Silicon Laboratories introduced the new C8051F96x MCU and Si102x and Si103x wireless MCU families, based on patented low-power technology that enables 40 percent less system current draw and up to 65 percent longer battery life than competing MCU solutions. Silicon Labs has designed the new F96x 8-bit MCUs with ultra-low power and wireless connectivity requirements in mind. The Si102x/3x wireless MCUs combine the power-saving features of the F96x MCUs with the company’s EZRadioPRO sub-GHz transceiver into a single-chip solution that is ideal for battery-operated embedded systems requiring both energy efficiency and RF performance.
The F96x and Si102x/3x families’ on-chip dc-dc buck converter enables significantly higher efficiency in voltage conversion compared to a linear regulator, resulting in energy transfer efficiencies of up to 85 percent. The on-chip buck converter can supply up to 250 mW of power, providing energy not only for the MCU but also for other circuits in the system such as an RF transceiver. An on-chip Dedicated Packet Processing Engine with hardware acceleration blocks enables more than a fivefold increase in RF message processing speed and allows the CPU to remain idle during transactions, thereby reducing active time and the current load on the battery. The MCUs also include a low-power pulse counter that operates autonomously in sleep mode without CPU intervention. The on-chip pulse counter is especially useful in reducing power in utility metering applications that use pulse trains or switch closures while monitoring fluid flow. The MCUs achieve 400 nA sleep current with the RTC running and 70 nA sleep current (without the RTC) at 3 V. An ultra-low 10 nA sleep current mode is additionally available at minimum voltage. The MCUs also offer fast wakeup time from sleep mode at 2 microseconds.Silicon Labs’ F96x and Si102x/3x families are supported by a new Unified Development Platform featuring a single motherboard, modular boards, integrated LCD, and ample real estate for prototyping, expansion and system integration. The UDP supports MCU code and firmware development, RF design and optimization, and network and protocol stacks such as the wireless M-Bus stack for smart metering applications.
