저작권자 © Korea IT Times 무단전재 및 재배포 금지
Highly-integrated CMOS Chip Simplifies Systems and Delivers High Performance, Low Power ConsumptionAtheros Communications recently announced the world's first complete single-chip IEEE 802.11a/b/g WLAN solution, the Atheros AR5006X. The chip integrates an entire 802.11a/b/g solution - Media Access Controller (MAC), baseband processor, and a high-performance radio with both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz capabilities - in a low-cost digital CMOS design. Offering seamless connectivity to all Wi-Fi networks anywhere in the world, full support for the IEEE 802.11i security standard, and support for Atheros XR(TM) (eXtended Range) and Super AG(TM) performance enhancements, the AR5006X is ideal for PC OEM, enterprise, retail, and consumer electronics devices. The breakthrough single-chip IEEE 802.11a/b/g solution complements Atheros' launch in January 2004 of the industry's first single-chip IEEE 802.11b/g solution. It further solidifies the company's position as a market leader in high-performance, low-cost wireless LAN semiconductors. The highly integrated AR5006X not only eliminates one chip of a previous two-chip solution, it also incorporates innovative design approaches that eliminate the need for up to 24 discrete components. As a result, it enables 802.11a/b/g reference designs that have 15 percent fewer parts and a correspondingly less expensive BOM (bill of materials). These simpler, lower-cost wireless designs will be greatly beneficial in products such as aftermarket PC cards, embedded PCI and mini-PCI cards, WLAN-on-motherboard solutions for personal computers, access points, home gateways, set-top boxes, digital media adapters, handheld consumer electronics, and VoIP handsets, among many others. "The AR5006X chip achieves an unprecedented level of integration without sacrificing wireless LAN performance," said Colin Macnab, vice president of marketing and business development at Atheros Communications. "By continuing to produce innovations that drive performance and lower WLAN system cost, we are powering the next-generation of high performance 802.11a/b/g wireless networking products." Currently, Atheros Communications is supplying 802.11g chipsets to Samsung Electronics, which started producing notebooks with Atheros log from mid-October.
