National chip meets Bluetooth specs
By Mark LaPedus
EE Times
(02/25/99, 5:17 p.m. EDT)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — National Semiconductor Corp. has announced working silicon that meets preliminary specifications of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group.
The company's LMX3162 is a single-chip, RF-based device build around 2.4-GHz spread-spectrum technology. The chip is not geared for use in traditional wireless LANs based on the IEEE-802.11 standard, but rather for Bluetooth, home-networking and other consumer-oriented applications, according to Malcolm Humphrey, director of marketing for North America in National's Communications and Consumer Group.
Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia and Toshiba became the charter members for an organization called the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (BSIG) last spring. BSIG began to define a specification late last year that will be finalized in the first quarter of this year. Bluetooth is a low-cost, short-haul wireless scheme that sends and receives data via cell phone, portable computer or other device using 2.45-GHz spread-spectrum technology. Data rates for the technology are targeted at 1 bit/second, but the BSIG is shooting for 2 bits/second in the future.
Bluetooth is generating a ton of momentum. BSIG now has up to 85 to 90 member companies, including chip makers and OEMs, but National is believed to have the first merchant silicon geared for Bluetooth.
The LMX3162 contains all the transmit and receive functions needed to make a complete RF chip, including a 1.3-GHz phase-locked loop (PLL), 2.4-GHz frequency doubler, low-noise amplifier, high-frequency buffer, low-noise mixer and other components. Housed in a 48-lead PQFP, the chip is priced at $5.60 each in 1,000-unit quantities.
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