Silicon Labs SG23 and SG28 SoCs are optimized for Amazon Sidewalk

Silicon Labs has launched two new Cortex-M33 SoCs optimized for Amazon Sidewalk with the EFR32SG23 (SG23) Sub-GHz wireless SoC and the EFR32SG28 (SG28) dual-band wireless SoC with Sub-GHz and Bluetooth LE.

Both low-power SoCs are designed for “Internet of Things” applications in smart homes, security, lighting, building automation, and metering and come with a Matrix Vector Processor to enable AI/ML implementation for Smart End Nodes.

Silicon Labs SG28 (EFR32SG28) specifications:

MCU core – Arm Cortex-M33 @ 78 MHz with DSP instructions and FPU
On-chip memory – Up to 256 kB RAM data memory
On-chip storage – Up to 1024 kB flash program memory
AI accelerator – Matrix Vector Processor for AI/ML acceleration
Wireless
- Sub-GHz radio
  - TX power up to +20 dBm
  - Rx sensitivity – -98.6 dBm sensitivity @ 50 kbps 915 MHz 2GFSK
- 2.4 GHz BLE radio – TX power up to +10 dBm
- Protocol – Amazon Sidewalk
- Energy consumption
  - 4.2 mA RX current at 915 MHz (50 kbps 2QPSK)
  - 89 mA TX current @ 20 dBm output power at 915 MHz
  - 12.2 mA TX current @ 0 dBm output power, 2.4 GHz
  - 22.5 mA TX current @ 10 dBm output power, 2.4 GHz
Peripherals
- Integrated low-energy LCD controller supporting up to 192 segments
- Keypad scanner supporting up to 6 x 8 matrix (KEYSCAN)
- 2× I2C interfaces with SMBus support
- 3x Enhanced Universal Synchronous/Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART.SPI)
- 1x Universal Synchronous/Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART/SPI/I2S)
- 16-bit ADC
- 2x analog comparators (ACMP)
- 2-channel Digital-to-Analog Converters (VDAC)
- Low-Energy Sensor Interface (LESENSE)
- Up to 49x GPIOs
- 8-channel DMA Controller
- 12-channel Peripheral Reflex System (PRS)
- 4x 16-bit Timer/Counter with 3x Compare/Capture/PWM channels
- 1x 32-bit Timer/Counter with 3x Compare/Capture/PWM channels
- 32-bit Real-Time Counter
- 24-bit Low Energy Timer for waveform generation
- 16-bit Pulse Counter with asynchronous operation (PCNT)
- 2x Watchdog Timer
- Die temperature sensor
Security – “Secure Vault” with
- Secure Boot with Root of Trust and Secure Loader (RTSL)
- Hardware Cryptographic Acceleration with DPA countermeasures for AES128/192/256, SHA-1, SHA-2 (up to 256-bit)
- ECC (up to 256-bit) ECDSA, ECDH, and J-PAKE
- TRNG
- ARM TrustZone
- Secure Debug Unlock
- Secure Key Management
- Secure Key Storage
- Secure Attestation
- Anti-Tamper
Supply Voltage – 1.71 to 3.8V DC single power supply
Low power modes
- 1.3 μA EM2 DeepSleep current (16 kB RAM retention and RTC running from LFRCO)
- 26 μA/MHz in Active Mode (EM0) at 39.0 MHz
Packages
- QFN68 8 mm x 8 mm x 0.85 mm
- QFN48 6 mm x 6 mm x 0.85 mm
Temperature Range – -40°C to +125°C

The specifications look virtually the same as the ones for Silicon Labs FG28 except it’s only optimized for Amazon Sidewalk and there are some differences in terms of power consumption, and possibly in the secure vault. The list of peripheral interfaces looks exactly the same to me and the SG28 is offered in the same package as the FG28.

The Amazon Sidewalk network will typically use three different radios: Bluetooth LE for device provisioning and nearby device connectivity, sub-GHz FSK for connectivity up to one mile, and a proprietary CSS radio for extreme long-range connectivity, but some end-node devices will only use sub-GHz connectivity which is where the SG23 microcontroller comes in. Typical applications include metering, access control, street lighting, and energy management.

EFR32SG28 Pro Kit — Pro Kit for Amazon Sidewalk

Silicon Labs provides the KG100S-PK6130A “Pro Kit for Amazon Sidewalk” – programmable with Simplicity Studio Version 5 – to quickly get started with Amazon Sidewalk priced at $249.00 (MSRP). More details can be found on the product pages and the press release.

Thanks to TLS for the tip.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.