Comparative Analysis To Silicon Labs Wireless SoCs-rfstariot.com

Comparative Analysis to Silicon Labs Wireless SoCs Jul 07, 2022

Silicon Labs has been active in wireless SoC lately. It launched EFR32FG23(FG23) in September 2021, and released EFR32BG24(BG24) and EFR32MG24(MG24) in January 2022. All of them have gone through validation in alpha clients, and are now ready for shipment in the open market.

silicon labs

xFG23 was built for Sub 1GHz bands, supporting Wi-SUN and proprietary protocols. It is the world‘s first sub-GHz wireless solutions that combine long-range RF and energy efficiency with certified Arm PSA Level 3 security.

xBG24 and xMG24 were built for 2.4GHz frequency. While the both supporting AI/ML acceleration at edge side, xBG24 supports Bluetooth and 2.4GHz proprietary, and xMG24 is the Silicon Lab's first Matter-Ready wireless SoC. The latter exherts multi-protocol function to an extreme by incorporating Bluetooth, 2.4GHz proprietary, Matter, Zigbee and Thread, making users easier in building interconnected and interoperable IoT applications.

It is normal that new products come with upgrades in configuration or performance etc. However, in real scenarios of IoT application building, you got to investigate and trade off more elements. For that purpose, RF-star made a comparative analysis to all Silicon Labs wireless SoCs in the following table for your reference.

Chip Model

Frequency Bands

Protocol Support

Package & Size

CPU Core

GPIO

Flash
KB

RAM
KB

BT Ver.
BLE
Mesh

Output Power Range

RX Sensitivity (dbm)

TX Current

RX Current

Security

AI/ML
Accel

2.4GHz

Sub GHz

Matter

Bluetooth

Zigbee

Thread

Proprietary

Wi-Fi

WI-SUN

EFR32BG24

√

╳

√

╳

√

╳

QFN40 5x5
QFN48 6x6

Cortex-M33
32bit
78MHz

26
28
32

1024
1536

128
256

5.3
√
√

-20~10, 19.5 dBm

-105.7 dBm @125 kbps GFSK
-97.6 dBm @ 1 Mbps GFSK
-94.8 dBm @ 2 Mbps GFSK

5 mA @ 0 dBm
19.1 mA @ 10 dBm
156.8mA @ 19.5dBm

4.4 mA @1mbps GFSK

AES-128 / 256
SHA-1, SHA-2
ECC

√

EFR32BG22

√

╳

√

╳

√

╳

QFN40 5×5
QFN32 4×4
TQFN32 4×4

Cortex-M33
32bit
76.8 MHz

18
26

352
512

5.3
√
√

6 dBm max

-106.7 dBm @125 kbps GFSK
-98.9dBm @1mbps GFSK
-96.2 dBm @ 2mbps GFSK

4.1 mA @ 0 dBm
8.2 mA @ 6 dBm

3.6 mA @1mbps GFSK

AES-128 / 256
SHA-1, SHA-2
ECC
ECDSA+ECDH

╳

EFR32BG21

√

╳

√

╳

QFN32 4x4

Cortex-M33
32bit
80 MHz

512
768
1024

64
96

5.3
√
╳

20dBm max

-97.5 dBm @ 1 mbps GFSK
-94.4 dBm @ 2mbps GFSK
-104.9 dBm @ 125 kbps GFSK

9.3 mA @ 0 dBm
33.8 mA @ 10 dBm

8.8 mA @1 mbps GFSK

AES-128 / 256
SHA-1, SHA-2
ECC
ECDSA+ECDH
J-PAKE

╳

EFR32MG24

√

╳

√

╳

QFN40 5×5
QFN48 6×6

Cortex-M33
32bit
78 MHz

25
26
28
32

1024
1536

128
192
256

5.3
√
√

-20~10, 19.5 dBm

-105.4 dBm @250kbps O QPSK DSSS
-105.7dBm @125kbps GFSK
-97.6 dBm @1mbps GFSK
-94.8 dBm @2mbps GFSK

5 mA @ 0 dBm
19.1 mA @ 10 dBm
156.8 mA @ 19.5 dBm

4.4 mA @1 mbps GFSK
5.1 mA @250 kbps O-QPSK DSSS

AES-128 / 192 / 256
ChaCha20-Poly1305
SHA-1, SHA-2
ECDSA+ECDH
Ed25519
Curve25519
J-PAKE
PBKDF2

√

EFR32MG21

√

╳

√

╳

QFN32 4x4

Cortex-M33
32-bit
80 MHz

512
768
1024

64
96

5.3
√
╳

-20~ 10, 12.5, 20 dBm

-104.5dBm @250 kbps O-QPSK DSSS
-97.5 dBm @1mbps GFSK
-94.4 dBm @2 mbps GFSK
-104.9 dBm @ 125 kbps GFSK

9.3 mA @ 0 dBm
33.8 mA @ 10 dBm

8.8 mA @1 mbps GFSK
9.4 mA @250 kbps O-QPSK DSSS

AES-128 / 256
SHA-1, SHA-2
ECC
ECDSA+ECDH
J-PAKE

╳

EFR32MG12

√

╳

√

╳

QFN48 7x7
QFN68 8x8
BGA125 7x7

Cortex-M4
32-bit
40 MHz

28
31
46
65

512
1024

64
128
256

5.3
√
╳

19dBm, (2.4GHz)
20dBm (Sub GHz)

-94.8 dBm @1mbps GFSK,2.4 GHz
-91.3 dBm @2mbps GFSK, 2.4 GHz
-102.7 dBm @250 kbps DSSS-OQPSK, 2.4 GHz
-126.2 dBm @600 bps, GFSK, 915 MHz
-120.6 dBm @2.4 kbps, GFSK, 868 MHz
-107.4 dBm @4.8 kbps, OOK, 433 MHz
-112.2 dBm @38.4 kbps, GFSK, 169 MHz

8.5 mA @ 0 dBm, 2.4 GHz
35.3 mA @ 14 dBm, 868 MHz

11 mA @250 kbps, DSSS-OQPSK, 2.4 GHz
10.0 mA RX @1 Mbps, GFSK, 2.4 GHz
8.4 mA @38.4 kbps, GFSK, 169 MHz

AES-128 / 256
SHA-1, SHA-2
ECC

╳

EFR32FG23

╳

√

╳

√

╳

√

QFN40 5×5
QFN48 6×6

Cortex-M33
32-bit
78 MHz

22
23
31

128
256
512

32
64

✕
✕
✕

20dBm max.

-98.6 dBm @ 400 kbps 920 MHz 4-GFSK
-125.8 dBm @ 4.8 kbps 915 MHz O-QPSK
-96.9 dBm @ 2 Mbps 915 MHz GFSK
-125.3 dBm @ 2.4 kbps 868 MHz GFSK
-111.5 dBm @ 38.4 kbps 868 MHz FSK
-110.7 dBm @ 100 kbps 433 MHz 2GFSK

25 mA @ 14 dBm,915 MHz
85.5 mA @ 20 dBm, 915 MHz

4.2 mA @920 MHz (400 kbps 4-FSK)
3.8 mA @915 MHz (4.8 kbps O-QPSK)
5.1 mA @915 MHz (2 Mbps GFSK)
3.7 mA @ 868 MHz (2.4 kbps GFSK)
3.7 mA @868 MHz (38.4 kbps FSK)
4.0 mA @433 MHz (100 kbps 2GFSK

AES-128 / 192 / 256
ChaCha20-Poly1305
SHA-1, SHA-2
ECDSA+ECDH
Ed25519
Curve25519
J-PAKE
PBKDF2

╳

EFR32FG22

╳

√

╳

QFN40 5×5
QFN32 4×4

Cortex-M33
32-bit
38.4 MHz

18
26

512

✕
✕
✕

6 dBm max

-102.3 dBm @ 250 kbps O-QPSK DSSS
-98.9 dBm @ 1mbps GFSK
-96.2 dBm sensitivity @2mbps GFSK

4.1 mA @ 0 dBm
8.2 mA @ 6 dBm

3.6 mA @1 Mbps GFSK
3.9 mA @250 kbps O-QPSK DSSS

AES-128 / 256
SHA-1, SHA-2
ECC
ECDSA+ECDH

╳

EFR32FG12

√

╳

√

╳

√

QFN48 7x7
QFN68 8x8
BGA125 7x7

Cortex-M4
32-bit
40 MHz

28
31
46
65

512
1024

64
128
256

✕
✕
✕

20dBm max

-94.8 dBm @ 1mbps GFSK,2.4 GHz
-102.7 dBm @ 250 kbps DSSS-OQPSK, 2.4 GHz
-126.2 dBm @600 bps, GFSK, 915 MHz
-120.6 dBm @ 2.4 kbps, GFSK, 868 MHz
-107.4 dBm @ 4.8 kbps, OOK, 433 MHz
-112.2 dBm @38.4 kbps, GFSK, 169 MHz

8.5 mA @ 0 dBm, 2.4 GHz
35.3 mA @ 14 dBm, 868 MHz

8.4 mA @38.4 kbps, GFSK, 169 MHz
10.0 mA @ 1 Mbps, GFSK, 2.4 GHz
11 mA @250 kbps, DSSS-OQPSK, 2.4 GHz

AES-128 / 256
SHA-1, SHA-2
ECC

╳

EFR32FG13

√

╳

√

╳

QFN32 5x5
QFN48 7x7

Cortex-M4
32-bit
40 MHz

16
28
31
32

512

✕
✕
✕

20dBm max

-94.8 dBm @1mbps GFSK, 2.4 GHz
-102.7 dBm @250 kbps DSSS-OQPSK, 2.4 GHz
-126.2 dBm @600 bps, GFSK, 915 MHz
-120.6 dBm @2.4 kbps, GFSK, 868 MHz
-107.4 dBm @ 4.8 kbps, OOK, 433 MHz
-112.2 dBm @ 38.4 kbps, GFSK, 169 MHz

8.5 mA @ 0 dBm, 2.4 GHz
35.3 mA @ 14 dBm，868 MHz

‘8.4 mA @38.4 kbps, GFSK, 169 MHz
9.5 mA @1mbps, GFSK, 2.4 GHz
10.3 mA @250 kbps, DSSS-OQPSK, 2.4 GHz

AES-1282 / 256
SHA-1, SHA-2
ECC

╳

EFR32FG14

√

╳

√

╳

QFN32 5x5
QFN48 7x7

Cortex-M4
32-bit
40 MHz

16
28
31
32

128
256

16
32

✕
✕
✕

20dBm max

-93.8 dBm @1 mbps GFSK, 2.4 GHz
-103.3 dBm @250 kbps DSSS-OQPSK, 2.4 GHz
-126.2 dBm @600 bps, GFSK, 915 MHz
-120.6 dBm @2.4 kbps, GFSK, 868 MHz
-109.9 dBm @4.8 kbps, OOK, 433 MHz
-112.2 dBm @ 38.4 kbps, GFSK, 169 MHz

8.5 mA @ 0 dBm, 2.4 GHz
35.3 mA @ 14 dBm, 868 MHz

8.4 mA @38.4 kbps, GFSK, 169 MHz
8.8 mA @1 mbps, GFSK, 2.4 GHz
10.2 mA @ 250 kbps, DSSS-OQPSK, 2.4 GHz

AES-128 / 256
SHA-1, SHA-2
ECC

╳

EFR32FG1

√

╳

√

╳

QFN32 5x5
QFN48 7x7

Cortex-M4
32-bit
40 MHz

16
28
31
32

32
64
128
256

8
16
32

✕
✕
✕

20dBm max

-92.5 dBm @1 mbps GFSK, 2.4 GHz
-99 dBm @ 250 kbps DSSS-OQPSK, 2.4 GHz
-126.4 dBm @600 bps, GFSK, 915 MHz
-121.4 dBm @ 2.4 kbps, GFSK, 868 MHz
-107 dBm @4.8 kbps, OOK, 433 MHz
-111.9 dBm @38.4 kbps, GFSK, 169 MHz

8.2 mA @ 0 dBm, 2.4 GHz
34.5 mA @ 14 dBm, 868 MHz

7.6 mA@38.4 kbps, GFSK, 169 MHz
8.7 mA@1mbps, GFSK, 2.4 GHz
9.8 mA@ 250 kbps, DSSS-OQPSK, 2.4 GHz

AES-128 / 256
SHA-1, SHA-2
ECC

╳

Summarized by RF-star @2022

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