Silicon Labs Introduces Multi-Protocol Wireless Gecko SoC to Simplify IoT Connectivity

China, Beijing - March 1, 2016 - Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB) today introduced a multi-protocol system-on-a-chip (SoC) Wireless Gecko product line that provides flexible connectivity for Internet of Things (IoT) devices And price/performance options. Silicon Labs' new Wireless Gecko SoC integrates the powerful ARM® Cortex®-M4 core, energy-efficient Gecko technology, 2.4GHz radio with up to 19.5dBm output power, and advanced hardware encryption. Wireless Gecko SoC offers the best Thread and ZigBee® protocol stack for mesh networks, intuitive radio interface software for proprietary protocols, Bluetooth® Smart for point-to-point connectivity, and simplified wireless development, configuration, Debug and low-power design of the Simplicity StudioTM tool to accelerate wireless design.

Wireless Gecko products include three series of multi-protocol SoCs optimized for different IoT usage scenarios and the most popular wireless protocols in the real world:

· Blue Gecko Series—Bluetooth Smart connectivity with unparalleled output power and transmission distance.

· Mighty Gecko Series - the best ZigBee and Thread connection for mesh networks.

· Flex Gecko Series—Flexible, proprietary wireless protocol options for a variety of applications.

Daniel Cooley, vice president of marketing for IoT products at Silicon Labs, said: "The Wireless Gecko product line offers customers an indispensable multi-protocol IoT connection with one-stop choice, with flexible price/performance options, a state-of-the-art software stack and A unified development environment greatly simplifies wireless design. From Bluetooth Smart to Thread, ZigBee and proprietary protocol stacks, our Wireless Gecko SoC offers the industry's most comprehensive protocol portfolio to meet the needs of different customers."

Silicon Labs pin and software compatible Wireless Gecko products enable customers to leverage their development tools and software investments. Developers can choose the wireless protocol that currently meets the application's needs, and can easily migrate to other protocols within the portfolio with hardware and software reuse.

The Wireless Gecko SoC combines Silicon Labs' energy-efficient Gecko MCU technology with a multi-protocol 2.4GHz RF transceiver in a single-chip solution with scalable storage options (up to 256kB flash and 32kB RAM). Features of Gecko technology include a well-architected energy mode, ultra-fast wake-up/sleep transition, and Peripheral Reflection System (PRS) to automate low-power peripherals while the MCU core is sleeping. Based on the ARM Cortex-M4 processor with powerful floating point and DSP capabilities, the Gecko MCU consumes only 63μA/MHz in active mode. The Wireless Gecko SoC also integrates a software-programmable power amplifier (PA) and balun to reduce bill of materials (BOM) cost and design complexity, while also providing applications that require long-distance connectivity. Scalable output power range (from -30dBm to +19.5dBm).

John Ronco, vice president of product management at ARM, said: "Low-power connectivity is a key factor in the large-scale deployment of IoT nodes. Silicon Labs' new Wireless Gecko SoC product family offers a wide range of connectivity standards. Silicon Labs has a complete ARM-based coverage. For high-efficiency MCUs, we believe that adding wireless interoperability is key to enabling developers to further explore the potential of the IoT market."

To further increase energy efficiency and application code density, the Wireless Gecko SoC has a built-in hardware crypto accelerator that provides fast, energy-efficient, self-encrypting and decryption of Internet security protocols such as TLS/SSL and minimizes CPU intervention. The on-chip accelerator supports advanced algorithms such as AES with 128 or 256-bit keys, Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), SHA-1, and SHA-224/256. Compared to competing solutions with software-only encryption, hardware encryption enables developers to more efficiently meet evolving IoT security requirements.

Wireless Gecko product line features

EFR32BG Blue Gecko Collection

· Support for Bluetooth Smart (Bluetooth Low Energy or "BLE"), including the BLE 4.2 specification and proprietary wireless protocols.

· Provides the highest output power (up to +19.5dBm) for BLE designs, enabling BLE products with excellent transmission distance and long battery life regardless of the maximum output power.

· Support Silicon Labs' market-recognized Bluetooth Smart software stack and easy-to-use BGScript scripting language to help customers get their products to market quickly.

· Support customers to migrate from Silicon Labs pre-certified Blue Gecko BLE modules to SoC-based designs while maintaining their software and engineering investments.

EFR32MG Mighty Gecko Collection

· Provides best-in-class multi-protocol SoC solutions for low-power 802.15.4 mesh networks.

· Supports Silicon Labs' industry-leading ZigBee PRO software stack for ZigBee applications, supporting the Thread stack for Silicon Labs pre-authentication based on IP mesh networks.

· Provides a seamless migration path for customers who need to use ZigBee or Thread to support connectable devices.

· Developers have the flexibility to choose the best protocol for their IoT applications (ZigBee, Thread, Bluetooth Smart or proprietary).

EFR32FG Flex Gecko Collection

· Supports popular proprietary protocol options for a variety of applications, including M2M connectivity, building automation, security, and electronic shelf labels, enabling developers to freely optimize their designs without industry constraints and standards.

· Provides a flexible SoC architecture with built-in support for multiple differentiated physical layers, packet formats and modulation schemes.

· Reduce the complexity of proprietary wireless development by simplifying radio configuration with Silicon Labs' new, intuitive Radio Abstraction and Interface Layer (RAIL) software, enabling developers to migrate their Silicon Labs Wireless Gecko products and future wireless ICs Application code.

Simplify Wireless Gecko development

The Wireless Gecko SoC product family supports Silicon Labs' Simplicity Studio development platform, a unified MCU and RF design development environment. Simplicity Studio tools include AppBuilder, Desktop Network Analyzer, and Energy Profiler. AppBuilder allows developers to easily configure wireless applications while ensuring software reuse between Wireless Gecko SoC-based designs; Desktop Network Analyzer provides full view and debugging capabilities for wireless network activity by using SoC packet tracking ports; Energy Profiler enables developers to enable Minimize code power consumption and extend battery life.

About Silicon Labs

Silicon Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLAB) is a leading provider of silicon, software and system solutions for the Internet, Internet infrastructure, industrial automation, consumer electronics and automotive markets. We address the challenges of the electronics industry and bring significant advantages to customers in terms of performance, energy efficiency, connectivity and minimalist design. Silicon Labs has a world-class engineering team with superior software and mixed-signal design experience, providing designers with the tools and technology they need to quickly and easily turn their initial ideas into the final product.