At embedded world 2023, Silicon Labs showed off its hardware for Matter-based smart-home applications, like the SiWx917 SoC for ultra-low-power IoT wireless devices using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Matter, and IP networking for secure cloud connectivity. In this video, Alix Paultre of Electronic Design talks to Ross Sabolcik of Silicon Labs about Matter and the state of the wireless marketplace.
SiWx917 SoC includes an ultra-low-power Wi-Fi 6 plus Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) 5.1 wireless CPU subsystem, and an integrated microcontroller (MCU) application subsystem, security, peripherals, and power-management subsystem all in a single 7- × 7-mm QFN package. The wireless subsystem consists of a multi-threaded processor (ThreadArch), baseband digital signal processing, analog front end, 2.4-GHz RF transceiver and integrated power amplifier. The application subsystem consists of an Arm Cortex-M4 processor with FPU, embedded SRAM, flash, AI/ML accelerator, and enhanced PSA-L2 certifiable security engine.
The integrated MCU is dedicated for peripheral and application-related processing, while the ThreadArch runs the wireless and networking stacks on independent threads. This creates a fully integrated single-chip solution that's ready for a wide range of embedded wireless IoT applications.
The EFR32BG27 family of wireless SoCs opens up new possibilities by offering an ultra-small WLCSP package (2.3 × 2.6 mm) capable of running on button-cell batteries. Now device makers can address applications with extremely small form-factor requirements without sacrificing performance and security.
The BG27 Bluetooth SoC features an integrated dc-dc boost that allows for operation down to 0.8 V, enabling support for single-cell alkaline and 1.5-V button-cell batteries that are typically used in medical applications for battery-operated patches and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices. In addition, the wakeup pin on the BG27 makes it possible for products in a warehouse or transit to remain off for months, consuming less than 20 nA, ensuring the battery remains fully charged for use. The integrated coulomb counter enables accurate battery-level monitoring to avoid unexpected battery depletion for critical applications.