  Microchip, best known for market leadership in 8-bit MCUs and PIC processors, provides an integrated wireless networking solution comprising of three new components ideal for RF applications requiring low power and excellent RF performance.
The first component is a 2.4GHz IEEE 802.15.4 transceiver, MRF24J40, targeted for ZigBee™ and MiWi™, a Microchip wireless protocol (discussed below). The second is the ZENA™ wireless network analyzer tool which further enables development of ZigBee protocol systems using Microchip’s semiconductors. And finally, the MiWi™ protocol is a free, small-footprint protocol developed by Microchip for customers who do not need ZigBee protocol interoperability but want to use IEEE 802.15.4 transceivers in low-cost peer-to-peer, star and mesh networks. The MiWi protocol boasts to be the lowest-cost fully functional network protocol for IEEE 802.15.4 transceivers.
The MRF23J40 is a complete IEEE 802.15.4 radio, that supports ZigBee™ and MiWi™ protocols. It has a simple four-wire SPI interface, and integrated 20 MHz and 32.768 kHz oscillator drive. The 20 MHz reference clock output is available to drive an MCU. The small 6x6mm, 40-pin QFN chip has a hardware security engine (AES-128) that supports both in-line or stand-alone modes for encryption and decryption. The chip consumes minimal current, an average of 18mA in RX and 22mA in TX mode, and 2 μA in sleep mode, perfect for the low-power constraints in any typical RF design. The transceiver has a convenient on-chip TX/RX switch and is also capable of automatic packet re-transmit.
The ZENA wireless network analyzer tool uses a simple graphical interface to configure the free Microchip ZigBee and MiWi protocol stacks. This enables customers to reduce the code size of the stacks by removing optional features, cuts development time by simplifying the interactions with the stacks, and allows customization of the stack to fit a particular need. Consisting of both hardware and software, ZENA is an IEEE 802.15.4 protocol analyzer that is capable of decoding ZigBee and MiWi protocol packets—from the lowest layers to the top of the stack (including the security modules).
The MiWi™ Protocol, designed by Microchip Technology, is an alternative, not a replacement, to the ZigBee™ protocol and is a simple means of achieving wireless connectivity. One of its strongest features is that MiWi™ allows star, mesh & peer-to-peer network topologies. Using a slight variation on IEEE join and leave mechanisms, MiWi allows up to 8 coordinators on the network, with up to 127 children per coordinator, a total of 1,024 total nodes. With this simplified mechanism, MiWi helps to reduce code size by supporting fewer network nodes, and minimizing routing possibilities through a smaller routing table with a maximum of 4 hops on a message.
Overall, Microchip Technology presents a solid wireless networking solutions with the highly integrated and low-power MRF24J40 transceiver and one of the smallest ZigBee protocol stacks on the market. Microchip’s MiWi & ZigBee protocol stacks are a no-cost, royalty-free license with source code (when used with Microchip’s transceiver and controllers). In 10,000-unit quantities, the MRF24J40 starts at $2.99 each in lead-free/RoHS-compliant, 40-pin, 6×6-mm QFN packages. The ZENA wireless network analyzer is available for $129.99, and a low-cost development kit with advanced sniffer is available for $269.
For more information on the integration of wireless networking solutions for your application, please contact Nuvation at sales@nuvation.com.
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