New Precision32™ Family Redefines Versatility, Integration, Power
Efficiency and Ease of Use for a Broad Range of Embedded Designs
NUREMBERG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Bringing unprecedented design flexibility to the 32-bit market, Silicon
Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: SLAB), a leader in high-performance,
analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs, today introduced the Precision32™
microcontroller (MCU) family. Based on the ARM® Cortex™-M3 processor,
the new Precision32 family includes 32 SiM3U1xx and SiM3C1xx MCU
products with footprint-compatible USB and non-USB options. Offering a
highly integrated, flexible architecture, a rich peripheral set,
ultra-low power and Eclipse-based development tools that are
downloadable at no charge, the Precision32 family is suitable for a wide
range of applications including portable medical devices, point-of-sale
peripherals, motor control, industrial monitoring, barcode scanners,
optical touchscreen interfaces, sensor controllers and home automation
systems.
To help developers reduce system cost, design complexity and component
count, the Precision32 family offers an exceptionally high level of
peripheral integration that can enable a bill of materials (BOM) savings
of up to $1.34 (USD). The following on-chip peripherals greatly reduce
component count and system cost:
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Integrated precision oscillators with an advanced phase-locked loop
(PLL) eliminate the need for a costly 8 MHz crystal by providing the
clocking accuracy necessary for crystal-less USB operation while
running the core independently at any frequency from 1 to 80 MHz.
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An internal 5 V voltage regulator enables the MCU to be powered
directly from USB or a 5 V source without the need for an external
regulator.
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Six high-drive I/Os (up to 300 mA each) can directly drive high-power
LEDs, small motors, buzzers and power MOSFETs, as well as serve as a
boost converter controller.
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Up to 16 capacitive touch channels eliminate the need for separate
touch sensor ICs in applications requiring buttons, sliders or wheels.
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The Precision32 family offers a complete USB 2.0 PHY and analog
front-end interfacing directly to the USB connector, while most other
MCUs require an external USB pull-up resistor and termination circuit.
With design schedules compressing to meet aggressive time-to-market
goals, today's embedded developers tackle complex and often rapidly
changing design requirements while meeting stringent cost and power
budgets on tight deadlines. Many current 32-bit MCU products lack
sufficient architectural flexibility, especially for pinout and
peripheral placement, which makes the design job harder than it has to
be. The Precision32 family offers developers a more flexible alternative
by providing a fully customizable I/O system and pinout arrangement.
Using Silicon Labs' patented dual-crossbar technology and a
drag-and-drop GUI, developers can easily choose their analog and digital
peripherals and pin locations for these peripherals. Competing MCUs
often have preset peripheral locations and pinouts, leading to pin
conflicts that force developers to alter their designs or move to
larger, costlier packages. Silicon Labs' crossbar design and GUI-based
AppBuilder software enable developers to optimize their peripheral mix
and pinout placement and locate peripherals near connecting components,
thus eliminating pin conflicts, simplifying PCB routing, minimizing PCB
layers and ultimately reducing system cost.
The Precision32 family's analog peripherals are specified and tested to
operate over temperature and voltage (down to 1.8 V). In fact, these
high-performance analog peripherals are so reliable they can replace
standalone analog components. Moreover, the Precision32 analog
peripherals are highly configurable, enabling developers to simplify
their designs and optimize performance for a wide variety of embedded
applications.
Silicon Labs engineered the Precision32 family to achieve
industry-leading power efficiency in both active and sleep modes. The
MCUs leverage Silicon Labs' state-of-the-art, patented low-power design
technologies to achieve power reductions within every block of the MCU
design, resulting in up to 33 percent lower active current (22 mA at 80
MHz or 275 µA/MHz) and 100 times lower sleep current (0.35 µA with RTC
enabled and 4 kB of RAM retention) than competing 32-bit solutions.
Numerous power modes and clocking options enable developers to optimize
their embedded designs for the lowest power at a given performance level.
"Silicon Labs has applied its characteristic analog/mixed-signal
expertise to its new 32-bit MCUs, giving them an array of precision
analog peripherals and a flexible I/O system," said Linley Gwennap,
principal analyst of the Linley Group. "Although some competitors offer
some of these features, none can match the entire mixed-signal MCU
package. Designers used to working with the big MCU suppliers should
take a look at this new player in the 32-bit market."
Faster, Easier Development Environment
To streamline the development of embedded applications based on the
Precision32 family, Silicon Labs offers a rich set of hardware and
software tools including a unified development platform (UDP) featuring
interchangeable MCU and radio components and other subsystems designed
to match each developer's application needs. The UDP includes a single
motherboard, modular plug-in boards, and ample room for prototyping,
expansion and system integration. It also supports MCU code and firmware
development and an array of network and protocol stacks and USB drivers.
To accelerate sub-GHz RF design, Silicon Labs offers RF test cards for
the UDP that support the company's new Si446x
EZRadioPRO® transceivers.
Silicon Labs' complimentary Eclipse-based integrated development
environment (IDE) includes a compiler, debugger and an online dashboard
for application-critical information such as a software library with
example code, data sheets, schematics, PCB footprints, app notes, active
version tracking and automatic updates. A centerpiece of the IDE is
Silicon Labs' GUI-based AppBuilder software, which enables developers to
quickly and graphically select their peripheral mix and properties, set
up clocking modes, customize pinouts and generate source code — all
without having to write a line of code or read a data sheet.
The Precision32 family also enables developers to take advantage of the
huge ecosystem of software and development tools optimized for the ARM
architecture including Keil and IAR tool chains. To accelerate
development and code porting from competitive MCU platforms, Silicon
Labs offers Cortex Microcontroller Software Interface Standard (CMSIS)
compliant code. ARM software interfaces for common peripherals enable
peripheral driver re-use and simple porting from other ARM-based MCUs.
"We've engineered the Precision32 family to give embedded developers a
better 32-bit alternative with superior design flexibility, peripheral
integration, analog performance and ultra-low power — all at very
competitive prices," said Mike Salas, general manager of Silicon Labs'
MCU products. "We also support developers with a highly integrated and
comprehensive hardware and software ecosystem with free software tools,
enabling rapid prototyping and development on the embedded industry's
most flexible, easiest-to-use 32-bit MCU architecture."
Pricing and Availability
Production quantities of Silicon Labs' Precision32 MCUs are available
now with flash sizes scaling from 32 to 256 kB and in five leaded and
leadless package types, ranging from a 6 mm x 6 mm QFN-40 for
space-sensitive applications up to an LGA-92 for maximum I/O
configurations. Product pricing in 10,000-unit quantities begins at
$2.20 for SiM3C1xx non-USB MCUs and $2.68 for SiM3U1xx USB MCUs (prices
in USD). Future products in the Precison32 family will include
additional 32-bit MCU products that take power conservation and
precision analog performance to new levels.
Silicon Labs' UDP hardware tools include economical SiM3U1xx-B-DK and
SiM3C1xx-B-DK development kits available for $99 (USD MSRP). The
SiM3U1xx-B-EDK and SiM3C1xx-B-EDK enhanced development kits featuring
I/O expander cards and additional demos to enhance the development
experience are priced at $349 and $299, respectively (USD MSRP). Silicon
Labs' customers can download the Precision32 IDE software tools from the
company's web site at no additional charge. For additional Precision32
product information, samples and development tools, please visit www.silabs.com/pr/32bit-mcu.
Silicon Laboratories Inc.
Silicon Laboratories is an industry leader in the innovation of
high-performance, analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs. Developed by a
world-class engineering team with unsurpassed expertise in mixed-signal
design, Silicon Labs' diverse portfolio of patented semiconductor
solutions offers customers significant advantages in performance, size
and power consumption. For more information about Silicon Labs, please
visit www.silabs.com.
Cautionary Language
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on
Silicon Laboratories' 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 Laboratories' financial results and cause actual results
to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements,
please refer to Silicon Laboratories' filings with the SEC. Silicon
Laboratories 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: Precision32, Silicon Laboratories, Silicon Labs, 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 Laboratories Inc.
Dale Weisman, +1-512-532-5871
dale.weisman@silabs.com
Source: Silicon Laboratories Inc.
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