Full Data-Rate Hostless, Bluetooth™ Solution Available from Texas Instruments
TI's New Point-to-Multipoint Solution Addresses the Needs of Wireless Personal Area Networking Devices such as Laptops, PDAs and Smart Phones
DALLAS (March 28, 2001) - Addressing the growing momentum for short-distance wireless connectivity, Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE:TXN) (TI) today announced the immediate availability of a new flexible Bluetooth baseband processor device. Offering significant reductions in system cost and board space, TI's new baseband solution provides both flexibility and performance by running full data rate Bluetooth links in either host-based (two CPUs) or hostless (one CPU) configurations, removing the need for a second host CPU. See www.ti.com/sc/bluetooth.
The BSN6040 baseband processor is designed to meet the requirements of a wide range of Bluetooth applications, such as wireless information devices (smart phones, PDAs, etc.), wireless device accessories (phone and music/MP3 players), access points (home automation), car telematics, PC Cards and laptop PCs. With today's announcement, TI also offers an array of new Bluetooth PC applications reference designs for USB, mini-PCI and PC Card, enabling fast time-to-market for designers of desktop and notebook computers.
"The key to the Bluetooth market is the user experience. TI delivers solutions that connect, perform and provide compelling applications, ensuring the user experience is positive," said Ari Rauch, TI General Manager, Short Distance Wireless Business Unit. "From the performance perspective, we have seen that few manufacturers are delivering full Bluetooth data rate today. TI's BSN6040 addresses customers' needs for full bandwidth, optimized connections and minimized data transfer time."
The new point-to-multipoint chipset solution is comprised of the BSN6040 baseband processor and the recently Bluetooth certified TRF6001 transceiver featuring -86dBm receiver sensitivity. Thanks to its high-performance, the BSN6040 significantly reduces wireless data transfer time compared to most existing Bluetooth solutions on the market today because it supports full Bluetooth throughput at 723 kilobits per second for DH5 packets.
Profiles, Applications and Stack on One Device
With available MIPS on its ARM7-based CPU, the BSN6040 effectively enables a "profile-on-a-chip", thereby optimizing MIPS usage, power consumption, board space and reducing cost. Complete profiles such as dial-up networking, synchronization and printing, plus associated applications software, can be run solely from a standalone BSN6040.
High-Performance Solution
The RAM-based BSN6040 is a high-performance, point-to-multipoint solution supporting full Bluetooth data rate, 723 Kbps (DH5 packets). Features include support for up to seven piconet links and up to three simultaneous SCO (Synchronous Connection Oriented) voice channels. The device also supports master-slave switching and, for power reduction applications, Park, Sniff and Hold modes. For the needs of mobile users, the BSN6040 is designed for very low power consumption using advanced 0.15-micron technology (L-effective, 0.18 micron drawn).
Rich Connectivity
TI's BSN6040 offers a large variety of interfacing options. For PC applications, the BSN6040 supports a USB interface offering 12 Mbps bandwidth and for system interfacing it supports two 1Mbps high-speed UART.
New Reference Designs for PC Applications
TI's new Bluetooth reference designs offer developers the ability to accelerate their time-to-market for solutions based upon TI's new BSN6040. The reference designs will be offered in mini-PCI, PC Card, USB module and USB dongle form factors and will provide PC OEMS, as well as contract manufacturers, a complete Bluetooth solution for notebook, desktop and peripherals that includes Bluetooth certified software and hardware to meet their platform-specific needs. As the new reference designs are available in several popular form factors, they can be designed into wireless personal area network (PAN) products quickly, reducing products' time-to-market.
Each reference design features the TRF6001 RF transceiver chip and the BSN6040 baseband controller device with point-to-multipoint capabilities and a complete Bluetooth software protocol stack. The TI reference designs will also support full-rate Bluetooth applications (723 kbps), which are ideal for the data-centric requirements of the PC market.
TI's Bluetooth portfolio is the broadest on the market today. These include three baseband products and one RF device: The newly introduced BSN6040, the BSN6020 (a RAM-based, point-to-point, baseband controller), the BSN6030 (a low-cost, ROM-based, point-to-point baseband controller) and the TRF6001 (a -86dBm receiver sensitivity transceiver).
Availability and Packaging:
Samples of the BSN6040 are available. Volume production is scheduled for July 2001. Packages include 144 & 151 plastic BGA.
Samples of the reference designs will be available in 2Q01, and the designs will be released to production in 3Q01.
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Trademarks:
Bluetooth is a trademark owned by Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, Sweden, and used by TI
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