Silicon Laboratories, Inc., commonly referred to as Silicon Labs, is a

fabless Fabless manufacturing is the design and sale of hardware devices and semiconductor chips while outsourcing their fabrication (or ''fab'') to a specialized manufacturer called a semiconductor foundry. These foundries are typically, but not exclu ...

global technology company that designs and manufactures

semiconductor A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. Its conductivity can be modified by adding impurities (" doping") to its crystal structure. When two regions with different doping level ...

s, other silicon devices and

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

, which it sells to electronics design engineers and

manufacturers Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

Internet of Things Internet of things (IoT) describes devices with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communication networks. The IoT encompasse ...

(IoT) infrastructure worldwide. It is headquartered in

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, Texas, United States. The company focuses on

microcontroller A microcontroller (MC, uC, or μC) or microcontroller unit (MCU) is a small computer on a single integrated circuit. A microcontroller contains one or more CPUs (processor cores) along with memory and programmable input/output peripherals. Pro ...

s (MCUs) and wireless system on chips (SoCs) and modules. The company also produces software stacks including

firmware In computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computer, computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both computer hardware, h ...

libraries and protocol-based software, and a free software development platform called Simplicity Studio. Silicon Labs was founded in 1996 and two years later released its first product, an updated DAA design that enabled manufacturers to reduce the size and cost of a modem. During its first three years, the company focused on RF and

CMOS Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS, pronounced "sea-moss ", , ) is a type of MOSFET, metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) semiconductor device fabrication, fabrication process that uses complementary an ...

integration, and developed the world's first CMOS RF

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

for mobile phones which was released in 1999. Following the appointment of Tyson Tuttle as the CEO in 2012, Silicon Labs has increasingly focused on developing technologies for the IoT market, which in 2019 accounted for more than 50 percent of the company's revenue, but in 2020 had increased to about 58 percent. In August 2019, Silicon Labs had more than 1,770 patents worldwide issued or pending.

History

Silicon Labs was founded by Crystal Semiconductor (now owned by Cirrus Logic Inc.) alumni Nav Sooch, Dave Welland and Jeff Scott in 1996. It became a publicly traded company in 2000. The first product, an updated DAA design, was released in the market in 1998. It cost significantly less than traditional DAAs and used less space compared to established products, which made it an instant success, taking the company's sales from $5.6 million in 1998 to nearly $47 million in 1999. During its early years, the company focused on developing an improved RF synthesizer for mobile phones that would cost less and take up less space. It introduced its first RF Chip in late 1999. Since 2012, Silicon Labs has been increasingly focused on developing technologies for the evolving IoT market. On April 22, 2021, Silicon Labs announced the sale of its infrastructure and automotive business to Skyworks Solutions Inc for $2.75 billion. The deal was closed on July 26, 2021. In July 2021, it was announced that Tyson Tuttle would be stepping down as CEO. In January 2022 former president, Matt Johnson, completed the transition into the CEO position.

Key product launches

* In 1998, released updated DAA design. * In 1999, launched RF Chip. * In 2001, released first products in its timing portfolio, a family of

clock generator A clock generator is an electronic oscillator that produces a clock signal for use in synchronizing a circuit's operation. The output clock signal can range from a simple symmetrical square wave to more complex arrangements. The basic parts tha ...

s designed for high-speed

communication systems A communications system is a collection of individual telecommunications networks systems, relay stations, tributary stations, and terminal equipment usually capable of interconnection and interoperation to form an integrated whole. Commun ...

. * In 2003, entered the mixed-signal MCU market with analog-intensive high-speed 8-bit MCUs. * In 2004, released its first

crystal oscillator A crystal oscillator is an electronic oscillator Electrical circuit, circuit that uses a piezoelectricity, piezoelectric crystal as a frequency selective surface, frequency-selective element. The oscillator frequency is often used to keep trac ...

family featuring patented digital signal processing phase locked loop (DSPLL) technology. * In 2005, introduced a single-chip FM receiver, which enabled FM radio to be installed in a new range of applications. * In 2006, entered the

automotive electronics Automotive electronics are electronic systems used in vehicles, including engine management, ignition, radio, carputers, telematics, in-car entertainment systems, and others. Ignition, engine and transmission electronics are also found in tru ...

market with the launch of an integrated MCU family. * In 2007, launched industry's first single-port PoE interface with integrated DC-DC controller. * In 2008, released industry's smallest fully integrated automotive AM/FM radio receiver IC. * In 2009, entered the human interface market with a portfolio of fast-response touch, proximity and ambient light sensor devices. * In 2010, introduced industry's first single-chip multimedia digital TV

demodulator Demodulation is the process of extracting the original information-bearing signal from a carrier wave. A demodulator is an electronic circuit (or computer program in a software-defined radio) that is used to recover the information content from ...

. * In 2011, released industry's first single-chip hybrid TV receiver. * In 2012, entered the ARM-based 32-bit MCU market with a line of mixed-signal MCUs with

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard, developed by USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), for digital data transmission and power delivery between many types of electronics. It specifies the architecture, in particular the physical ...

and non-USB options. * In 2013, introduced the world's first single-chip digital radio receivers for consumer electronics. * In 2014, released the world's first digital

ultraviolet index The ultraviolet index, or UV index, is an international standard measurement of the strength of the sunburn-producing ultraviolet (UV) radiation at a particular place and time. It is primarily used in daily and hourly forecasts aimed at the gener ...

sensors. * In 2015, launched Thread networking technology for connecting devices including wireless sensor networks, thermostats, connected lighting devices and control panels. * In 2016, released Gecko family of multiprotocol wireless SoC devices. * In 2017, launched industry's first wireless clocks that support 4G/ LTE and

Ethernet Ethernet ( ) is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...

. * In 2018, launched

Z-Wave Z-Wave is a wireless communications protocol used primarily for residential and commercial building automation. It is a mesh network using low-energy radio waves to communicate from device to device, allowing for wireless control of smart home d ...

700 hardware/software IoT platform. * In 2019, launched updated version of wireless Gecko web development platform. *In 2021, launched Wi-SUN^® technology *In 2021, announced that Silicon Labs wireless devices support Matter end products

Leadership

*Matt Johnson, Chief Executive Officer *Dean Butler, Chief Financial Officer *Daniel Cooley, Chief Technology Officer *Radhika Chennakeshavula, Chief Information Officer * Serena Townsend, Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer * Brandon Tolany, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing * Bob Conrad, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Operations * Sharon Hagi, Chief Security Officer * Néstor Ho Gutiérrez, Chief Legal Officer, Vice President and Corporate Secretary

Products

Silicon Labs provides semiconductor products for use in a variety of connected devices. The company also provides development kits and software includin
Simplicity Studio
an integrated development environment for IoT connected device applications. 'Silicon Labs' portfolio is built around the Internet of Things (IoT) focus area, primarily focused on home and life and industrial and commercial wireless applications.

Internet of Things Internet of things (IoT) describes devices with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communication networks. The IoT encompasse ...

* Wireless: **

System-on-Chip A system on a chip (SoC) is an integrated circuit that combines most or all key components of a computer or electronic system onto a single microchip. Typically, an SoC includes a central processing unit (CPU) with memory, input/output, and da ...

Mesh Networking A mesh network is a local area network network topology, topology in which the infrastructure Node (networking), nodes (i.e. bridges, switches, and other infrastructure devices) connect directly, dynamically and non-hierarchically to as many othe ...

Modules ** Protocols supported include: ***

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is li ...

*** Proprietary wireless protocols for Sub-GHz and 2.4 GHz frequencies ***

Zigbee Zigbee is an IEEE 802.15.4-based specification for a suite of high-level communication protocols used to create personal area networks with small, low-power digital radios, such as for home automation, medical device data collection, and oth ...

***

for smart home applications *** Thread networking solutions *** Amazon Sidewalk *** Wi-Fi

transceiver In radio communication, a transceiver is an electronic device which is a combination of a radio ''trans''mitter and a re''ceiver'', hence the name. It can both transmit and receive radio waves using an antenna, for communication purposes. The ...

s, transceiver modules, Xpress modules, stand-alone modules ***Wi-SUN^® * MCUs ** EFM8 8-bit MCUs (compatible to

MCS-51 The Intel MCS-51 (commonly termed 8051) is a single-chip microcontroller (MCU) series developed by Intel in 1980 for use in embedded systems. The architect of the Intel MCS-51 instruction set was John H. Wharton.. Intel's original versions w ...

instruction set) ** EFM32 32-bit MCUs *

Sensor A sensor is often defined as a device that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus. The stimulus is the quantity, property, or condition that is sensed and converted into electrical signal. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a devi ...

Security technologies

Silicon Labs' product portfolio is protected by a range of security measures: Anti-rollback prevention * Protects device by preventing the execution of previous versions of authenticated

that might carry security flaws Cryptographic accelerator

Differential Power Analysis Power analysis is a form of side channel attack in which the attacker studies the power consumption of a cryptographic hardware device. These attacks rely on basic physical properties of the device: semiconductor devices are governed by the l ...

(DPA) countermeasures Protected secret key storage

Public Key Infrastructure A public key infrastructure (PKI) is a set of roles, policies, hardware, software and procedures needed to create, manage, distribute, use, store and revoke digital certificates and manage public-key encryption. The purpose of a PKI is to fac ...

* IoT Device Certificate Authority enabling device-to-device or device-to-server identity authentication Secure boot * Secure Boot with Root of Trust and Secure Loader (RTSL) provides additional security for loading initial code to the system microcontroller Secure debug with lock/unlock * Access to debug port controlled by a unique lock token generated by signing a revocable unique identifier with a customer generated private key Secure link * Encrypting the link between a host processor and radio transceiver or network co-processor (NCP) Secure programming at manufacturing Secure Vault * Integrated hardware and software security technology Features include: ** Secure device identity ** Secure key management and storage ** Advanced tamper detection

True Random Number Generator In computing, a hardware random number generator (HRNG), true random number generator (TRNG), non-deterministic random bit generator (NRBG), or physical random number generator is a device that generates random numbers from a physical process ca ...

Protocols

Silicon Labs technologies support seven wireless protocols.

Bluetooth software enables developers to utilize Bluetooth LE, Bluetooth 5, Bluetooth 5.1, Bluetooth 5.2, and Bluetooth mesh. Bluetooth SDK can be used to create standalone Bluetooth applications for Wireless Gecko SoCs or modules, or network co-processor (NCP) applications. Products include: * Bluetooth SoCs * Certified Bluetooth modules * Software Proprietary wireless protocols Devices cover sub-GHz and 2.4 GHz frequencies, delivering ultra-low power, long range, up to 20dBm output power and different modulation schemes for major frequency bands. Products include: *

Transceiver In radio communication, a transceiver is an electronic device which is a combination of a radio ''trans''mitter and a re''ceiver'', hence the name. It can both transmit and receive radio waves using an antenna, for communication purposes. The ...

s * Multi-band wireless SoCs for IoT applications * Wireless MCPs * RF synthesizers * Dynamic Multi-protocol (DMP) for smartphone connectivity in long-range solutions * SDKs for accelerating

proprietary protocol In telecommunications, a proprietary protocol is a communications protocol owned by a single organization or individual. Intellectual property rights and enforcement Ownership by a single organization gives the owner the ability to place restricti ...

development Thread Technologies that enabling IP connectivity through self-healing

mesh Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is a comprehensive controlled vocabulary for the purpose of indexing journal articles and books in the life sciences. It serves as a thesaurus of index terms that facilitates searching. Created and updated by th ...

features, native

IPv6 Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol (IP), the communication protocol, communications protocol that provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic ...

based connectivity and different security options. Products include: * Software stacks * Development tools * Modules * SoCs * Reference designs

Software stacks and development tools for Zigbee applications, including Mesh Networking SoCs and modules.

Modules and SoCs for applications in sectors including smart home, hospitality and MDUs, where sensors and battery-operated devices require long range and low power.

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

Wi-Fi SoCs and modules designed for applications requiring low power and good RF performance, such as IoT. Products include: * Wi-Fi transceivers * Transceiver modules * Xpress modules * Stand-alone modules Wi-SUN^® Wi-SUN (Wireless Smart Ubiquitous Network) is a field area network (FAN) to enable long-distance connectivity. The Wi-SUN technology aims to simplify

LPWAN A low-power, wide-area network (LPWAN or LPWA network) is a type of wireless telecommunication wide area network designed to allow long-range communication at a low bit rate between IoT devices, such as sensors operated on a battery. Low pow ...

deployment and enable secure wireless connectivity in applications including

advanced metering infrastructure A smart meter is an Electronics, electronic device that records information—such as consumption of electric energy, voltage levels, current, and power factor—and Telemetering, communicates the information to the consumer and Public utility, ...

(AMI), street lighting networks, asset management, and parking, air quality, and waste management sensors. Matter Matter is a global IoT connectivity standard that builds on top of existing IP-connectivity protocols to enable cross-platform IoT communication, encompassing end products, mobile applications, and cloud services. Silicon Labs wireless devices are available for the development of Matter end products that support Thread, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth protocols. Amazon Sidewalk Amazon Sidewalk is a low-bandwidth, long-range wireless communication protocol developed by Amazon. It uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for short distance communication, and 900 MHz CSS and FSK for longer distances.

Industry associations

Silicon Labs is a founding member of both the

ZigBee Zigbee is an IEEE 802.15.4-based specification for a suite of high-level communication protocols used to create personal area networks with small, low-power digital radios, such as for home automation, medical device data collection, and oth ...

Alliance and the Thread Group, and is on the Board of Directors at the Wi-SUN Alliance. The company is also a member of the

Bluetooth Special Interest Group The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG) is the standards organization that oversees the development of Bluetooth standardization, standards and the licensing of the Bluetooth technologies and trademarks to manufacturers. The SIG i ...

Wi-Fi Alliance The Wi-Fi Alliance is a non-profit organization that owns the Wi-Fi trademark. Manufacturers may use the trademark to brand products certified for Wi-Fi interoperability. It is based in Austin, Texas. History Early IEEE 802.11, 802.11 product ...

, Z-Wave Alliance and a Gold member of the

Open Connectivity Foundation The Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) is an industry organization to develop standards, promote a set of interoperability guidelines, and provide a certification program for devices involved in the Internet of things (IoT). By 2016 it claimed to ...

and the RISC-V Foundation.

Acquisitions

* Krypton Isolation Inc. (2000) * Cygnal Integrated Products (2003) * Silicon Magike (2005) * Silembia (2006) * Integration Associates (2008) * Silicon Clocks and ChipSensors (2010) * SpectraLinear (2011) * Ember Corporation (2012) * Energy Micro (2013) * Touchstone Semiconductor (2014) * Bluegiga and Telegesis(2015) * Micrium (2016) * Zentri (2017) *

, acquired from Sigma Designs (2018) * IEEE 1588

precision time protocol The Precision Time Protocol (PTP) is a protocol for clock synchronization throughout a computer network with relatively high precision and therefore ''potentially'' high accuracy. In a local area network (LAN), accuracy can be sub-microsecon ...

(PTP) software and module assets from Qulsar (2019) * Redpine Signals' connectivity business (2020)

Locations

Silicon Labs is headquartered in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, with regional offices in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. The company has also corporate offices in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada;

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark;

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

, Finland;

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary;

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, Norway and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. It has 15 sales offices across the world. These include

and San Jose in the US;

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

and

Wuhan Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...

in China;

, Finland;

Montigny-le-Bretonneux Montigny-le-Bretonneux () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris, in the " new town" of Saint-Quentin-en-Yveli ...

, France;

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany;

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy;

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan;

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea;

;

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

, Taiwan; and

Camberley Camberley is a town in north-west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. It is in the Surrey Heath, Borough of Surrey Heath and is close to the county boundaries with Hampshire and Berkshire. Known originally as "Cambridge Tow ...

, the UK. Silicon Labs has a wireless development center in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, India.

References

{{S&P 400 companies Fabless semiconductor companies Semiconductor companies of the United States Electronics companies established in 1996 American companies established in 1996 Manufacturing companies based in Austin, Texas Companies listed on the Nasdaq Companies in the S&P 400