Single-Chip Systems, MCUs for Matter-Enabled Smart Home Devices Fill Multiple Mesh Network Roles

The global market for smart home technologies in 2025 was valued at $147.5 billion with a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.4% through 2034. This growth is, in part, driven by the interoperability made possible by the Matter standard.

Matter—which started work in 2019 as the Connected Home over IP (CHIP) project, a consortium of companies collaborating toward open-source smart home networks—debuted version 1.0 in 2022 and published version 1.5 in November 2025. A key tenet of the standard is the promise that Matter-certified products can connect to each other and to smart home hubs manufactured by any Matter consortium member, including Google, Amazon, Apple, and Samsung.

More device types are supported in each new version of the standard, allowing them to connect locally via IPv6 and low-power, low-latency networks without the need for a cloud gateway. The list of current Matter-enabled devices encompasses smart lights and outlets, appliances, sensors, window coverings, air conditioning and heat pump units, solar panels, Wi-Fi routers, speakers and video players, and more.

Consumers adding devices such as these to their smart home networks want seamless connectivity and functionality. To make that happen, OEMs need to build Matter architecture into their products from the start.

The makeup of a Matter system

Devices in a Matter smart home system may have one or more of the following roles: gateway, controller, edge node, end node, and bridge. The gateway connects the system to the internet and uses Wi-Fi to interface with controllers, edge nodes, and bridges. Controllers send commands to edge and end nodes, while edge nodes and bridges simply route information between nodes and the gateway or controller without applying logic.

Another key tenet of the Matter architecture is energy efficiency through low-power radio-frequency (RF) communications. Bluetooth connectivity is used for the initial commissioning of devices to the network, but the network itself is formed from other protocols using the same frequency band. Matter networks use the low-energy Thread protocol to create a low-latency, self-healing mesh network. Bridges act as translators that connect devices using other protocols, like Zigbee, into the network (Figure 1).

Figure 1: A Matter smart home network includes a gateway (blue circle), controllers (light blue), Thread border routers (red), bridges (purple), edge nodes (green), and end nodes (orange). (Image source: NXP)

Devices on a Matter network must have wireless communications capability—narrowband, Wi-Fi, or both—and a microcontroller unit (MCU) to run applications, manage communications, and ensure device security. The choice of communications protocol and specifications of the MCU depend on the device’s network role, energy-use profile, and its purpose for the consumer. For example, a smart bulb acting as an end node may have a simple architecture that allows it to receive and execute on/off commands, while a router is much more complex.

Smart home single-chip systems

Thread border routers have to balance the energy efficiency and low latency expected in Matter networks with the complexity of managing Thread and Wi-Fi communications, device security, and application execution. NXP Semiconductor’s RW61X Wi-Fi 6 Tri-Radio combines a processing core, a Wi-Fi radio capable of transmitting 20 MHz channels in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, a narrowband radio for commissioning and mesh networking, and a secure enclave to manage device keys and trust provisioning onto a single chip that runs on 3.3 V of external power (Figure 2).

Figure 2: The RW61X Wi-Fi 6 Tri-Radio operates two bands of Wi-Fi radio, a narrowband local radio, a 260 MHz MCU, and onboard security on 3.3 V of external power. (Image source: NXP)

The RW61X’s MCU subsystem features a 260 MHz Arm® Cortex®-M33 core with TrustZone™-M hardware security and 1.2 MB of static random-access memory (SRAM). The MCU can communicate with devices via serial peripheral interfaces (SPIs) and a universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART), with sensors via an inter-integrated circuit (I²C) interface, and with audio-input devices via an inter-integrated circuit sound (I²S) interface. A precision time protocol (PTP) permits network synchronization through the physical layer (PHY) of the chip’s 100 Mbps Ethernet module.

RW61X chips support Matter-over-Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi 6 for improved networking and power efficiency. The RW61X’s built-in RF power amplifier (PA) and low-noise amplifier (LNA) combine with a 125 mW transmission power to ensure robust communication. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) Level 3 provides encryption and security.

Matter-over-Thread is also supported via Bluetooth LE or IEEE 802.15.4. The chips, certified to Bluetooth 5.2 and 5.4, support several Bluetooth operating modes, including a high-speed 2 Mbps mode, a long-range mode that uses a coded PHY to transmit data more slowly over an increased distance, and a mode for advertising extensions, in which devices can broadcast larger packets to allow discovery. This narrowband radio module also uses RF PA and LNA to achieve 32 mW of transmission power.

In RW61X chips, security—which is an important component of Matter smart home ecosystems—is managed through the EdgeLock secure enclave. This tamper-resistant hardware establishes a root of trust by certifying devices through their certificates, cryptographic keys, and identities. Secure boot, debug, and update protections; hardware cryptography; and a physical unclonable function (PUF), help RW61X chips meet the Security Evaluation Standard for IoT Platforms (SESIP) Assurance Level 3 and Platform Security Architecture (PSA) Certified Level 3 frameworks.

Low-power chips for end nodes

While the RW61X chips can act as Thread border routers, smart home hubs, and edge nodes, battery-powered end nodes like sensors and door locks require much simpler architectures. NXP’s MCX W Series Microcontrollers are optimized for power-efficient Matter-over-Thread and Zigbee communications (Figure 3).

Figure 3: The NXP Semiconductors MCX W series microcontrollers combine a narrowband radio with a dedicated processing core and memory with a 96 MHz MCU. (Image source: NXP)

MCX W series MCUs have a processing core and memory dedicated to the Bluetooth LE and IEEE 802.15.4 radio, as well as a 96 MHz Arm Cortex-M33 main processor with its own 1 MB to 2 MB of Flash memory and 128 KB to 256 KB of RAM. As in the RW61X chips, the MCX W series MCUs handle security through an EdgeLock secure enclave with EdgeLock2GO cloud support. Their robust design ensures end-node devices stay connected over a wide temperature range from -40°C to 125°C.

In addition to working in an end-node device, MCX W series MCUs can also pair with RW61X and similar chips. In this configuration, the MCX W series’ independent radio subsystem offloads connectivity tasks and frees the main CPU to execute the primary application. When paired, MCX W series MCUs play an important role in smart home hubs, appliances, and gateways.

Supply-chain smarts

Smart home network and product designers might feel daunted by the number of components available and their potential configuration. Products like RW61X chips and MCX W MCUs can help with their ability to fill multiple roles in a smart home network.

Designers can get support coding with the IoT-optimized Zephyr real-time operating system (RTOS) through MCUXpresso IDE/MCUXpresso for Visual Studio Code and from NXP’s Application Code Hub. They can also prototype their designs with low-cost development boards like the FRDM-RW612 (Figure 4).

Figure 4: The low-cost FRDM-RW612 development board simplifies prototyping Thread border router and Matter controller designs using RX61x chips. (Image source: NXP)

Along with these development boards, the full series of RW61X chips, and MXC W series MCUs, NXP’s portfolio includes other components that complement them in smart-home devices and applications. Designers of intelligent-home technologies can use NXP’s website to find all the products they need for their designs, along with relevant technical information and educational resources.

Conclusion

The market for smart home applications continues to grow, fueled in part by cross-platform interoperability made possible by Matter networking protocols. Hardware components designed for smart home networking, like NXP’s RW61X chip series and MCX W series MCUs, can fill multiple complementary network roles. Designers can take advantage of having a wide range of available products, a full library of technical information on smart home components, and educational resources—all in one place to design the next generation of smart home.