ZigBee-Ready Chipset Supports Wireless Applications

Hailed as a turnkey solution for the ZigBee networked wireless standard based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, a new ZigBee chipset consists of the AT86ZL3201 Z-Link controller, the AT86RF210 Z-Link radio, and plug-and-play and 802.15.4 protocol stacks. The Z-Link controller integrates encryption hardware with an 8b AVR RISC processor and memories optimized to implement the ZigBee standard. It is a full function device (FFD) for the 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz radio bands of 802.15.4. The Z-Link radio is an 868 MHz/902 to 928 MHz, 802.15.4 compliant transceiver with 10 channels at 40 kb/s in the 915 MHz ISM band, and one channel at 20 kb/s in the European 868 MHz band. It supports up to 65,000 nodes in star, cluster or mesh networks with a range of 1m to 10m. Operating from a 1.8V battery voltage, the radio draws 1 µA in sleep mode. The Z-Link controller is available in a 64-lead TQFP and 64-ball LFBGA. The radio is supplied in a 48-pin QFN package. The chipset together with the protocol stacks is priced at $6.75 each/100,000. ATMEL CORP., San Jose, CA. (408) 441-0311.