Chipcon´s new RF Transceiver, the CC1000, with its ultra-low power consumption, sets a new standard for short-range communication devices.

Oslo, September 2001.

Chipcon AS, a Norwegian fabless semiconductor company and a leading provider of standardised and customised RF-ICs, announces the release of the CC1000, a new RF transceiver for use in the 300-1000 MHz frequency range.

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The CC1000 is Chipcon´s first RF transceiver based on a standard CMOS technology and the company´s own new qualified SmartRF®02 technology. "The CC1000 and the SmartRF®02 technology platform is developed with uncompromised focus on power consumption, cost and integration level without sacrificing the flexibility that our products are commonly known for", says Geir Forre, president and CEO of Chipcon. "As far as we know, none of our competitors is even close to matching the price or performance of the CC1000". Million quantity price is around USD 2.

The CC1000´s unmatched benefits such as very low power consumption combined with a high integration level, make it the perfect choice for low-cost applications like remote keyless entry, automatic meter reading, home automation, wireless alarm and security systems. " Feedback from the market and several pilot customers that have already designed the CC1000 into their applications is extremely good. Samples are on their way to a large number of customers who are excited to get started with product designs using the CC1000", says Vice President Sales, Sverre Dale Moen.

Key features of the CC1000 include 7.7mA current consumption in receive mode, receive sensitivity of -107dBm, 2.3-3.6V supply voltage, up to 10 dBm output power, programmable carrier frequency, integrated RSSI and bit synchronizer, and very few external components. The circuit is mainly intended for the most commonly used frequency bands at 315, 433, 868 and 915 MHz, but can easily be programmed for operation at any other frequencies in the 300 - 1000 MHz range. CC1000 comes is in a small package (TSSOP28), and is specified over a temperature range from - 40 to 85 °C.

The CC1000 is supported by the CC1000 Development Kit (CC1000DK), a combined evaluation and development tool providing a complete reference design with schematics, bill of materials and layout for the developer. Powered by the SmartRFâ Studio software, which generates all configuration data used by the micro controller, the development kit enables an easy and seamless integration of the CC1000 into the applications.

Several other new products based on the SmartRFâ02 technology platform are under development at Chipcon. The next to be launched is a low-cost multichannel transmitter.

For further information contact: Geir Førre, President and CEO: Tel: +47 915 97 580; Email: g.forre@chipcon.com or Birgit Opland, Director Marketing Communication: Tel: +47 22 95 83 19; email: b.opland@chipcon.com

About Chipcon AS: ( www.chipcon.com )

Chipcon is known worldwide as a leading fabless semiconductor company providing innovative standard single-chip RF products that provide low cost, low-power and high performance RF solutions for a large number of wireless applications. Chipcon also offers turnkey ASIC development, supporting customers from initial project ideas to volume production for RF and mixed signal products.

Chipcon's CC400, CC900 and other single-chip high-performance transceivers target low-power wireless applications in the 315/433/868/915 MHz bands and are currently distributed in high volumes. Chipcon´s well established SmartRF® technology platforms in combination with design expertise and hands-on experience from various high-volume products provide an invaluable foundation for Chipcon's product line.