Wi-Fi portfolio cuts power consumption in IoT applications

By Alex Pluemer, contributing writer

Silicon Labs recently announced an expansion of its Wi-Fi portfolio of modules and transceivers specifically designed for end-node products. Touting best-in-class power efficiency, RF blocking performance, and security, the Wireless Gecko portfolio is designed for a variety of connected IoT devices such as battery-operated IP security cameras, point-of-sale scanners, and personal medical devices.

The Wireless Gecko portfolio cuts Wi-Fi power consumption in half compared to competitive products, according to the company, by providing best-in-class transmit current (138 mA), receive current (48 mA), and sleep current (

The Silicon Labs Wi-Fi portfolio features three modules:

The WF200 transceiver IC supports antenna diversity and works with a variety of hosts ranging from 8-bit to Linux-based processors, making it a low-cost solution for adding Wi-Fi functionality to pre-existing high-volume designs.

The WFM200 is a 6.5 × 6.5-mm, pre-certified Wi-Fi system-in-package (SiP) module with a built-in antenna and an operating temperature range of –40°C to 105°C, making it suitable for saving design space in outdoor and industrial applications.

The newest addition to the product family, the pre-certified WGM160P module, provides 512K RAM and 2-MB flash memory and combines host support, an integrated antenna, an onboard Gecko microcontroller, and peripheral capabilities such as capacitive touch and Ethernet to simply the development of cloud-connected IoT devices.

Built-in security features like secure link, secure boot with anti-rollback, and industry-standard encryptions such as WPA3 protect IoT devices from physical and online tampering.

Enhanced RF selectivity enables designs to maintain connectivity and throughput in environments with significant RF interference and to block out noise from adjacent channels.

Gecko OS, an optional IoT operating system, simplifies the design process, and developers can use a variety of development tools and a wireless starter kit with embedded and Linux host drivers to get started.

The WF200 (4 × 4-mm QFN32 package) is available in sample and production quantities. The WFM200 (6.5 × 6.5-mm SiP) is available for sampling with production quantities planned for Q2 2019. Samples of the WGM160P in a PCB module are available now, with production quantities scheduled in late February.