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Espressif Announces the Release of ESP32-S2 Secure Wi-Fi MCU

Espressif announces the release of the ESP32-S2 Secure Wi-Fi MCU, which is a highly integrated, low-power, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi Microcontroller SoC supporting Wi-Fi HT40 and 43 GPIOs. Based on Xtensa® single-core 32-bit LX7 processor, ESP32-S2 can be clocked at up to 240 MHz.

ESP32-S2 is a highly integrated, low-power, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi Microcontroller SoC supporting Wi-Fi HT40 and 43 GPIOs. Based on Xtensa® single-core 32-bit LX7 processor, it can be clocked at up to 240 MHz.

With state-of-the-art power management and RF performance, IO capabilities and security features, ESP32-S2 is an ideal choice for a wide variety of IoT or connectivity-based applications, including smart home and wearables. With an integrated 240 MHz Xtensa® core, ESP32-S2 is sufficient for building the most demanding connected devices without requiring external MCUs.

By leveraging Espressif’s mature and production-ready software development framework (ESP-IDF), ESP32-S2 achieves a balance of performance and cost, thus bringing faster and more secure IoT connectivity solutions to the market.

Features
CPU and Memory
Xtensa® single-core 32-bit LX7 microcontroller
7-stage pipeline
Clock frequency of up to 240 MHz
Ultra-low-power co-processor
320 kB SRAM, 128 kB ROM, 16 KB RTC memory
External SPIRAM (128 MB total) support
Up to 1 GB of external flash support
Separate instruction and data cache
Connectivity
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
1x1 transmit and receive
HT40 support with data rate up to 150 Mbps
Support for TCP/IP networking, ESP-MESH networking, TLS 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2 and other networking protocols over Wi-Fi
Support Time-of-Flight (TOF) measurements with normal Wi-Fi packets
IO Peripherals
43 programmable GPIOs
14 capacitive touch sensing IOs
Standard peripherals including SPI, I2C, I2S, UART, ADC/DAC and PWM
LCD (8-bit parallel RGB/8080/6800) interface and also support for 16/24-bit parallel
Camera interface supports 8 or 16-bit DVP image sensor, with clock frequency of up to 40 MHz
Full speed USB OTG support
Security
RSA-3072-based trusted application boot
AES256-XTS-based flash encryption to protect sensitive data at rest
4096-bit eFUSE memory with 2048 bits available for application
Digital signature peripheral for secure storage of private keys and generation of RSA signatures
Optimal Power Consumption
ESP32-S2 supports fine resolution power control through a selection of clock frequency, duty cycle, Wi-Fi operating modes and individual power control of its internal components.

When Wi-Fi is enabled, the chip automatically powers on or off the RF transceiver only when needed, thereby reducing the overall power consumption of the system.
ULP co-processor with less than 5 uA idle mode and 24 uA at 1% duty-cycle current consumption. Improved Wi-Fi-connected and MCU-idle-mode power consumption.
Software
ESP32-S2 supports Espressif’s software development framework (ESP-IDF), which is a mature and production-ready platform, already used by millions of devices deployed in the field. Availability of common cloud connectivity agents and common product features shortens the time to market.

Applications
ESP32-S2 offers a universal Wi-Fi connectivity solution for a variety of applications, ranging from consumer to industrial use-cases. Furthermore, the computing power and memory expandability also makes it a suitable solution for simple ML-on-edge applications.

While it can support a large number of use-cases, the main target application use-cases are listed below:

Smart-Home Connectivity
Ranges from simple solutions like light bulbs, smart door-locks, smart sockets to white goods and kitchen appliances, over-the-top (OTT) devices and video streaming devices like security cameras

Supports Mesh Network, which can be applied to large-scale commercial lighting and smart-home network solutions.
Allows efficient interfacing with a wide range of sensors, which is suitable for the needs of different smart-home scenarios.
Battery-operated devices
Connected Wi-Fi sensors, Wi-Fi enabled toys, wearable and healthcare devices

Small 7 mm ⨉ 7 mm QFN package, which is ideal for wearable devices
Low power consumption, in hibernation mode, of less than 5 uA enables application in battery-operated devices or long standby-time devices
QSPI/OPI supports multiple flash/SRAM chips for flexible configuration of NVM and volatile data storage
Industrial automation
Industrial automation includes wireless control and robotics, smart lighting, HVAC control, which can ensure high-quality technology development and a long life-cycle for products.

With its high RF performance and security features, it can meet strict requirements and high standards of reliability and efficiency for electronic control.
Retail & Catering Applications
POS machines and service robots

Advanced security features enable the protection of sensitive data on the chip and the flash device
Small form factor
With 14 highly sensitive touch sensors and an LCD interface, ESP32-S2 targets low-cost securely connected HMI devices, such as POS machines
Engineering Samples of ESP32-S2 beta will be available in June.”

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