IoT advanced hardware cryptography to support more secure applications

Mouser Electronics is now stocking the Wireless Gecko SoCs from Silicon Labs. This new Wireless Gecko portfolio of ARM Cortex-M4 core-based SoCs is aimed toward wireless IoT designs and integrates a 2.4GHz radio and advanced hardware cryptography to support more secure applications. The devices are divided into three families that target specific protocols: the Blue Gecko, which supports Bluetooth low energy connectivity; the Mighty Gecko, which enables ZigBee and Thread connectivity for mesh networks; and the Flex Gecko, which provides popular proprietary wireless protocol options. All three product families provide up to 19.5dBm output power through an integrated power amplifier (PA) and are pin-to-pin and software compatible. The wireless Gecko SoCs are multiprotocol radio devices that support a robust set of peripherals, including a hardware crypto accelerator, a 12-bit ADC, a current DAC, a 12-channel peripheral reflex system, up to 31 GPIO, and various communication interfaces. In addition, the portfolio provides up to 256kBytes of flash memory and 32kBytes of RAM, and handles multiple security options, including AES with 128 or 256-bit keys, ECC, SHA-1, and SHA-224/256. The Blue Gecko family of SoCs specifically targets Bluetooth low energy applications, including the Bluetooth 4.2 specification as well as proprietary wireless protocols. The devices are designed to support the emerging Bluetooth mesh network, and Silicon Labs offers a Bluetooth low energy software stack for these SoCs, as well as the BGScript scripting language to enable designers to accelerate their time to market. The Mighty Gecko family of SoCs targets low-power 802.15.4 mesh networks based on Thread and ZigBee protocols. These devices include a pre-certified Thread stack for IP-based mesh networks and a ZigBee Pro stack, making these SoCs one of the best-in-class multiprotocol solutions for mesh networking applications. For diverse applications including building automation, security, and electronic shelf labels, Silicon Labs rounds off their portfolio with the Flex Gecko, which supports popular proprietary protocol options. This family of SoCs gives developers the ultimate design flexibility to select the optimal proprietary protocol they require for their IoT applications without constraints from industry alliances and standards.