 and slender 0.3 mm x 4 mm x 4 mm TQFN32 packages. The EFR32MG22 SoC starter kit is planned to be available in March, with end device kit pricing starting at $99.00 (USD MSRP).
Developers can download Simplicity Studio, including network analyzer and energy profiler tools, the Zigbee 3.0 stack, demos and mobile apps, at no charge.
