Date: 04/10/2012

2.4 GHz SoCs announced by TI brings wireless connectivity to consumer electronics

Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) has announced that its radio frequency (RF) value line of system-on-chips (SoCs) now supports 2.4 GHz frequency bands with the new CC2543, CC2544 and CC2545 SoCs. The SoCs integrate a microcontroller (MCU), 32kB flash and one or two kB RAM on a single die, making them suitable solutions for consumer electronics. Applications include computer peripherals, gaming devices, remote controls and toys. The three SoCs are distinguished by different numbers of general I/O pins and, for USB dongle applications, the CC2544 also comes equipped with a USB interface.

TI also released today the CC2543-CC2544DK development kit, which offers a complete hardware performance test platform and software development environment for 2.4 GHz proprietary applications.

"Building on the success of our sub-1 GHz value line, the 2.4 GHz RF value line SoCs offer solutions to engineers looking for compact, yet high performing radio frequency technology demanded by the consumer electronics applications market," said Erling Simensen, product marketing manager, Wireless Connectivity Solutions, TI. "The level of integration achieved with the CC2543, CC2544 and CC2545 SoCs enables remote controls, keyboards, mice and more to be designed with a single chip as the only active component."

The CC2543/44/45 SoCs feature a 2Mbps data rate, 102 dB link budget and a less than 1uA sleep current with sleep timer running. Developers can upgrade to have more memory or to include Bluetooth low energy support—the latter made possible by easily switching to the CC2540/41 SoCs, which also support Bluetooth low energy applications. Both CC2543/44 and CC2540/41 development kits (DKs) are using the same base-board and IDE.

Features of CC2543, CC2544 and CC2545 SoCs:

Data throughput:
1. 2Mbps radio
2. Up to 256 byte packet length
3. Quick RX/TX turnaround time
4. Data rate up to 1.6Mbps sustainable throughput
5. Less time on-air, equals lower power consumption

Link budget:
1. +4dBm output power
2. -98dBm sensitivity @ 250kbps
3. -90dBm sensitivity @ 2Mbps
4. Up to 102dB link budget
5. Long range with small antennas

Power consumption:
1. <1uA sleep current with timer running
2. Quick transition between power modes
3. Compatible with TPS62730 step down converter with bypass mode
4. Several years of battery life on AA cells possible depending on application

Flexible modem:
1. 250kbps MSK, 500kbps MSK
2. 250 kbps GFSK dev. 160 kHz, 1 Mbit GFSK dev. 160 kHz, 2Mbit GFSK dev. 320. kHz
3. Compatible over-the-air with CC2500 and CC2510

The 2.4 GHz RF value line is available at a price starting at $1.45 for quantities of 10k. The solutions are packaged in a ROHS-compliant, 5 x 5 mm QFN-32.

The new CC2543-CC2544DK development kit is priced at $299.00.

For more information: www.ti.com/rfvalueline-pr

Source: Texas Instruments