Silicon Labs has unveiled two IC families in a small form factor designed for next generation internet of things (IoT) devices.
The xG27 family of Bluetooth systems on chip (SoCs) and the BB50 microcontroller unit (MCU) are about the width of a #2 pencil lead at 2 mm2 to about 5 mm2 resulting in smaller devices for connected medical devices, wearables, asset monitoring tags and smart sensors as well as consumer electronics such as toothbrushes and toys.
The xG27 Bluetooth SoCs is built using the Arm Cortex M33 processor and supports Zigbee and other proprietary protocols. The semiconductor’s other features include:
- Wafer-level chip scale packaging as small as 2.3 mm x 2.6 mm.
- Integrated DC-DC boost allowing devices to operate on batteries as low as 0.8 V.
- Integrated Coulomb Counter for battery level monitoring to avoid battery depletion.
- Silicon Labs’ Secure Vault with virtual security engine (VSE) for secure boot and debug against attacks.
- Shelf mode to reduce energy for use less than 20 nano amperes.
New smart medical wearable
Silicon Labs said the xG27 family of Bluetooth SoCs is designed for medical devices such as patches, continuous glucose monitors and wearable electrocardiograms as well as in asset tags in retail and agriculture markets.
The company said that Lura Health has already been using the Bluetooth SoC for a new in-development smart wearable. Unlike other common wearables or external skin, the Lura Health monitor goes in a person’s mouth and is so small it can be glued to a tooth. The device allows dentists and other medical personnel to collect important data from saliva, which is used to test more than 1,000 health conditions.
