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For this type of low-power IC, the onchip regulators and power-management circuits are a given. Thus, many applications won’t need an additional processor. Yet the chip will work with an external 8- or 16-bit controller as required.

Full crypto hardware covers AES-128, RC4, MD5, SHA-1, and CRC-32. The complete 802.11i security features are implemented for WEP and all versions of WPA. In addition, the eCos operating system (OS) running on the processor includes the complete TCP/IP stack and drivers, making Internet connectivity easy to implement. A real-time clock makes for wakeup and time-stamp functions as well as a super-fast boot.

The G2C547 also comes with features that make it useful in a wide range of asset tracking and other tagging applications. The device includes a complete 125-kHz transceiver that’s typically used in various RFID applications. Furthermore, the G2C547 supports the EPC Gen 2 900-MHz RFID standard. It contains circuitry to implement realtime location systems (RTLS).
Its ISO 24730-2 time distance of arrival (TDOA) location technology lets you use the chip in tracking and location schemes for major assets, like keeping track of equipment in a hospital. These applications can use the existing Wi-Fi access points to implement an enormous range of location services. Equipped with in-place infrastructure plus this chip, you can assemble a flexible tracking system at a very reasonable cost and time of implementation.

The device, which comes in a 10- by 10-mm, 72-pin quad flat no-lead (QFN) package, works from -40°C to 85°C. Typical power-consumption figures are 10 µW in sleep/standby mode, 79 µW in listen mode, and 117 µW in active orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) receive mode.

If you aren’t a wireless whiz, you can also get the G2M5477 module. It uses the G2C547 chip plus a +20-dBm power amp and antenna, crystal, and other discretes to create a final working product. The module is already FCC and CE certified and tested for Wi-Fi Alliance apps like Wireless MultiMedia. Just drop it right into your product and go.

Both G2C547 and G2M5477 are sampling now. A development evaluation board, software, and other accessories are also available. High-volume production is planned for February 2009.

Guaranteed Bandwidth - At least a half-dozen companies make transceivers for the 802.11n Wi-Fi standard. All comply with the Draft 2.0 standard and the Wi-Fi Alliance’s interoperability guidelines so they can deliver at least 100 Mbits/s within the typical unobstructed 100-m range. They also interoperate but lack any significant distinction from one another. Yet Quantenna Communications’ QHS Wi-Fi chips change that tune with significant features and improvement over the more common chips.

When dealing with limited multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) of the 2-by-2 or 2-by-3 variety, link distances and throughput rates are typically unpredictable. Thanks to an unending number of environmental conditions, you can only guess your connection range and speed.
Limited range means that coverage in a home or with an enterprise access point will have dead zones, ultimately translating into connection unreliability. In critical applications like video, that can greatly limit the usefulness of wireless. In fact, few vendors will support video over Wi-Fi.

Product size or printed-circuit-board (PCB) footprint can also be an issue in packaging. To achieve longer range, higher speeds, and reliability, typically more chips must be used, which increases product size. Finally, power consumption is always at the forefront of most new designs.

The QHS series removes many of these limitations. The family offers raw data speeds up to 1 Gbit/s with a throughput up to 600 Mbits/s. Range and reliability get a boost from a 4-by-4 MIMO scheme as well as transmit beamforming. These features alone account for a 10- to 11-dB advantage over the closest competitors.

Range and reliability are also extended by the availability of a vector mesh networking capability with spectrum management. Mesh node routing easily expands coverage depending on the number of nodes used. Whole-home coverage becomes almost automatic with the Quantenna solution.

The QHS series is highly integrated, which means fewer chips and discrete components are needed, saving lots of PCB space. Bill-of-materials (BOM) costs are also lower than competitive solutions. The top-of-the-line series member, the QHS1000, is a fully integrated chip set that delivers 1 Gbit/s.
It comes in either a dual 4-by-4 or quad 2-by-2 MIMO configuration and operates on both the 2.4- and 5-GHz unlicensed spectrum.

In the chip set, the QHS600 delivers up to 600 Mbits/s in either dual 4-by-4 or quad 2-by-2 form and operates only in the 5-GHz band. It targets video applications. The QHS450 offers up to 450 Mbits/s and comes in a single 4-by-4 or dual 2-by-2 configuration. Designed for data-intensive uses, it operates in the 2.4-GHz band.

Quantenna offers its own OS to help designers implement a fully featured access point. Vendor-specific applications are easy to port to the OS. The QHS chip sets are sampling now. Contact our Sales team on http://www.g2microsystems.com for orders and pricing.