InnoCOMM rolls out single-chip Bluetooth device

InnoCOMM rolls out single-chip Bluetooth device
By Semiconductor Business News
January 18, 2001 (1:07 p.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20010117S0077

SAN DIEGO -- Hoping to drive down the costs of personal-area networks, InnoCOMM wireless Inc. has rolled out a single-chip, Bluetooth-enabled radio transceiver based on a CMOS process technology.

The new chip, called the ICM3101, enables cellular phones, PDAs, notebook PCs, and other products to communicate over a wireless network at speeds up to 1-megabits-per-second. Using a proprietary smart radio technology, innoCOMM wireless's chip technology significantly reduces power consumption in a system, said Bernard Xavier, president and chief executive of innoCOMM.

Based on a 0.25-micron process, the ICM3101 has no external filters or inductors, thereby reducing cost and board space. To save battery life, a proprietary smart radio technology is incorporated into the design that allows the chip to run at a lower power when idle.

"CMOS is the obvious route to take," said Ken Lazarus, vice president of engineering for the company. "The real benef it with this Bluetooth chip is that we are able to achieve power efficiencies similar to those normally attributed to silicon germanium, BiCMOS, and silicon-on-insulator technologies without sacrificing performance, chip size and integration."

Volume production will begin in mid-2001, with samples available in the first quarter. The chip is $7.00 in quantities of 500,000.