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802.11n WLAN in single chip

Broadcom has announced the BCM4322, a single-chip offering for the IEEE 802.11n Wi-Fi standard— or, strictly speaking, compliant with the -11n draft 2.0 specification, as ratification of the standard is due for 2008. With a claimed “real” throughput of over 200 Mbit/sec, Broadcom says the chip will support multimedia applications up to—and including—high-definition video streaming. The 4322 integrates all of the functions of 802.11n, with dual radio channels for 2.4- and 5-GHz operation, and includes the power amplifiers along with a MAC (medium access controller) and a baseband processor. Broadcom designed the chip in 65-nm CMOS: the high level of integration allows, the company estimates, a reduction in bill-ofmaterials for a WLAN subsystem of up to 40%. PCB area is also reduced, at around 150 mm2: you can fit the WLAN function on to a PCI Express “minicard” format for use in laptop and other mobile computing devices. Broadcom’s main applications targets for the 4322 are products such as home media gateways, routers and printers, and—considering the chip’s small footprint—products that have not previously included WLAN, such as televisions, set-top boxes and camcorders. Power is 1.6W, less than half that of Broadcom’s previous chipset: while acknowledging that this is unlikely to be in the power budget of hand-held devices, the company says it will simplify design of a range of point-to-point WLAN products. The BCM4322 is sampling now, with production quantities available in the first quarter of 2008; pricing is not disclosed

Broadcom, www.broadcom.com.