LONDON — WLAN chip specialist Synad Technologies has demonstrated its Mercury5G dual mode chip set that complies with 802.11 a, b and g standards. The company also said it is in "serious discussions" with several potential customers, mainly in Taiwan and the U.S.
Kevin Mapplebeck, vice president for marketing and business development at Synad (Reading, England), several customers already have moved the two-chip Mercury5G into prototype Wireless LAN cards. "Some of these will announce real products in early summer, and we plan to be in volume production with the devices at the same time."
The parts are made for Synad by its foundry partner United Microelectronics Corp. using a 0.18micon CMOS process. Last June, Synad said it had taken delivery of the first working silicon for the Mercury5G, but Mapplebeck said the company has an early lead in the market for the highly integrated dual-mode WLAN chip.
Other companies have also demonstrated dual-mode chip sets that can work on all three 802.11 specifications, including Broadcom, Atheros, Intersil and Envara. Of these, only Broadcom is understood to be shipping parts to customers. Atheros has said it is ready for production, and is drawing the most attention from Synad.
Mapplebeck agreed there are too many potential suppliers for a market that has yet to take off, "but in reality, few can actually offer a complete solution including the mini-PCI and PCcard reference designs necessary to succeed. And in the end, marketing muscle will be the key".
He added that while prices for chips destined for 802.11b cards are already under severe pressure, this is unlikely to occur for the dual-mode chips, at least in the near term. Mapplebeck would not say how much Synad is quoting for volume shipments of the Mercury 5G, maintaining that the two-chip design will be more cost effective that the three-chip sets being touted by competitors.
The Mercury 5G includes a direct conversion (Zero IF) dual-band radio chip and a modem/MAC chip, both made on CMOS technology, with the RF chip utilizing RF-enabled CMOS enhancements. The MAC is based on an ARM9 processor core. The chip set uses integrated system memory and does not require external flash memories or SRAM.
The part incorporates advanced security features, including hardware accelerated WPA, WEP and AES encryption, together with support for 802.11x authentication protocols.
Advanced spectrum management functions include transmit power control and dynamic frequency selection. These, Synad said, allows the device to comply with strict spectrum regulatory requirements around the world. Reduced power consumption is another feature.
