Ultra-low power wireless MCU, why become the new darling of the Internet of Things?

The Internet of Things has become more and more popular in recent years, and many semiconductor manufacturers or terminal manufacturers are considering taking a place in this hot area of the Internet of Things. There are many new iot products on the market today, but how good is the wireless technology that allows these products to connect to the Internet?

Wireless MCU is the future trend of wireless connectivity in the Internet of Things

In the current favored iot market, many devices are very sensitive to power consumption and cost, and generally choose only one of many wireless technologies as their communication method. For the development of wireless technology in the Internet of Things, integrating some wireless communication functions in the MCU is the future development trend. Today's iot products often require battery power, so they must be low-power. Silicon Labs' Si106x/8x Wireless MCU is an ultra-low power, single-chip "MCU+ wireless transceiver" solution that fully meets the needs of iot applications for low power and RF connectivity. Very suitable for battery powered, small size smart home, RFID, network sensors, security and access control, asset tracking, remote control and other wireless connection products.

The compact package enables new options for space-constrained applications

The Si106x/8x is the industry's smallest Sub-GHz wireless MCU, integrating an energy-efficient 8051 MCU and Sub-GHz RF transceiver in a tiny 5mm x 6mm QFN package. This compact package makes the Si106x/8x wireless MCU ideal for wearables where wireless connectivity is required and space constraints such as fitness trackers or smartwatches have a very small available circuit board area and designers need to create design-differentiated wearable products within the confined space. In such cases, the Si106x/8x's small size package helps reduce system cost, design complexity, board size and component count, making it the best choice for many space-constrained applications.

Ultra-low power consumption has become a necessary artifact for power supply products

The Si106x/8x is Silicon Labs' innovative energy-efficient wireless MCU with the lowest overall power consumption in its class and industry-leading RF performance metrics. Both wireless MCU families have ultra-low power consumption even when the wireless component is in operation, with 18mA for +10dBm output power and 10.7mA for receive mode. Low Power mode Significantly reduces power consumption when the wireless component is idle or off: 30nA in power off mode, 50nA in standby mode, and 600nA in sleep mode. The on-chip integrated DC-DC booster circuit allows the use of single battery power supply, voltage can be as low as 0.9V, Si106x/8x has ultra-low power consumption also greatly extends the battery life, is an essential tool for engineers in the design of battery powered wireless products.

Based on EZRadio transceiver, the best solution for embedded wireless design

The Si106x/8x wireless MCU based on the EZRadio transceiver provides a cost-effective solution for mainstream embedded wireless design. On the other hand, applications with higher interconnect requirements will benefit from the Si106x /8x's built-in high-performance EZRadioPRO wireless transceiver, which provides higher sensitivity (-126 DBM) and greater output power (+20dBm) for remote applications. The EZRadioPRO transceiver is designed to meet the industry's most stringent wireless standards, including FCC, ETSI, and ARIB, providing a mainstream frequency range of up to 1050MHz, as well as supporting data transfer rates from 100bps to 1Mbps.

In addition, the Si106x/8x can support the 142MHz-1050MHz global band, and the wireless part integrates an enhanced packet processing engine to achieve a 146dB link budget, which can maximize the wireless connection distance of users. The two wireless MCUS minimize TX, RX operating mode and sleep mode currents with fast wake times. The Si106x is fully pin-compatible with the Si108x, supports up to 64K of program storage space, and offers powerful analog and digital peripherals, an ADC, two comparators, timers, and multichannel GPIO. The Si106x/8x supports the 802.15.4g smart meter standard and is compatible with regulatory standards such as FCC, ETSI and ARIB.

Conclusion

Overall, the Si106x/8x Wireless MCUS give developers the flexibility to create unique applications and enhance the user experience beyond wireless connectivity, and Silicon Labs' assisted wireless development tools bring unprecedented simplicity and ease of use to wireless design. By combining ultra-high energy efficiency, industry-leading RF performance and link budget, and the smallest package size in its class, the Si106x/8x wireless MCU family provides the ideal Sub-GHz connectivity solution for space-constrained and power-sensitive wireless applications.