HFA3842B

TM PRELIMINARY Data Sheet HFA3842B June 2001 File Number 8020 PCMCIA/USB Wireless LAN Medium Access Controller The Intersil HFA3842B Wireless LAN Medium Access Controller is part of the PRISM® 2.4GHz radio chip set. The HFA3842B directly interfaces with the Intersil HFA386x family of Baseband Processors, offering a complete end-to-end chip set solution for wireless LAN products. Protocol and PHY support are implemented in firmware to allow custom protocol and different PHY transceivers. The HFA3842B is designed to provide maximum performance with minimum power consumption. Package pin layout provides optimal PC board layout to all user interfaces including PCMCIA and USB. Firmware implements the full IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN MAC protocol. It supports BSS and IBSS operation under DCF, and operation under the optional Point Coordination Function (PCF). Low level protocol functions such as RTS/CTS generation and acknowledgement, fragmentation and de-fragmentation, and automatic beacon monitoring are handed without host intervention. Active scanning is performed autonomously once initiated by host command. Host interface command and status handshakes allow concurrent operations from multi-threaded I/O drivers. Additional firmware functions specific to access point applications are also available. Designing wireless protocol systems using the HFA3842B is made easier with the availability of evaluation board, firmware, software device drivers, and complete documentation. The H...