Silicon Labs Unveils Advanced 8-bit MCUs: A Blend of Affordability and Capability
Designed to meet the crucial equilibrium between cost-effectiveness and functional capability, the BB5x series emerges as Silicon Labs' latest offering, bringing enhanced attributes within a familiar developer ecosystem.
Silicon Labs presents the BB5x series, its cutting-edge collection of 8-bit microcontrollers (MCUs), tasked with empowering designers to optimize simple applications such as motorized toothbrushes, portable kitchen appliances, and interactive toys using well-known development tools.
The Silicon Labs BB5x family offers improved 8-bit performance with a unified developer experience under Simplicity Studio 5. Image used courtesy of Silicon Labs
The realm of high-spec 32-bit and wireless MCUs is often associated with peak performance in terms of processing strength, memory capacity, and comprehensive features. However, the segment for 8-bit MCUs continues to showcase robust demand. With the BB5x series, Silicon Labs aspires to provide designers with a nuanced, seamless development journey.
Delving into the specifications of the BB5x series reveals promising reasons for developers to consider integrating these MCUs into their projects.
A Full-Spectrum 8-bit MCU Experience
Amidst a market leaning towards more complex 32-bit and wireless MCUs, 8-bit solutions remain a staple for crafting straightforward and budget-friendly devices. While the feats achieved using 8-bit MCUs could very well be done with their 16- or 32-bit counterparts, the trade-off would be a significant uptick in costs.
Numerous vendors continue to support 8-bit MCUs, yet many lag in updating software support, compelling designers to settle with outdated tools incompatible with newer 32-bit development flows.
The BB52 MCU sports the greatest memory and pin count of the BB5x family and includes a 10-bit DAC for designers needing true analog outputs. Image used courtesy of Silicon Labs
The BB5x series distinguishes itself by providing a rich assortment of features, presenting designers with an ample selection. With support for clock speeds up to 50 MHz, flash memory up to 32 KB, and RAM up to 2304 B, the series stands out. The versatility is further augmented by up to 29 GPIO pins and an array of functionalities, including communication protocol support and a built-in 10-bit DAC.
Developing with the Flexibility of 32-bit MCUs
The hardware strengths of the BB5x family are matched by Silicon Labs’ development support via Simplicity Studio. This unified development environment serves 8-bit, 32-bit, and wireless MCUs and, while not boosting performance, streamlines the development process under a single software umbrella.
When aiming for both wireless and non-wireless product versions, Simplicity Studio provides an efficient avenue for code reuse. Designers can capitalize on a 'write-once, apply-many' method, reducing their products' time-to-market and simplifying the development with a single suite of software tools, libraries, and workflows.
With the BB5x family's compatibility with Simplicity Studio, developers only need to develop code once for a wireless MCU, which can be applied to the 8-bit MCU family. Screenshot used courtesy of Silicon Labs
The BB5x series, optimized for battery-dependent embedded systems in consumer electronics, battery modules, and industrial automation, is now accessible through Silicon Labs and is accompanied by evaluation boards to expedite designer integration.
The Persistent Relevance of 8-bit
Though the BB5x family may concede to more powerful MCUs in raw processing battles, its value proposition lies in the superior balance of cost to performance that Silicon Labs purports to exceed that of more complex 32-bit MCUs. Applications centered on computational intensity may overlook the BB5x family’s appeal; however, designers shaping simple devices stand to benefit significantly from its rich feature set, allocating their resources judiciously for required performance tiers.
