Atheros AR5001X+ Multimode WLAN Solution

With support for IEEE 802.11a, the 802.11g draft standard and the 802.11b legacy standard, the Atheros AR5001X+ Multimode WLAN chip set supports the important standards for both current and future wireless networks. System developers can use the AR5001X+ to create products that work with any of these networks and allow end users to choose whatever network they wish, bypassing debates about standards. Use of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) also eliminates security concerns.

Since 802.11a and 802.11b/g networks occupy different frequency bands, they can be deployed alongside one another. This Multimode Solution therefore offers an easy upgrade path for expanding available bandwidth. Building upon the inherently high quality of 802.11a operation in the interference-free 5-GHz band, this Multimode Solution opens the way for wide-scale deployment of wireless networks.

The AR5001X+ Multimode Solution comprises three low-power chips, each of which rely exclusively on standard-process CMOS. As a result, the chip set delivers reliable, cost-effective connectivity.

At the heart of the AR5001X+ Multimode Solution is Atheros second-generation 802.11a technology. This technology includes the second-generation implementation of the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) modulation scheme with 15 advances in OFDM radio design. As the modulation scheme for both 802.11a and the draft 802.11g standards, OFDM is key to high-performance wireless networking.