EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32 - 24MHz Cortex-M0+ 32KB Flash MCU | Silicon Labs
MPN: EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32 ✓ ActiveEFM32ZG210F32-QFN32 Overview
An MCU (microcontroller unit) is a single-chip computer that integrates a CPU core, memory and peripherals onto one die. The EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32 belongs to the EFM32 Zero Gecko family, a 32-bit microcontroller (MCU) line from Silicon Labs built around the low-power ARM Cortex-M0+ processor. In the wider semiconductor hierarchy it sits at the intersection of embedded processing and energy-conscious IoT design: MCU -> 32-bit microcontroller -> embedded processor -> integrated circuit.
Key features include an ARM Cortex-M0+ core clocked up to 24 MHz, 32 kB Flash with a pre-programmed UART bootloader, 4 kB of SRAM, 24 GPIO pins, two 16-bit timers, hardware AES encryption and an ADC. Low-power figures are the headline differentiator: as little as 0.5 µA in Stop mode and roughly 114 µA/MHz in Run mode, with fast wake-up from the deep sleep states.
Silicon Labs builds the device on its own energy-friendly platform, adding autonomous (interrupt-driven) peripherals so the CPU core can stay asleep while timers, ADC conversions and serial traffic continue. This reduces effective system energy rather than merely lowering the datasheet sleep current, which is what matters in coin-cell and energy-harvesting designs.
Typical uses include battery-powered sensor nodes, Bluetooth and Zigbee radio SoC companions, smart meters, industrial monitoring and asset-tracking tags, portable medical accessories and low-power consumer wearables. The 32-pin QFN footprint also suits compact remote-control and home-automation handsets.
When designing around this part, note that the 24 I/O pins are fewer than larger EFM32 packages offer, so plan pin multiplexing carefully for radio plus sensor plus UART designs. Also budget for the exposed pad's thermal path and for decoupling close to the supply pins.
This page synthesizes Silicon Labs specifications, drop-in alternatives and practical design guidance that is not gathered together in the manufacturer datasheet, helping engineers qualify the part faster.
Drop-in alternatives for EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32 — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Variants in this series
Same-series models that are drop-in compatible with EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Flash Memory, Supply Voltage Range, Digital I/O Pins, Series.
EFM32ZG210F32-B-QFN32
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EFM32ZG110F32-QFN32
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EFM32TG210F32-QFN32
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EFM32HG210F64G-C-QFN32
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EFM32TG210F8-QFN32
✅ Drop-InContact for price
View Datasheet →EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Core Processor | ARM Cortex-M0+ (32-bit) |
| Maximum Clock Frequency | 24 MHz |
| Flash Memory | 32 kB |
| RAM | 4 kB |
| Digital I/O Pins | 24 |
| Timers | 2 x 16-bit |
| Supply Voltage Range | 1.85 V to 3.8 V (single supply) |
| Nominal Supply Rails | 2.5 V / 3.3 V |
| Stop Mode Current | 0.5 µA (typical) |
| Run Mode Current | 114 µA/MHz |
| ADC | Yes (12-bit, on-chip) |
| Hardware Security | AES encryption accelerator |
| Bootloader | Pre-programmed UART bootloader |
| Series | EFM32 Zero Gecko |
| Operating Temperature Range | -40 °C to +85 °C |
| Package | QFN-32 (6x6 mm) with exposed pad |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Device Type | ARM Cortex-M0+ 32-bit Microcontroller (MCU) |
EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32 qfn-32 (6x6 mm) with exposed pad Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32 (qfn-32 (6x6 mm) with exposed pad package). This digital IC includes GPIO, communication interfaces (UART, SPI, I2C), and power pins. Refer to the manufacturer datasheet for alternate pin functions and configuration options. Essential for embedded system design and PCB layout.
No detailed pinout data available for EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32 is suitable for 6 applications: Battery-Powered IoT Sensor Nodes, Radio and Transceiver Companion Design, Smart Metering and Energy Measurement, Portable Medical and Wellness Accessories, Industrial Monitoring and Asset Tracking, Smart Home and Consumer Remote Controls.
Battery-Powered IoT Sensor Nodes
The EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32 fits duty-cycled wireless sensing nodes because it draws as little as 0.5 µA in Stop mode and wakes quickly to service a timer or ADC event. With 32 kB Flash, 4 kB RAM, 24 GPIO pins and a 12-bit ADC on board, a single node can host a radio interface, one or two sensors and a periodic uplink without a separate MCU. The 114 µA/MHz run figure keeps the active window short, extending coin-cell life far beyond what a generic 8-bit part would deliver. Autonomous peripheral operation lets the core stay idle while conversions finish.
Recommended
Radio and Transceiver Companion Design
The EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32 is a natural companion controller for 2.4 GHz radio transceivers, where the MCU must parse short packets, run a simple protocol stack and stay off the air as much as possible. Twenty-four GPIO pins allow SPI or UART connection to the radio plus chip-select and interrupt lines, while the 24 MHz Cortex-M0+ core handles framing and ACK timing inside the 32 kB Flash budget. Fast wake-up from Stop mode means the node can sleep between beacons and still meet tight protocol timing without a higher-power core.
Recommended
Smart Metering and Energy Measurement
Utility metering needs long battery life plus accurate analog measurement, and the EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32 delivers both through a single 1.85 V to 3.8 V supply and an on-chip ADC. A metering AFE feeds the MCU while the Zero Gecko sleep current of 0.5 µA keeps the idle drain dominated by the sensor chain rather than the controller. Twenty-four GPIO pins support pulse counting, tamper detection, LCD segment strobing and a maintenance UART, and the pre-programmed UART bootloader simplifies field firmware updates during meter commissioning without opening the enclosure.
Recommended
Portable Medical and Wellness Accessories
Wearable wellness devices and portable diagnostic peripherals need low standby draw, a compact footprint and secure data handling, which the EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32 delivers in a 32-QFN (6x6 mm) package. The hardware AES accelerator offloads encryption of patient data or BLE payloads from the Cortex-M0+ core, cutting both energy and CPU cycles. The 24 GPIO pins allow direct attachment of a pulse sensor, display SPI interface and haptic driver, and the -40 °C to +85 °C range covers body-worn and handheld equipment in varying ambient conditions.
Recommended
Industrial Monitoring and Asset Tracking
Condition-monitoring tags and industrial sensor nodes benefit from the EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32 because of its wide supply range (1.85 V to 3.8 V) and ability to run directly from industrial bus-derived rails after regulation, reducing the component count in a rugged enclosure. The 24 MHz Cortex-M0+ core with 32 kB Flash supports protocol conversion and local filtering, while autonomous timers and the ADC offload periodic sampling. The 32-QFN land pattern is compact enough for tag and gateway form factors, and hardware AES protects proprietary process data in transit over an industrial network.
Recommended
Smart Home and Consumer Remote Controls
Battery-powered remote controls, key fobs and smart-home panels are classic duty-cycled applications where the EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32's 0.5 µA Stop current dominates the design life. A coin cell can power the node for years, with the MCU waking on a GPIO interrupt from a keypad or accelerometer, decoding the press, updating a small display over SPI and transmitting, then returning to Stop. Twenty-four GPIO pins cover capacitive touch keys and an LED driver, and the 6x6 mm QFN footprint suits the thin enclosures typical of remote controls.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EFM32ZG210F32-B-QFN32 | EFM32ZG110F32-QFN32 | EFM32TG210F32-QFN32 | EFM32HG210F64G-C-QFN32 | EFM32TG210F8-QFN32 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Silicon Labs | Silicon Labs | Silicon Labs | Silicon Labs | Silicon Labs | Silicon Labs |
| Package | QFN-32 (6x6 mm) | QFN-32 (6x6 mm) - same | QFN-32 (6x6 mm) - same | QFN-32 (6x6 mm) - same | QFN-32 (6x6 mm) - same | QFN-32 (6x6 mm) - same |
| Core Processor | ARM Cortex-M0+ | ARM Cortex-M0+ | ARM Cortex-M0+ | ARM Cortex-M3 | ARM Cortex-M3 | ARM Cortex-M3 |
| Maximum Clock Frequency | 24 MHz | 24 MHz | 24 MHz | 32 MHz | 24 MHz | 32 MHz |
| Flash Memory | 32 kB | 32 kB | 32 kB | 32 kB | 64 kB | 8 kB |
Key Differentiators
- Lower standby current for duty-cycled battery designs than the Cortex-M3-based alternatives (vs EFM32TG210F32-QFN32)
- Identical-silicon second source for supply continuity (vs EFM32ZG210F32-B-QFN32)
- Hardware AES accelerator offloads encryption from the core (vs EFM32TG210F8-QFN32)
- Single 1.85 V to 3.8 V supply eliminates a regulator in the power tree (vs EFM32HG210F64G-C-QFN32)
- 32 kB Flash with a pre-programmed UART bootloader supports field updates (vs EFM32TG210F8-QFN32)
Design Notes
Budget the entire energy budget around the Stop current, not just the run figure. With 0.5 µA in Stop mode and roughly 114 µA/MHz in Run mode at 24 MHz, the run window is about 2.7 mA while active. A node that wakes for 5 ms every 60 s spends only about 0.2 % of its life running, so average current stays in the tens of microamps. Use the on-chip ADC and timers to trigger wake events instead of polling, and disable unused peripherals and GPIO pins to avoid leakage paths through unused I/O.
Treat the QFN-32 exposed pad as a full ground plane connection, not just a thermal coupon. Tie the EP to the ground pour with a dense via array directly under the pad so that return currents from all 24 I/O pins have a low-impedance path; this reduces ground bounce during RF transmission and improves the effectiveness of the on-chip AES and ADC. Place the 100 nF decoupling capacitor on the supply pin closest to the package corner and add bulk capacitance nearby, keeping the loop between the capacitor and the pin as short as possible.
Do not migrate firmware between the Zero Gecko and Tiny Gecko families without re-checking the peripheral instance mapping. The Cortex-M0+ and Cortex-M3 cores use different interrupt vector layouts and register definitions, so a binary written for the EFM32ZG210F32-QFN32 will not run on the EFM32TG210F32-QFN32 even though both share the 32-QFN (6x6) land pattern. Treat the Tiny Gecko choice as a hardware-plus-firmware redesign, and confirm the family header and linker script in the Silicon Labs Simplicity Studio project settings.
Plan pin multiplexing early. Twenty-four digital I/O pins on a 32-QFN package look generous, but the same pins are typically shared with the ADC inputs, timers and serial peripherals. If your design needs SPI for a radio plus UART for debug plus several sensor inputs, map the pinmux in the device configuration header before committing to a PCB layout. Also reserve a UART or SWD debug header: the pre-programmed UART bootloader helps with recovery, but in-circuit debugging still needs debug access pads.
Estimated power-budget example using the published figures: at 24 MHz, run current is roughly 114 µA/MHz x 24 MHz = 2.74 mA. If the node runs 5 ms per minute, average current is about 0.5 µA (Stop) x 0.9992 plus 2.74 mA x 0.00083, which works out to roughly 2.8 µA average before peripheral leakage. On a 220 mAh coin cell that is about 3 years of theoretical life, showing why wake efficiency matters more than raw clock speed in this class of design.
Compliance Information
Compliance fields were not present in the verified web data for this part and are therefore reported as unknown rather than assumed. The device is a commercial/industrial-grade microcontroller rated -40 °C to +85 °C; no AEC-Q100 automotive-qualified variant was listed, so automotive designs should request the automotive-grade ordering option from Silicon Labs.
