Silicon Labs and e-peas Collaborate on Energy Harvesting Wireless Chips

Silicon Labs has introduced its inaugural wireless microcontroller specifically designed for energy harvesting applications, collaborating with Belgium-based PMIC supplier e-peas to develop shields for its development kit.

The xG22E family marks Silicon Labs' entry into the realm of low power supplies sourced from energy harvesting methods like solar and thermal energy. Comprising the BG22E, MG22E, and FG22E models, this family supports Bluetooth Low Energy (LE), 802.15.4-based, or Sub-GHz wireless connectivity for both battery-powered and battery-free designs.

To facilitate the creation of comprehensive energy harvesting solutions, Silicon Labs has partnered with e-peas to co-create two energy harvesting shields tailored for the energy-efficient xG22E Explorer Kit.

The xG22E Explorer Kit empowers developers to tailor peripherals and debugging options to suit their applications, enabling precise measurements for the seamless integration of energy harvesting shields.

The energy harvesting shields are meticulously calibrated for various energy sources and storage technologies, seamlessly fitting onto the Explorer Kit. One shield harnesses the e-peas AEM13920 dual-harvester, enabling simultaneous energy extraction from diverse sources like indoor/outdoor light, thermal gradients, and electromagnetic waves while maintaining high energy conversion efficiency. The second shield, based on e-peas' AEM00300, specializes in harvesting power from random pulsed energy sources.

The xG22E family's design emphasizes high-speed, low-energy cold start capabilities, enabling applications to swiftly transition from a zero-energy state to transmit data and promptly return to sleep mode. With an impressive wake-up time of just eight milliseconds, an xG22E device consumes a mere 150 micro-Joules, equivalent to a minuscule fraction of the energy required to power a 60-watt LED lightbulb for one second.

Moreover, the xG22E family boasts a power-efficient energy mode transition mechanism that minimizes current spikes during mode shifts, safeguarding energy storage capacity. Offering multiple deep sleep wake-up options such as RFSense, GPIO, and RTC sources, the devices are ideal for extended storage periods.

"As the demand for energy harvesting and low-power solutions surges, Silicon Labs is committed to enhancing our wireless MCU and radio stack capabilities to propel the development of battery-free IoT solutions," stated Ross Sabolcik, Senior Vice President for the Industrial and Commercial Business Unit at Silicon Labs. "Our focus on energy efficiency and device longevity underscores our dedication to fostering a sustainable IoT ecosystem."

Implementing energy harvesting technologies can significantly prolong the lifespan of battery cells in IoT devices, reducing replacement costs associated with millions of batteries. In certain low-power applications, batteries can even be entirely eliminated.

For instance, retailers worldwide are swiftly adopting electronic shelf labels to enhance pricing accuracy, inventory management, and loss prevention. While a single location may house thousands of labels, the energy requirements are minimal, making them ideal candidates for energy harvesting solutions. By leveraging Ambient IoT energy sources, retailers can diminish or eliminate the need for batteries in shelf labels. In the consumer sector, solar-powered television remote controls and wireless light/appliance switches are gaining traction, with e-peas securing key design wins such as Samsung.

As part of the product launch, Silicon Labs has unveiled a new Energy Harvesting page on its website.