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                               AR6002

Product Bulletin
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Atheros ROCm Platform
Radio-On-Chip for Mobile (ROCm) ProductsROCm, mobile, radio-on-chip, wireless

The combination of ROCm WLAN mobile solutions and Atheros' dominant position in the home, office and Metro Wi-Fi networking markets enables a worldwide wireless ecosystem based on the company's technologies. Atheros-engineered WLAN enables the most reliable wireless
performance and connectivity anywhere you go.

The Atheros ROCm platform gives customers unsurpassed ability to:

  • Build the most power-efficient devices
  • Design for smallest form factor applications
  • Achieve the most cost-effective designs
  • Deliver Atheros-class performance in a wide array of mobile devices, all featuring a high level of design and integration ease.

AR6002 Technology Overview

The Atheros AR6002 features breakthrough power efficiency for mobile WLAN solutions, enabling high performance Wi-Fi to be integrated into mobile devices with efficiency and ease. The AR6002's extremely low power consumption overcomes the key obstacle to designers looking to add Wi-Fi capability in mobile and handheld products.

The game-changing power efficiency delivered by the AR6002 significantly extends battery life. In fact, the AR6002 consumes 70% less power in active mode than competitive solutions and near-zero power in standby. The AR6002 further extends battery-life with its industry-leading throughput which allows the chip to remain in low power states longer.


The exceptionally high level of integration achieved in the AR6002 eliminates the need for most external components typically associated with mobile WLAN solutions. This allows for a very small solution foot-print and the lowest bill-of-materials (BOM) on the market. Building on the success of the first-generation Atheros ROCm® mobile WLAN products, the AR6002 offers mature, feature-rich software that has been market-proven by industry-leading customers and partners. This turnkey design platform allows for easy integration of WLAN into a wide range of mobile devices.

The Atheros AR6002 family serves a growing number of mobile devices that benefit from pervasive, high-speed connectivity offered by a growing number of Wi-Fi hotspots. These include mobile phones, portable media players, digital cameras and portable gaming devices.

AR6002 Solution Features

  • Most power-efficient mobile WLAN implementation
  • Optimized for maximum throughput
    Highest level of on-chip integration:
    – MAC/BB
    – All digital RF
    – PA/LNA
    – Switch
  • Leading RBOM integration
  • Smallest WLAN solution footprint for design flexibility
  • Advanced algorithms for Bluetooth® coexistence
    – Support for 2-, 3-, and 4-wire handshaking protocols
  •  Wi-Fi Protected Setup™ (WPS) support
  • Host Wakeup for system-level power savings
  • Mature, feature-rich, industry-tested software
  • Full software compatibility with Atheros first-generation AR6001
  • Advanced roaming algorithms for fast hand-over

AR6002 Radio

  • 2.4 GHz and 2.4/5 GHz
  • Integrated PA, LNA, RF Switch
  • Adaptive radio biasing for low-power or high-performance modes
  • Industry-leading receive sensitivity

AR6002 MAC/Baseband/Processor

  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g
  • Integrated RISC processor
  • 802.11e, Wi-Fi Multimedia QoS
  • AES, WEP, TKIP, WPA, WPA2 and 802.11i security
  • Minimal host loading
  • Supports fast antenna diversity for all CCK and OFDM rates

AR6002 Specifications

On-chip functionality Single-chip MAC/BB/RF/PA/LNA/Switch
   
Frequency Band 2.4 GHz, 5GHz
   
Network Standard

802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11e

   
Modulation Modes

OFDM with BPSK, QPSK, 16 QAM, 64 QAM, CCK

   
Hardware Encryption

AES, TKIP, WEP, WPA, WPA2, WAPI, 802.11i

   
Quality of Service Wi-Fi Multimedia, 802.11e
   
Communication Interface

SDIO, SPI

   
Peripheral Interface UART, SPI, I2C, 18 GPIO pins
   
Supported Data Rates  
IEEE 802.11a 1 to 54 Mbps
IEEE 802.11b 1 to 11 Mbps
IEEE 802.11g 1 to 54 Mbps
   
Physical Specifications 7x7 mm BGA with 0.5 mm pitch; CSP with 0.4 mm pitch
   
Related ICs AR6002GZ - 802.11g in CSP
AR6002G - 802.11g in BGA
AR6002XZ - 802.11a/g in CSP
AR6002X -  802.11a/g in BGA
   
Bluetooth Coexistence Supports 2-3, 3-, and 4- wire handshaking protocols

Contact your local Atheros representative and ask about this and other solutions from Atheros.

Specification subject to change © 2008 Atheros Communications, Inc. all rights reserved
Atheros and the Atheros logo are registered trademarks of Atheros Communications, Inc. ROCm and the ROCm logo are trademarks of Atheros Communications, Inc.

The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Atheros is under license. All other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners