Reference Design Developed To Eliminate Bluetooth Headaches

Complete implementation of Bluetooth is said to go smoothly and quickly with a new reference design based on a multichip module (MCM) that includes radio, baseband and flash memory- Bluetooth is a global, open standard for creating in products short-range wireless connectivity capability. The BGA packaged module, in turn, is assembled together with discrete components and an antenna on a small, plug-and-play board. And complementing the reference design’s hardware is Bluetooth software provided through the Host Controller Interface (HCI) and development software offered through the Logical Link Control Adapter Protocol (L2CAP) level. Two key components on the MCM are a Bluetooth radio, called the T2901 transceiver chip, and the AT76C551 controller for handling Bluetooth Link Management and Control (baseband) protocols. T2901, a 0-dBm radio, supports Bluetooth’s 10-meter use range. The chip together with another presently under development- namely, the SiGe front-end T7024 transceiver- will provide a 20 dBm solution that will boost the range to 100 meters. Integrating an ARM 7TDMI core and dedicated Bluetooth baseband block, the AT76C551 controller comes with several options, including a voice CODEC using log PCM or continuous variable slope delta (CVSD) coding and a USB, CMCIA or UART interface. T2901 chip is sampling now and AT76C551 IC is expected to start sampling soon. The MCM and antenna are expected to be placed on-board a chip by 2001 to significantly lower Bluetooth cost.