Date: 29/01/2012

ZigBee SoC integrating IEEE 802.15.4 radio with ARM Cortex-M3 processor

ZigBee SoC integrating IEEE 802.15.4 (2.4 GHz) radio, an ARM Cortex-M3 processor, Smart Energy (SE) 2.0 hardware security acceleration, and on-chip flash and RAM was unveiled by TI . This chip can be used to design smart Grid and remote sensor connectivity applications such as electricity, gas or water smart meters and in-home displays.

The CC2538 will support TI's Z-Stack ZigBee protocol stack, which features full SE1.1 functionality.

The SE2.0 profile is architected to interface with multiple TI PHYs, allowing the design of SE2.0 products that can run across ZigBee, Wi-Fi or power line networks including TI's ZigBee processors (CC253x) and WiLink 6.0 solutions (WL127x).

As the SE2.0 market expands this will enable customers to use ZigBee or Wi-Fi to connect to existing and new infrastructure or use Wi-Fi as a bridge for ZigBee to connect to the Internet.

"We are proud to deliver a complete SE2.0 platform for early adopters to quickly develop SE2.0 compliant devices without the added cost of a microcontroller or external memory," said Oyvind Birkenes, general manager, low-power RF, TI. "Our team has been instrumental in the development and technical editing of the SE2.0 IP stack and profile within the ZigBee Alliance and we are excited to see the market evolve with new products based on TI's CC2538 SE2.0 SoC and CC1200 for sub-1 GHz solutions."

Availability: A CC2538 development platform is sampling now with volumes slated for 4Q 2012. The CC1200 to start sampling in late 1Q 2012 with volume production expected in 4Q 2012.