Date: 20/10/2011

ZigBee RF4CE supporting ISM 2.4GHz band RF transceivers from Atmel

Atmel Corporation has announced a new RF transceiver AT86RF232 to support the 2.4GHz ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) band. The new device supports ZigBee RF4CE, a specification designed to control a wide range of wireless consumer products including remote controls for home entertainment devices, human interface devices such as mice and keyboard, and 3D glasses.

Applications in the high-volume portable consumer segment, including key fobs, remote controls for toys and game consoles. The Atmel AT86RF232 transceiver offers 50 percent lower power than the competition, claims Atmel. The Atmel transceiver supports automatic antenna diversity to improve RF performance and link reliability.

"With the growing high-volume consumer segment, manufacturers are looking for transceivers with low power, high RF performance and enhanced security at an attractive price-point to ensure a top-notch user experience," said Magnus Pedersen, product-marketing director for microcontroller wireless solutions at Atmel Corporation. "The Atmel AT86RF232 transceiver addresses all these issues with the lowest power, antenna diversity, larger link budget and robust RF performance for this cost-sensitive market. This new device will enable a consumer to have a richer wireless experience for all the latest consumer applications."

The new Atmel transceiver offers a voltage range of 1.8V to 3.6V, -100dBm in sensitivity and an output power of 3dBm for extended battery life in various applications. The device offers a receiver current consumption of 11.8mA, transceiver current consumption of 13.8mA, antenna diversity and AES encryption. All these features are important to offer a robust wireless transceiver for high-volume consumer applications.

Pricing, Availability: The Atmel AT86RF232 transceiver is available now. Pricing starts at USD $1.60 for 10,000-piece quantities.