Worldwide Wireless USB Chipset Covers Entire UWB Spectrum from 3.1–10.6 GHz
High Integration
Alereon's highly integrated AL5000 Family of Worldwide Wireless USB chipsets integrates the RF transceiver, BBP/MAC, and firmware/software, to implement a complete WiMedia Ultra Wideband (UWB) product that supports all protocol adaptation layers, including Certified Wireless USB device and dual-role device technology. The Alereon AL5000 family covers all worldwide Band Groups 1, 3, 4, and 6 from 3.1–10.6 GHz and was designed for desktop and laptop PCs; after market hubs, adapters, and cards; and embedded devices including PC peripherals, mobile handsets, and digital cameras, where space and power consumption are at a premium.
AL5100 RF Transceiver
The Alereon AL5100 RF transceiver adds worldwide coverage and additional integration to the AL4100 RF transceiver. The AL5100 transceiver integrates sensitive analog front-end components including synthesizer VCO/PLL, anti-alias filters, LNAs, PAs, and transmit/receive (T/R) switches, and supports a single-ended connection to the antenna eliminating external baluns. When combined with the Alereon AL5300 BBP/MAC, the AL5100 RF transceiver supports all current mandatory WiMedia specifications for worldwide Band Groups 1, 3, 4, and 6, including all TFCs 1–10.
AL5300 BBP/MAC
The Alereon AL5300 BBP/MAC integrates all digital and mixed-signal circuitry for a WiMedia UWB system providing high-speed wireless connectivity using Certified Wireless USB, WiMedia Link Layer Protocol, and next-generation high-speed Bluetooth.The AL5300 BBP/MAC uses a low-power, highly efficient RISC processor combined with high-precision hardware timers and specialized hardware for accelerating encryption, packet processing, and memory management. A programmable flexible host interface supports any one of multiple industry standards.
Programmable Host Interface
CF+/General Purpose Parallel
- Supports CF+ Memory and I/O Modes
- Supports Memory Mapped Interface
- 8-Bit or 16-Bit Word Selectable
- Read and Write times as short as 60 ns
SDIO
- 1-Bit and 4-Bit Mode
USB ULPI
- Compatible with USB 2.0
- Configurable as host or device
Firmware/Software
Alereon's firmware/software partitioning minimizes the memory and processing demands on the host application. Software drivers are available for PC operating systems including Windows XP/Vista and Linux, and popular embedded O/S including Windows CE/WM5.0 and embedded Linux. Development kits are available to support custom software development.
Wireless-on-the-Go™ Technology
Alereon's innovative Wireless-on-the-Go™ technology enables peer-to-peer file sharing based on the AL5300 dual role device capability. Selected applications include:
- Printer hosted by a PC that simultaneously hosts a digital still camera/cell phone for image printing
- Cell phone communicating directly with another cell phone
- Personal media player communicating directly with another personal media player
- Digital video camera or cell phone communicating to a TV
- Set-top box communicating to a TV
AL5000 Family Key Specifications
|
Chipset |
AL5100 RF Transceiver, AL5300 BBP/MAC |
| WiMedia Protocols | Wireless USB Host, Wireless USB Device Wireless USB Dual-Role Device WLP, High Speed Bluetooth |
| Data Rates (Mbps) | 53.3, 80, 106.7, 160, 200, 320, 400, 480 |
| WiMedia Channels | TFC 1–10 (TFI, FFI, TFI2) |
| WiMedia Band Groups | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (3.1–10.6 GHz) |
| Host Interface | CF+/Generic Parallel, SDIO, USB, ULPI |