Silicon Labs Launches AEC-Q100-Qualified EFM8 Microcontrollers for Automotive Market

Silicon Labs has introduced two families of automotive-grade EFM8 microcontrollers (MCUs) designed to handle a wide range of in-cabin touch interface and body electronics motor control applications. The new AEC-Q100-qualified, ultra-low-power EFM8SB1 Sleepy Bee family provides advanced on-chip capacitive touch technology enabling easy replacement of physical buttons with touch control. The EFM8BB1/BB2 Busy Bee family features high-performance analog and digital peripherals, making these devices a versatile choice for controlling motorized rear view mirrors, headlights and seats.

All EFM8 MCUs deliver best-in-class 8-bit performance through a combination of advanced features and capabilities including a high-speed pipelined 8051 core, ultra-low power, precision analog and enhanced communication peripherals, on-chip oscillators, small-footprint packages, and a patented crossbar architecture that enables flexible digital and analog peripheral multiplexing to simplify PCB design and I/O pin routing.

EFM8SB Sleepy Bee MCUs are Silicon Labs’ most energy-friendly 8-bit devices offering unrivaled touch performance, ultra-low sleep-mode power (50 nA with full memory retention and brown-out detection) and fast 2 µs wake-up time. The automotive-grade EFM8SB1devices support -40 to +85 oC ambient temperatures, core speeds up to 25 MHz and flash sizes up to 8 kB. The MCUs integrate a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC), high-performance timers, a temperature sensor, and enhanced SPI, I2C and UART serial ports. An on-chip high-resolution capacitive-to-digital converter (CDC) offers an ultra-low < 1 µA wake-on-touch capability and 12 robust capacitive touch channels, eliminating the need for on/off switches in many applications. The MCUs are ideal for touch-based controls such as dome lights and overhead buttons. Capacitive touch control provides a more durable, moisture-resistant user interface and a sleeker look and feel for today’s electronics-laden vehicles.

Silicon Labs supports touch-sense interface design with its Capacitive Sense Library available within the Simplicity Studio™ development tool suite, offering all of the features and algorithms required to add capacitive sensing interfaces to automotive applications. Simplicity Studio provides designers with production-ready firmware, from scanning buttons to filtering noise. By using the Capacitive Sense Profiler to visualize real-time data and the noise levels of cap-sense buttons, developers can easily customize touch and no-touch thresholds and noise filtering settings, greatly simplifying the addition of capacitive touch to in-vehicle user interfaces.

EFM8BB1/BB2 Busy Bee MCUs provide the right balance of no-compromise performance, energy efficiency and value for cost-sensitive applications. With core speeds scaling up to 50 MHz and 2-64 kB flash sizes, the MCUs offer an array of high-performance peripherals including a high-resolution 12-bit ADC, high-speed 12-bit DACs, low-power comparators, voltage reference, enhanced-throughput communication peripherals and internal oscillators in packages as small as 3 mm x 3 mm. This exceptional single-chip integration eliminates the need for discrete analog components, reducing system cost and board space.

Supporting an extended temperature range of -40 to +125 oC, the EFM8BB1/BB2 devices are suitable for applications that must meet tough automotive qualifications and operate over a wide temperature range while delivering high performance at all temperatures. The EFM8BB1 devices offer optimal price/performance for cost-sensitive designs, while the BB2 products deliver enhanced analog and digital peripheral performance. The EFM8BB1/BB2 MCUs are a good choice for analog-intensive automotive body control applications such as seat adjustment, fan control, window lifters and fuel tank sensors.

Simplicity Studio tools such as a configurator and energy profiler help developers accelerate the design process and optimize for energy efficiency. EFM8 customers can download Simplicity Studio at no charge at www.silabs.com/simplicity-studio.

For additional Silicon Labs product information or technical support, contact Symmetry Electronics, an authorized distributor of industry leading wireless, audio/video and embedded chips, modules and dev/eval tools. www.symmetryelectronics.com/contact or call (877) 466-9722.