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Microchip Announces Longer Range IEEE802.15.4 Wireless Module and Certified ZigBee® PRO Stack

Publication date on this website: 10/06/2009

Category: Active Components

Company: Microchip Technology

Summary:

Key Facts:
• Extends product offerings for IEEE802.15.4 based applications, with greater transmit power and improved receive sensitivity
• Fully certified modules make implementing wireless solutions simpler
• Integrates Microchip´s newly certified ZigBee PRO software stack, which is available free of charge for download

Full Text:
Microchip announces two additions to its IEEE802.15.4 and ZigBee® portfolio for short-range, low data-rate embedded wireless networking. The MRF24J40MB is Microchip´s second 2.4GHz RF surface-mounted transceiver module. The new module adds +20dBm of receive sensitivity via the integrated Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) to the proven IEEE802.15.4 compliant transceiver, PCB antenna and discrete matching circuitry. More transmit power allows designers to expand the range of their IEEE802.15.4 based ZigBee or proprietary-protocol wireless networks. The module approach eliminates RF design time, expertise and expense, while accelerating time to market and mitigating development risk. This module is pending agency certification, which is another time and cost savings measure that adds value for the adopter. Microchip makes it easy to combine this module with the perfect balance of microcontroller memory, performance, peripherals and price from among hundreds of its industry-leading 8-, 16- and 32-bit PIC® microcontrollers (MCUs) and dsPIC® Digital Signal Controllers (DSCs). On the software side, Microchip´s newly certified ZigBee PRO protocol stack provides yet another option for IEEE 802.15.4-based wireless networks using Microchip´s PIC MCUs. The combination of Microchip´s ZigBee PRO stack, the MRF24J40 transceiver radio or transceiver modules, and any of its 16-bit PIC24 MCUs or dsPIC33 DSCs forms Microchip´s ZigBee PRO Compliant Platform, as certified by the ZigBee Alliance. In addition to providing the ZigBee protocol stacks, designers who don´t require interoperability or large-node networks can save on certification and microcontroller memory costs by utilising Microchip´s free and proprietary MiWi™ and MiWi P2P IEEE 802.15.4-based protocol stacks. All of Microchip´s ZigBee and proprietary stacks are available for download today from its online Wireless Design Centre at www.microchip.com/Wireless. Designers can integrate the MRF24J40MB transceiver module with the appropriate 16-bit PIC24 MCUs, dsPIC DSCs and 32-bit PIC32 MCUs, by purchasing the new MRF24J40MB PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board (part number AC163028-2). This daughter board is designed to plug into the Explorer 16 Modular Development Board, which has available processor plug-in modules for all of Microchip´s 16- and 32-bit families. Additionally, the ZENA™ Wireless Network Analyser is available to graphically display wireless network traffic, analyse the complete network traffic and graphically display decoded packets. All of these tools are available today at www.microchipdirect.com. **Ends**

Contact:
Supporting photographs supplied For further information, please contact: David Wright, Microchip Technology. Tel: +44 118 921 5858 E-mail: david.wright@microchip.com Suzy Kenyon, Napier Partnership. Tel: +44 1243 531123 E-mail: suzy@napier.co.uk MC922uk Note: The Microchip name and logo, PIC, and dsPIC are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Inc. in the USA and other countries. MiWi, PICtail, and ZENA are trademarks of Microchip Technology Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies. This device has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This MRF24J40MB module is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.