New Energy-Friendly EFM8 MCU Family Delivers Unmatched Simplicity,
Peripheral Integration and Performance for Cost- and Space-Sensitive
Designs
NUREMBERG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Silicon
Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB), a leading provider of energy-friendly
microcontroller solutions for the Internet
of Things (IoT), today introduced the company's next-generation
8-bit MCU portfolio designed for today's ultra-low-power,
small-footprint IoT applications. Silicon Labs' new EFM8
MCU family includes three lines of highly integrated,
peripheral-rich MCUs optimized for exceptional price/performance value,
ultra-low-power capacitive touch control and streamlined USB
connectivity. The EFM8 MCUs bring industry-leading simplicity, power
efficiency, performance and cost-saving integration to every 8-bit
application that embedded developers can imagine including home and
building automation, wearables, consumer electronics, toys, motor
control and industrial IoT.
"Leading MCU vendors continue to advance the power efficiency and
integration features of 8-bit solutions to keep this MCU market thriving
for the foreseeable future," said Tom Hackenberg, principal MCU analyst
for IHS Technology. According to IHS, the 8-bit market will approach $7
billion (USD) in 2015 and grow to $7.8 billion in 2018 as it continues
to sustain more than a third of the annual MCU market revenues. This
steady growth is underpinned by market demand for sub-$0.50 MCU prices,
tiny footprints, ultra-low power, low software overhead and design
simplicity, all prerequisites for IoT devices. Silicon Labs designed the
new EFM8 family to deliver best-in-class features and functionality in
each of these application-critical areas.
The EFM8 MCU family meets IoT developer needs with an unparalleled
combination of features and capabilities including a high-speed
pipelined 8051 core, ultra-low power, precision analog and enhanced
communication peripherals, integrated oscillators, small-footprint
packages, and an advanced crossbar architecture that enables flexible
digital and analog multiplexing to simplify printed circuit board (PCB)
design and I/O pin routing.
The new EFM8 Bee family includes three MCU lines optimized for specific
developer needs and applications. (The Bee family name underscores the
scalable performance, energy efficiency and high productivity of the
EFM8 platform.)
EFM8 Busy Bee: EFM8BB Busy Bee MCUs provide an optimal balance of
no-compromise performance, power efficiency and value for cost-sensitive
applications. With core speeds scaling up to 50 MHz and 2-16 kB flash
sizes, the MCUs offer an array of high-performance peripherals including
a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The MCUs are ideal for motor
control applications (toys, fans and tools), power supplies, battery
chargers, sensor controllers, consumer electronics and communication
bridges.
EFM8 Sleepy Bee: EFM8SB Sleepy Bee MCUs are Silicon Labs' most
energy-friendly 8-bit devices offering industry-leading sleep mode power
(50 nA with full memory retention and brown-out detection) and
ultra-fast 2 µs wake-up time. Core speeds scale up to 25 MHz, and flash
sizes range from 2-64 kB. The MCUs integrate a best-in-class capacitive
sense controller offering an ultra-low-power < 1 µA wake-on-touch
capability, eliminating the need for on/off switches in some products.
These power-saving MCUs are ideal for touch-based, battery-powered IoT
and industrial applications that require long battery lifetimes and
energy-efficient human interfaces.
EFM8 Universal Bee: EFM8UB Universal Bee MCUs are the industry's
foremost 8-bit USB connectivity solution, with speeds of up to 48 MHz
and 8-64 kB flash sizes. The MCUs combine a high-precision internal
oscillator, clock recovery circuit and an integrated full-speed USB
transceiver. Low-energy USB MCU versions can reduce USB power
consumption by up to 90 percent. An on-chip battery charger detection
module reduces bill-of-materials (BOM) count and system cost. The MCUs'
exceptional peripheral integration and small package sizes dramatically
reduce the cost and complexity of adding USB connectivity to personal
medical devices, wearables, communication bridges, toys, remote controls
and thermostats.
"The EFM8 family embodies the future of Silicon Labs' 8-bit MCU
solutions for the IoT, delivering an unmatched combination of value,
performance, energy efficiency, peripheral integration and flexibility,"
said Daniel Cooley, vice president and general manager of Silicon Labs'
MCU and wireless products. "Our MCU customers embrace our proven,
pipelined 8051 core, exceptional mixed-signal integration and superior
peripheral mix, enabling them to work wonders in 8-bit applications with
very tight power and cost budgets and ultra-small footprints. Developers
also appreciate how quickly and easily they can get their 8-bit designs
up and running with our Simplicity Studio development environment."
Simplifying 8-bit Design
Silicon Labs fully supports the EFM8 MCU family with comprehensive
software and hardware toolkits offering an optimal, developer-friendly
out-of-the-box experience. Silicon Lab's enhanced Simplicity
Studio development platform provides a unified 8/32-bit and wireless
development environment that simplifies and accelerates 8-bit design
with one-click access to Eclipse debuggers and plug-ins, Keil PK51 build
tools, third-party tools support, a capacitive sense profiler, demos,
software examples, data sheets, application notes, technical support and
community forums. EFM8 customers can download Simplicity Studio at no
charge at www.silabs.com/simplicity-studio.
Pricing and Availability
Samples and production quantities of Silicon Labs' EFM8 MCUs are
available now in a variety of small-footprint QFN, QSOP, SOIC and QFP
packages. Starting prices for EFM8 MCUs in 10,000-unit quantities range
from $0.21 for EFM8BB MCUs to $0.32 for EFM8SB MCUs to $0.43 for EFM8UB
MCUs (all prices in USD). EFM8BB Busy Bee, EFM8SB Sleepy Bee and EFM8UB
Universal Bee starter kits are priced at $29 each (USD MSRP). For more
information about the new EFM8 family and to order MCU product samples
and development kits, please visit www.silabs.com/EFM8.
Silicon Labs
Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB) is a leading provider of silicon, software
and system solutions for the Internet of Things, Internet
infrastructure, industrial automation, consumer and automotive markets.
We solve the electronics industry's toughest problems, providing
customers with significant advantages in performance, energy savings,
connectivity and design simplicity. Backed by our world-class
engineering teams with unsurpassed software and mixed-signal design
expertise, Silicon Labs empowers developers with the tools and
technologies they need to advance quickly and easily from initial idea
to final product. www.silabs.com
Cautionary Language
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on
Silicon Labs' current expectations. These forward-looking statements
involve risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could
cause actual results to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements. For a discussion of factors that could
impact Silicon Labs' financial results and cause actual results to
differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, please
refer to Silicon Labs' filings with the SEC. Silicon Labs disclaims any
intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
Note to editors: Simplicity Studio, Silicon Labs, Silicon Laboratories,
the "S" symbol, the Silicon Laboratories logo and the Silicon Labs logo
are trademarks of Silicon Laboratories Inc. All other product names
noted herein may be trademarks of their respective holders.
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Silicon Labs
Dale Weisman, +1-512-532-5871
dale.weisman@silabs.com
Source: Silicon Labs
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