Start-up Bermai is close to sampling an 802.11a radio on a single chip. It will come with hooks for an 802.11b RF front-end as well for upcoming 802.11g radios. Other 802.11a solutions, including those from Atheros, use at least two chips - one for the RF section and one for an integrated baseband/MAC.
Bermai’s chip radio has a proprietary RF architecture that uses neither direct conversion nor IF but a “a combination of both”. The 0.18-micron CMOS chip uses 900 mW for full steady-state transmit and 500 to 600 mW for receive mode. It uses the lower two 802.11a bands and is priced at under $35 per 10,000. IceFyre’s 5 Ghz chips consume less power; 500 milliwatts at 1.8 volts (V), vs. 2.0 watts and higher at 3.3V with a conventional OFDM design.
Meanwhile, Broadcom and Marvell have announced two-chip CMOS 802.11b radios. Marvell is said to be integrating 802.11b on a single chip. Intersil’s PRISM 3, an 802.11b design, uses two ICs, and will be used in Linksys products while the Atheros Combo 802.11a/g/b Chipset (AR5001X) - uses three CMOS chips but supports 802.11a, 802.11b and the OFDM enhanced 2.4 GHz 802.11g standard.
Generally, 802.11b cards use a CMOS process for the baseband processor, a Silicon-Germanium process for the radio (RF) portion and Gallium Arsenide (GaAS) process for the power amplifier. Putting them together in one CMOS chip should dramatically lower costs and lead to devices with built-in Wi-Fi radios.
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