Silicon Labs expands its Wi-Fi portfolio of modules and transceivers with devices designed for the specific needs of IoT applications. According to the company, its Wireless Gecko portfolio cuts Wi-Fi power consumption in half compared to competitive offerings.
The combination of industry-leading transmit current (TX: 138 mA), receive current (RX: 48 mA) and sleep current (<40 µA) enables significant power-saving advantages for all IoT use cases. High throughput and fewer retransmissions help minimize power consumption by using less channel capacity. The Wi-Fi portfolio offers an array of built-in security features to protect IoT products from online and physical hacking, including secure boot with anti-rollback, secure link and efficient implementations of industry-standard encryption such as WPA3.
Silicon Labs’ Wi-Fi portfolio includes three device types:
- The WGM160P module – the portfolio’s latest addition – expands design possibilities and offers an easier way to create cloud-connected IoT products by combining an onboard Gecko microcontroller, host support, integrated antenna, precertification, large memory (2 MB flash and 512K RAM), and extensive peripheral capabilities including Ethernet and capacitive touch.
- The WFM200 module is the smallest pre-certified Wi-Fi system-in-package (SiP) device with an integrated antenna, making it a perfect fit for space-constrained designs. The module also opens new industrial and outdoor applications with +105°C temperature support.
- The WF200 transceiver IC provides a cost-effective way to add Wi-Fi to existing high-volume designs, works well with a variety of hosts (ranging from 8-bit to Linux-class processors) and supports antenna diversity.
Samples and production quantities of the WF200 transceiver in a 4 mm x 4 mm QFN32 package are available now. Samples of the WFM200 in a 6.5 mm x 6.5 mm SiP module are available now, and production quantities are planned for Q2 2019. Samples of the WGM160P in a PCB module are available now, and production quantities are planned for late February. For additional information, peruse the WF200, WFM200, and WGM160P pages.