What is Zigbee, the wireless communication standard that is gaining attention again?

Zigbee is a wireless communication standard that is making a comeback.
It uses the 2.4GHz ISM band like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and is one of the most suitable communication methods when considering overseas expansion of products.

It is widely used in Europe and the United States, mainly for applications such as smart homes (lighting control, smart locks, etc.) and smart meters.

FAQ: Why is Zigbee all the attention now?

Zigbee specifications

Zigbee specifications are developed by the Zigbee Alliance. The latest Zigbee specification is Zigbee 3.0.

For those who have considered Zigbee in the past, Zigbee has defined profiles such as HA (Home Automation), CBA (Commercial Building Automation), HC (Health Care), SE (Smart Energy), and ZLL. There are many profiles such as (Light Link), and there is no interoperability between profiles. You may remember.

With the latest specification Zigbee 3.0, profiles other than SE are unified into one profile, making it even more convenient. Compatibility with past profiles (such as HA1.2) is also maintained, so Zigbee3.0 compatible devices can be connected to a network built with HA1.2, for example.

You can also connect to Amazon Echo Plus equipped with a Zigbee HA1.2 compatible smart home hub without designing a skill (that is, without the need to prepare a control cloud).

FAQ: The AI speaker "Amazon Echo Plus" is compatible with Zigbee, but can Silicon Labs' Zigbee products also be connected?

Top Zigbee Vendor Silicon Labs

In the Zigbee market, Silicon Labs is a top vendor, offering a wide range of Zigbee compatible SoCs and compatible modules. Some of the modules have acquired technical suitability in Japan.
Of course, we also provide a protocol stack that supports Zigbee 3.0.

FAQ: Are Silicon Labs' Zigbee products market proven?
FAQ: Do you have modules for Zigbee?

What are the benefits of mesh networks?

Types of network topologies

When considering communication between devices, there are various types of network topologies. ), mesh (mesh: many-to-many), etc., Zigbee has become synonymous with communication standards that can configure mesh networks.
Of course, P2P and star types can also be configured.

Configure a robust network

Unlike star networks, mesh networks have multiple routes between the sender and receiver. What is the best route to send data from the sender to the receiver? Zigbee creates a routing table and realizes efficient communication based on it. Even though it is the same mesh network, Bluetooth Mesh (SIG Mesh) does not have a routing table, which is a factor in the difference in throughput etc. from Zigbee and Thread.

In addition, if a device on the communication path fails and communication cannot be performed on the assumed path, the path is automatically restored. This is also the reason why Zigbee is said to be able to construct a robust network.

Highly scalable mesh network

Another feature of mesh networks is that many devices can participate in one network. There will be differences depending on the protocol and the manufacturer, but the scale is 100 to several hundred units. With star networks like Wi-Fi, there is a limit to the number of devices that can be connected to one access point, but mesh networks have an advantage in terms of scalability.

Also, even if there is a distance between the sending side and the receiving side, communication can be performed via a relay device, so it is possible to cover the same area as the star type with a lower output level. It can be said that it is a communication standard that is friendly to power consumption.

Silicon Labs Zigbee Solution

シリコンラボ社のZigbee事業は、Zigbee対応SoCのトップメーカーであったEmber社を買収したところからスタートし、その後Zigbee対応モジュールメーカーTelegesis社も傘下に加えています。このような経緯もあり、シリコンラボ社の製品には、シリコンラボ社製品、旧Ember社製品、旧Telegesis製品が含まれています。

Here, we will focus on the latest EFR32MGxx and MGMxxx.

EFR32MG Family (SoC)

The EFR32MG (Mighty Gecko) family is a wireless MCU with an Arm® Cortex®-M4F core. MG1, MG12, MG13, MG14 and 4 families have been commercialized as of July 2018.
It also has a wide variety of peripherals, including serial interfaces such as SPI, I2C, and UART, analog peripherals such as ADC, DAC, and comparators, and hardware accelerators for encryption and decryption.

There are many part numbers in each family, all containing 2.4GHz transceivers, some with sub-GHz capability. One that supports Sub-GHz has two antennas connected to one SoC.

For compatible protocols, we have prepared variations in function and price, such as those that can implement only Zigbee/Thread, those that can also implement Bluetooth, and those that can implement Sub-GHz.
It also supports multi-protocols, so it is possible to implement both Zigbee and Bluetooth in one SoC.

FAQ: What is Multiprotocol Support

See here for development environment and multi-protocol behavior.
What is the wireless starter kit SLWSTK6000B that can simultaneously evaluate ZigBee, Thread, and BLE?

In addition, since it is an SoC, it is assumed that the user will obtain wireless radio law certification.
If you try to obtain radio law certification on your own, you will need equipment for preliminary measurements and the costs required for certification testing, so SoC is not suitable for a small start. We recommend modules for such users.

MGM1xx Family (Module)

The MGM1xx (Mighty Gecko Module) family is a product that has been modularized using EFR32MG and has obtained radio law certification (technical compliance).

Since the design around the antenna, which has a high degree of difficulty, has already been completed, hardware design is easier than for SoC. It is very effective in reducing time to market because it shortens the period required for hardware design and certification.

Guidelines are provided in the datasheet for module implementation. If you follow this point firmly, you can easily obtain a certain level of wireless performance, which is another advantage of using modules. Of course, the drawn layout can be reviewed by Silicon Labs.

FAQ: Can I request a circuit/layout review?

The development environment uses the same one as EFR32MG. The radio board (child board on which the wireless microcomputer is mounted) is prepared with the MGM1xx installed.

Development of Zigbee equipment

We introduced the basic specifications of Zigbee and compatible products from Silicon Labs. If you are looking for a robust and scalable mesh network, please consider Zigbee-enabled products from Silicon Labs.

Also, is it difficult to develop a Zigbee device on your own? For those who want to design quickly and put products on the market quickly, we recommend outsourcing development. If you are considering outsourcing development, please contact us from the following.

Next time, I would like to introduce the flow of Zigbee equipment development.
[Silicon Labs/Wireless Course] Zigbee Development Flow