Silicon Labs USB Type-C reference design gets developers up and running quickly

     Silicon Labs has introduced a complete reference design designed to reduce the cost and complexity of developing cables and cable adapters based on the USB Type-C™ specification. Silicon Labs' new USB Type-C reference design features a low-cost, ultra-low-power EFM8 microcontroller (MCU), USB Developers Forum (USB-IF) certified USB Power Transfer (PD) protocol stack, and USB Billboard device source code.

     USB Type-C(USB-C™) is rapidly being adopted in laptops and displays and is driving the need to adopt Dongle and adapters to connect legacy and existing products. The Silicon Labs reference design provides a complete solution for USB-C to DisplayPort(DP) adapters to communicate with legacy devices that do not support USB Type-C. Certified developers have free access to the reference design, which includes schematics, protocol stack libraries, source code, sample code, and the Simplicity Studio™ development tool license, allowing them to quickly and easily design USB-C cables and adapters at minimal cost.

     USB Type-C is another leap forward in USB technology, enabling higher data transfer rates (up to 10Gbps), faster charging speeds (up to 100 watts via the USB Power Transfer specification), greater flexibility, and smaller size than previous generations of USB connectors. End users can use a single "full-featured" USB-C cable instead of a variety of messy traditional cables for battery charging, audio, video, and data transfer. The ultra-thin USB-C connector features reversible plugs and reversible cable orientation, allowing developers to design thinner, sleeker products. Usb-c can accommodate other interface specifications via USB replacement mode. For these reasons, USB-C is expected to become the connectivity standard of choice for mobile devices, PCS, docking stations, monitors, and other consumer electronics, with IHS predicting that around 2 billion USB-C devices will be deployed by 2019.

     USB Type-C provides an easier experience for end users by reducing the number of cables and enabling interoperability between devices. Usb-c also supports multiple protocols and is backward compatible with USB 3.0 and 2.0 protocols. However, the simplicity and versatility of USB-C technology also creates design challenges for developers, as the work of once-simple USB cables, ports, dongles, and hubs must now be done by more complex embedded components. Silicon Labs has overcome these design challenges by providing a straightforward, easy-to-implement solution for USB power transfer silicon chips with USB-IF certification, while accelerating time to market for USB-C systems.

     Jeff Ravencraft, president and COO of USB-IF, said: "The evolution of USB Type-C technology requires vendors with rich hardware and software ecosystem resources to provide solutions that accelerate the development of USB-C-compatible products. We are excited to see Silicon Labs' new USB-C reference design support this growing solution ecosystem with USB-IF certified USB PD silicon chips. Its compatibility ensures that end products are interoperable with other certified products, providing a seamless experience for end users."

     Tom Pannell, Director of MCU Product Marketing at Silicon Labs, said: "USB Type-C is the interface standard of the future, and Silicon Labs is advancing USB innovation by providing a new reference design. Smartphones, tablets and laptops with USB-C ports are already on the market, and these pioneering products are just the beginning. "Our new reference design dramatically reduces the complexity of adding USB-C to these applications by giving developers everything they need to turn on the new USB design."

     Silicon Labs is a leading provider of USB connectivity solutions and smart interface ics that enable developers to easily add USB to embedded designs without worrying about the cost and complexity of firmware development. Silicon Labs also offers a variety of single-chip bridge solutions that support the USB-to-serial protocol, as well as dedicated bridge chips for the Human Interface Device (HID) class and capacitive touch applications. In addition, Silicon Labs' EFM8 8-bit MCU product family and EFM32 GECko 32-bit MCU product family also support USB connectivity.