Datasheet HWB3163-EVAL Datasheet (Intersil Corporation)

HWB3163-EVAL

PRELIMINARY

Data Sheet November 1999

PRISM II™ 11Mbps Wireless Local Area
Network PC Card

™

The Intersil HWB3163 WLAN PC Card
(Note 1) is a complete wireless high
speed Network Interface Card (NIC)
utilizing the Intersil PRISM II Direct

Sequence Spread Spectrum Wireless
Transceiver chip set. It provides a complete evaluation
platform of hardware and software to system providers or
integrators requiring wireless data communications
capability and is ideal for integrationintocomputerplatforms.

Evaluation kits include two WLAN PC cards, a Microsoft®
Windows® 95/98/NT Driver, LANEVAL software, PRISM®
Transmitter Test Utilities (PTTU) software (Note 3) and
documentation to get your evaluation started quickly.
Supporting the IEEE 802.11 network specification for Direct
Sequence Spread Spectrum DSSS signaling, the card is
packaged in aPCMCIAType II extended coverset.Thecard
provides data rates of 1, 2, 5.5 and 11Mbps. Access Points
will be available from a number of suppliers, enabling a total
wireless network solution.

TYPICAL OPERATING RANGE (NOTE 2)

DATA RATE

(Mbps) INDOOR RANGE OUTDOOR RANGE

11 120 feet (37 meters) 400 feet (122 meters)

5.5 200 feet (61 meters) 600 feet (183 meters)
2 240 feet (73 meters) 750 feet (228 meters)
1 300 feet (91 meters) 1000 feet (305 meters)

Ordering Information

File Number 4794

Features

• FCC Certified Under Part 15 to Operate in 2.4GHz ISM
Band (Approval Pending)

• Support for 11, 5.5, 2 and 1 Megabit Per Second (Mbps)
Data Rates

• Supports the lEEE 802.11 Direct Sequence Specification

• Driver Supports Microsoft® Windows® 95, 98, 2000, NT,
CE and LINUX®

• Integrated Microstrip Dual Diversity Antennas

• Advanced RAKE Receiver Design with AGC

• Uses 50% of the Power of Previous Devices

• Provides Wireless Data Communications at Full Ethernet
Speed

• Completely Covered Assembly is Designed to Fully
Support PCMCIA Type II Defined Mechanical and
Environmental Stress Conditions

• Intelligent Power Control, Including Low Power Standby
Mode

• Complete Reference Design, the HWB3163-CD Available
to Ensure Minimum Time-to-Market

NOTES:

1. Throughout this document, all references to ‘PC Card’, ‘WLAN
adapter’, ‘adapter’, or ‘card’ refer to a covered card assembly
conforming to the mechanical size specifications of the PCMCIA
Standard Release 2.0, Type Il Extended (5.0mm) definition.

2. The range will vary in different operating environments due to
effects such as building construction.

3. At present, PTTU supports Windows 95 and 98. An upgrade is in
process which will add support for NT.

PART NUMBER DESCRIPTION CARDS/SET

HWB3163-EVAL WLAN Evaluation Kit 2

Packaging

1

1-888-INTERSIL or 321-724-7143

Intersil Corporation. Microsoft® and Windows® and Windows NT® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

CAUTION: These devices are sensitive to electrostatic discharge; follow proper IC Handling Procedures.

| Copyright © Intersil Corporation 1999. PRISM and PRISM II™ logo are trademarks of

LINUX® is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

HWB3163-EVAL

Functional Overview

The WLAN PC Card is designed to operate in the 2.4GHz ISM
frequency band, channels 1 to 11, as specified by the FCC in
the USA. The Card will also operate on channels 12 through
14, where permitted by local regulatory authorities (refer to
Table 2). Radio equipment must be certified in a country prior to
use. Refer to Table 3 for a list of countries and agencies that
have approv ed the HWB3163-EVAL for operation.

The Intersil PRISM Chip Set allows for high level integration
for reduced size, increased throughput, improved radio
performance and faster time to market. The WLAN PC card
implements Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum DSSS
technology providing superior noise and signal jamming
immunity including less severe impact from unintentional
radiators such as microwave ovens. The user can connect
the PC Card in an ad-hoc peer to peer networking scheme,
allowing for instant network setup in any office environment.
By using an access point, the wireless LAN can be set up to
allow for a greater number of users to interconnect, and to
increase the coverage area. With a portal (i.e., Access Point),
the wireless LAN can be easily connected into an existing
wired LAN, allowing for easy expansion of the service.

Compared to the first generation PRISM I chip set, the
PRISM II generation offers:

• 3.3V operation for reduced power dissipation

• 50% reduction in current drain for extended battery life

• Transmitter Automatic Level Control (ALC/AGC) to
provide constant RF power output

• Sophisticated RAKE receiver and Automatic Gain
Control (AGC) for improved multipath performance

• Higher level of chip integration and less peripheral
components to yield 30% reduction in material cost

• Support of optional IEEE 802.11 Short Preamble for
significantly increased data throughput

A complete Reference Design CD, the HWB3163-CD is
available to ensure minimum time-to-market. This CD
contains detailed information for manufacturing a PCMCIA
WLAN assembly, including Gerber PC board files, an
accurate Bill of Material with component sourcing and
complete mechanical drawings.

Related Literature

To learn more about what the IEEE 802.11 is, refer to:

• Tech Brief TB337, Intersil Corporation, “A Brief Tutorial
on Spread Spectrum and Packet Radio” [1].

The HFA3841 Media Access Controller
(MAC) Protocol Handler

The HFA3841 MAC and its firmware are responsible for
running the IEEE 802.11 protocol in the WLAN card. This
section describes the features of IEEE 802.11 that are
implemented.

The functions supported by the STA (station) Firmware are:

• CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with
Collision Avoidance) with Random Backoff

• WEP Security

• Short/Long Preamble with multirate

• RTS/CTS Handshake (Ready To Send/Clear To Send)
and NAV Management (Network Allocation Vector)

• MAC Level Acknowledgments (Media Access Control)

• Re-Transmission of Unacknowledged Frames

• Duplicate Detection and Rejection

• Broadcast and Multicast Frames

• Fragmentation and Re-Assembly

• Power Management (Planned)

• Timestamp Synchronization

• DCF (Distributed Coordination Function)

• PCF (Point Coordination Function)

• Beacon Generation in an Ad-Hoc Network

• Probe Response Generation in an Ad-Hoc Network

Card Information Structure

The standard Intersil WLAN PC Card will be supplied with
the following information embedded in the CIS. It should be
noted that in most systems this information is displayed
when the card is inserted. Customization of the CIS for
specific customer requirements is available upon request, to
enable customer information to be displayed when the card
is inserted.

TABLE 1.

FUNCTION NAME CONTENT

Manufacturer’s ID 00
Function ID Network Adapter
Product Revision 1
Manufacturer Intersil Corporation

For a more detailed description of radio operation, please
refer to:

• Application Note AN9864, Intersil Corporation,
“HWB3163-EVAL PRISM II 11Mbps WLAN PCMCIA
Card User’s Guide” [2]

2

Product HFA3841
PROG
LOT

HWB3163-EVAL

IEEE 802.11 International Agreement and
Frequency Assignments

The IEEE 802 LAN committee has forged an international
agreement providing for wireless data communication
standards for the frequency range of 2.4GHz to

2.4835GHz, as allocated by the FCC in the USA, and in the

2.471GHz to 2.497GHz frequency range, as specified by
the regulatory authority in Japan. These standards are
designed to focus the industry to develop highly integrated,
low cost, interoperable WLAN equipment, of which the
HWB3163-EVAL is a prime example.

In the U.S., there are 11 channels specified by the FCC in
the 2.412GHz to 2.462GHz range. In Japan, one channel at

2.484GHz is authorized. The ETSl (European) regulatory
body conforms to the USA (FCC) channel assignments with
the exception that channels 12 and 13 are also allowed.
Some countries in Europe, notably France and Spain have
unique channel restrictions.

Although information contained in Table 2 is deemed to be
accurate, local regulatory authorities should be consulted
before using such equipment.

The available channels of oper ation in the 2.4GHz to

2.4835GHz and 2.471GHz to 2.497GHz ranges are as follows:

TABLE 2. IEEE 802.11 CHANNELS

CHANNEL

NUMBER

1 2412MHz US, CA, ETSI
2 2417MHz US, CA, ETSI
3 2422MHz US, CA, ETSI
4 2427MHz US, CA, ETSI

CHANNEL

FREQUENCY

GEOGRAPHIC

USAGE

The HWB3163 is shipped with USA-compliant firmware. In
order to ensure regulatory-compliant channel usage in a
particular country, special geographic-specific firmware is
availablefor customer production assemblies which restricts
channel usage. Examples include ETSI-compliant firmware,
etc. Since the end user does not have the ability to alter this
firmware, regulatory compliance is ensured.

Agency and Regulatory Body Approvals

The WLAN PC Card will comply to the following standards:

TABLE 3.

COUNTRY APPROVAL NOTES

USA FCC part 15,

Sec. 15.247,

Sec. 15.107 and 15.109
Canada ICAN RSS-210 Designed for compliance
Europe ETSI 300.328 Nov 96

EMC prETS 300.826
Japan MKK Designed for compliance

Approval pending for
Intentional Radiators
Computer Peripheral

Designed for compliance

3V PCMCIA Interface Standard

CAUTION: This assembly is designed to operate with a

supply voltage of 3.3V in laptop computers supporting the
dual 3V/5V PCMCIA standard. As such, it is mechanically
keyed with a wide tab to prevent insertion in older laptops
only capable of supplying 5V power. Do not therefore force
engagement of the card in the PCMCIA slot of the laptop as
the computer might not be supporting the newer standard.

Permanent damage may occur if operated on 5V.

5 2432MHz US, CA, ETSI
6 2437MHz US, CA, ETSI
7 2442MHz US, CA, ETSI
8 2447MHz US, CA, ETSI

9 2452MHz US, CA, ETSI
10 2457MHz US, CA, ETSI, FR, SP
11 2462MHz US, CA, ETSI, FR, SP
12 2467MHz ETSI, FR
13 2472MHz ETSI, FR
14 2484MHz Japan†

KEY: US = United States, CA = Canada, ETSI = ETSI countries

(except France and Spain), FR = France, SP = Spain.

†In Japan, authorization for Channels 1 through 11 is pending.

3

HWB3163-EVAL

Absolute Maximum Ratings Operating Conditions

Supply Voltage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -0.3V to 4.0V (Max)

Storage Temperature (Note 4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -20oC to 65oC

Caution: These are the absolute maximum ratings for the PC Card product. Exceeding these limits could cause permanent damage to the card.

NOTE:

4. All temperature references refer to ambient conditions.

Temperature Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0oC ≤ TA≤ 55oC

Supply Voltage Range. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.0V to 3.6V

Electrical Specifications Test Conditions: Supply Voltage (V

Unless Otherwise Specified

PARAMETER SYMBOL TEST CONDITIONS MIN TYP MAX UNITS

CURRENT CONSUMPTION

Average Current
(Without Power Saving Mode) (Note 5)

Average Current
(With Power Saving Mode) (Note 5)

Continuous Transmit Mode I
Continuous Receive Mode I
Standby (Note 5) I

PC CARD LOGIC LEVELS

Input HIGH Voltage V
Input LOW Voltage V
Output HIGH Voltage V
Output LOW Voltage V
Input Leakage Current IIH or I

PC CARD LOADING CAPACITANCE

I

I

CC

CC

CC

CC

CC

OH

OL

2% Transmit 98% Receive - 218 - mA

2% TX 90% Standby 8% RX - 40 - mA

IH

IL

Sourcing 1mA VCC-0.2 - V
Sinking 2mA 0 - 0.2 V

IL

) = 3.3V, Ambient Temperature (TA) = 25oC,

CC

- - 380 mA

- - 215 mA

- - 17 mA

0.7V

CC

0.0 - VCC/3 V

-10 - 10 µA

-VCC +0.2 V

CC

V

Input Capacitance C
Output Capacitance C

IN

OUT

- - 15 pF

- - 15 pF

ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIFICATIONS

Vibration Vib 10 to 2000Hz, VCC = 0 - - 15 G
Drop Drop - - 75 cm
Torque T 10o Max - - 11 Lb/Ft

2

ESD ESD Non-Operating - - 1500 V
X-RAY X-RAY - - 10K Roentgen
UV UV Wavelength 254nm - - 15K µW/cm
Humidity RH - - 98 %
EMI EMI - - 1K Oersted

RF SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS

Antenna Gain AG - +2.5 - dBi
Transmitter Power Output POUT - +12.5 - dBm
EIRP EIRP - +15 - dBm

4

HWB3163-EVAL

Electrical Specifications Test Conditions: Supply Voltage (V

Unless Otherwise Specified (Continued)

PARAMETER SYMBOL TEST CONDITIONS MIN TYP MAX UNITS

Receive Sensitivity RX_S 5.5Mbps, 8% PER or 1E-5 BER - -87 - dBm

11Mbps, 8% PER or 1E-5 BER - -84 - dBm
Maximum Receive Level RX_MAX PER <8% -4 - - dBm
Third Order Intercept Point (Input) IIP3_90 -90 dBm input -16 -3 - dBm

IIP3_25 -25 dBm input +10 +20 - dBm
Image Rejection IR PER <8% - 60 - dB
IF Rejection IFR PER <8% 60 100 - dB
Adjacent Channel Rejection ACR PER <8% (Note 6) - 46 - dB
Data Rate (Physical Layer) Rate - 1, 2, 5.5

NOTES:

5. Refer to Application Note “PRISM Power Management Modes” AN9665 [5].

6. The adjacent channel measurement is carried out on two channels separated by 25MHz (5 channels).

PIN 34

TOP (LED, THIS SIDE)

PIN 1

3V KEY

) = 3.3V, Ambient Temperature (TA) = 25oC,

CC

- Mbps

and 11

References

For Intersil documents available on the internet, see web site
http://www.intersil.com/
Intersil AnswerFAX [phone].

PIN 68

VIEW, LOOKING INTO 68 PIN FEMALE CONNECTOR

BOTTOM

FIGURE 1. EDGE VIEW, PCMCIA CARD

PIN 35

[1] TB337 TechBrief, Intersil Corporation, “A Brief Tutorial

on Spread Spectrum and Packet Radio”, AnswerFAX
document No. 82337.

[2] AN9864 Application Note, Intersil Corporation,

“HWB3163-EVAL PRISM II 11Mbps WLAN PCMCIA

Back PC Card Label

Card User’s Guide”

Further information can be found in the following:

• Intersil PRISM II datasheets, web home page,
http://www.intersil.com/prism/prism.asp

• IEEE 802.11 Standards Project (available from the
IEEE, New York, USA).

• PC Card V2.1 Standard.

5

HWB3163-EVAL

Notices

Electronic Emission Notices

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules.
Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

1. This device may not cause harmful interference.

2. This device must accept any interference received,
including interference that may cause undesired
operation.

FCC Radio Frequency Interference Statement

The wireless LAN PC card is subject to the rules of the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This card is
considered an intentional radiator as per the FCC guidelines.

NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with
the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC
rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection
against harmful interference in a residential installation. This
equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy
and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction
manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a
particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful
interferencetoradioor television reception, which can be determined
by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to
correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna

• Increase the separation between the equipment and the
receiver

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from
that to which the receiver is connected

• Consult the dealer or an experienced ratio/TV technician for
help

WARNING! Any changes or modifications of equipment not expressly
approved by Intersil could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.

All Intersil semiconductor products are manufactured, assembled and tested under ISO9000 quality systems certification.

Intersil semiconductor products are sold by description only. Intersil Corporation reserves the right to make changes in circuit design and/or specifications at any time with­out notice. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned to verify that data sheets are current before placing orders. Information furnished by Intersil is believed to be accurate and
reliable. However ,no responsibility is assumed by Intersil or its subsidiaries for its use; nor for any infringements of patents or other rights of third parties which may result
from its use. No license is granted by implication or otherwise under any patent or patent rights of Intersil or its subsidiaries.

For information regarding Intersil Corporation and its products, see web site www.intersil.com

Sales Office Headquarters

NORTH AMERICA

Intersil Corporation
P. O. Box 883, Mail Stop 53-204
Melbourne, FL 32902
TEL: [phone]
FAX: [phone]

6

EUROPE

Intersil SA
Mercure Center
100, Rue de la Fusee
1130 Brussels, Belgium
TEL: [phone]
FAX: [phone]

ASIA

Intersil (Taiwan) Ltd.
7F-6, No. 101 Fu Hsing North Road
Taipei, Taiwan
Republic of China
TEL: [phone]
FAX: [phone]