October 5, 2012 – Silicon Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: SLAB, Country Manager Jong-Chan Lee), a global leader in high-performance analog-intensive mixed-signal ICs, today introduced a family of microcontrollers (MCUs) based on the industry's lowest-power ARM® Cortex™-M3 processors, along with the first-in-class power-aware development tools. Through mixed-signal innovation, the Precision32 SiM3L1xx MCUs and development environment enable developers to reduce power consumption to 175 µA/MHz in active mode and below 250 nA in standby mode while the Real-Time Clock (RTC) is operating at a 3.6V power supply. These ultra-low-power mixed-signal MCUs are ideal for smart metering, utility monitoring, home automation, wireless security, asset tracking, personal medical devices, and other power-sensitive applications powering the Internet of Things (IoT).

Ultra-low power MCUs are a core component of IP-enabled devices connected to the IoT. Experts predict that by 2020, the IoT will comprise 500 billion intelligent devices capable of automatic sensing, monitoring, processing, controlling, and communicating over wireless networks. Since numerous AI-powered end nodes will be battery-powered or harvested from energy sources, these end nodes require highly energy-efficient MCUs, such as SiM3L1xx devices, that can optimize system-level power consumption.

The SiM3L1xx family is the most efficient 32-bit MCU product in the industry, designed to achieve groundbreaking ultra-low power operation based on an ARM Cortex-M3 processor running up to 50 MHz. The newly introduced Precision32 mixed-signal MCU was developed to reduce power consumption compared to many 8-bit MCUs through the application of power-saving peripherals and an innovative architecture, enabling developers to use high-performance 32-bit cores in their low-power embedded designs without shortening battery life.

Active mode power savings are achieved through a number of key innovations. For example, dynamic voltage scaling regulates the voltage of internal devices according to changes in conditions. High-efficiency, highly integrated DC-DC buck converters reduce active mode power by up to 40% compared to competitor 32-bit MCUs. Dedicated peripherals, such as the data transmission manager, AES encryption block, and real-time encoder, accelerate RF protocol processing for wireless applications while significantly lowering system power without CPU intervention.

Advanced Direct Memory Access (DMA) can reduce protocol-related power consumption by up to 90% and enables a wake-up time of 4 microseconds by maintaining RAM and register states. This MCU family also incorporates a patented LCD controller featuring a charge redistribution architecture that can reduce display power consumption by nearly 40% without impacting performance.

The SiM3L1xx MCU significantly reduces sleep mode power consumption by optimizing on-chip peripherals (Charge Pump, RTC, sensor interface, sleep mode UART, comparator, and LCD controller) for minimum power consumption. The Charge Pump reduces analog sleep current by up to 35% and digital sleep current by up to 50% by generating a power-efficient input voltage for the device circuitry in sleep mode. The SiM3L1xx MCU supports multiple alarm RTCs for clocking and interrupts, a sleep mode UART for low-power device communication, and an integrated sensor interface that provides sensor stimulation and measurements while the MCU is in sleep mode. The automatic sensor interface continues to count even in sleep mode and can activate the MCU after the count is exceeded or when the count reaches a programmable limit.

The SiM3L1xx and its development support tools were designed with the overall system power budget in mind. To minimize system-level power, the SiM3L1xx MCUs feature advanced peripherals that reduce power consumption by other ICs within the system, as well as patented voltage conversion technology. For example, a high-efficiency DC-DC converter lowers the overall system operating current. Overall power consumption can be minimized by configuring the output voltage to the lowest setting allowed by other IC components connected to the MCU. This technology is particularly useful in battery-powered applications, such as smart meters, and can be an innovative technology capable of extending battery life by up to 20 years.

PowerAware Precision32 Development Tool
Silicon Labs' free Eclipse-based IDE and app builder software includes an industry-first feature that predicts power consumption and provides a setup guide to achieve the lowest system power.

• The Power Estimator allows you to graphically view the total provided current and the additional current of active peripherals. Individual peripheral current values clearly show where current is being consumed, and the pie chart displays the power usage of each peripheral as a percentage of the total current. The Power Estimator automatically updates the design based on configuration changes, enabling designers to optimize for the lowest power consumption in each mode.

• Power Tips provides software configuration guides to help developers optimize current consumption. This feature automatically appears within the App Builder when the cursor is placed over a configuration setting. Being able to view power optimization tips while configuring the MCU can significantly save development time.

App builder software also facilitates developers' work by enabling efficient peripheral selection and pin-out customization and initialization for Precision32 MCUs.

"Low-power design is particularly challenging because developers must consider numerous different application-specific optimizations to meet their desired low-power targets," said Mike Salas, Vice President and General Manager of the Microcontroller Family at Silicon Labs. "The newly announced Precision32 mixed-signal MCU family is unique in the industry because it provides developers with the flexibility to optimize their designs for the lowest power at the system level by offering unprecedented advanced peripherals, an innovative architecture, and PowerAware design tools."

Richard York, Director of Embedded Processors at ARM, stated, “Technological momentum is being formed in an environment where a wide range of power-sensitive connected devices can be implemented to constitute the ‘Internet of Things.’ Silicon Labs is leading a significant industry trend by providing groundbreaking, energy-efficient microcontrollers based on the ARM Cortex-M3.” “We expect that advanced MCUs, such as Silicon Labs’ Precision32 SiM3L1xx MCU family, will make a significant contribution to the development of the Internet of Things market in this market,” he said.

Price and supply
Silicon Labs' SiM3L1xx MCUs are currently in mass production and supplied in 5.5 mm x 5.5 mm QFN TQFP packages equipped with 32 to 256 kB of flash memory. The SiM3L1xx MCU products are priced starting at US$2.55 per 10,000 units. Comprehensive integrated development kits are available for the SiM3L1XX-B-DK (LCD excluded) and SiM3L1XXLCD-B-DK LCD kits at US$99 each (Manufacturer's suggested retail price).