News & Events
Intersil Unveils New Medium Access Controller

— First IC introduced under the Intersil logo

MELBOURNE, FL, August 24, 1999 – Intersil Corp., the leading developer of silicon technology for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), today unveiled its new high-performance Medium Access Controller (MAC) for the PRISM II™ WLAN Chip Set. The HFA3841 provides a direct interface between the baseband processing engine of the physical layer (PHY) and the host computer, the final link in a complete end-to-end, "Antenna-to-Computer™" chip set solution for high speed WLANs.

The new HFA3841, the result of technology gained through Intersil’s acquisition of MAC developer Choice Microsystems in early 1999, is the first IC to be announced under the Intersil Corporation (formerly Harris Semiconductor) banner. The new MAC is also the first of five integrated circuits (IC) in the new PRISM II chipset to be available in full production. The other PRISM II ICs are expected to be announced in production quantities within two weeks.

"I’m pleased to announce the unveiling of the HFA3841, the very first wireless product to be manufactured and made commercially available by the company under its new name – Intersil Corporation," said Gregory L. Williams, Intersil’s president and chief executive officer. "As Harris Semiconductor, we forged a leadership position in the wireless LAN market, and as Intersil Corp., we will continue to promote widespread adoption of wireless networking products by providing high performance, low-cost Internet-enabling silicon."

Intersil Announces New PRISM MAC Chip, 2-2-2

Intersil’s new MAC is designed to provide maximum performance with minimum power consumption for high performance wireless networking systems, including high data rate WLANs, PC cards, ISA adapters and WLAN modules and access points; as well as wireless point-to-multipoint systems and wireless bridges.

The HFA3841 provides full implementation of the MAC protocol specified in the draft IEEE802.11 high rate DS standard, expected to be finalized in September. When utilized with the PRISM II Chip Set, the device is capable of delivering wireless data, voice and video at transmission speeds of 11 megabits-per-second (Mbps). It also achieves fallback rates of 5.5, 2 and 1Mbps, making it interoperable with older 802.11-based DSSS systems. Since Protocol and PHY support are implemented in firmware, the MAC offers great flexibility including protocol customization and different PHY transceivers.

"The new HFA3841 is the first in a series of high performance Medium Access Controllers planned for production as part of an aggressive MAC roadmap strategy by Intersil," said Chris Henningsen, Intersil’s global marketing director for PRISM Wireless Products. "The acquisition of Choice’s MAC technology, combined with Intersil’s vast intellectual property in WLAN PHY development, positions us well to achieve higher levels of integration, further cost reduction and increased performance at both the physical and MAC layers."

The HFA3841 is now available for sampling and ordering in production quantities. Also available is an evaluation board, firmware, Microsoft® Windows® software device drivers, and complete documentation. A Developer’s Tool Suite – including Assembler, Debugger and Compiler – is under development and will be available by year-end. Packaged in 128-pin LQFPs optimized for Type II PCMCIA cards, the HFA3841 is available now at $11.92 each, in quantities of 100K. Further information, including a complete datasheet and several application notes, can be obtained by visiting Intersil’s PRISM homepage at www.intersil.com/prism.

Intersil Corporation uses analog, mixed-signal, power and radiation hardening technologies to develop advanced integrated circuits and discrete semiconductors for high-growth segments of the communications, power and space/defense markets. Intersil Corporation employs 5,800 worldwide and utilize the rich intellectual property heritage from Harris, GE Solid State and RCA. The company’s worldwide web site is located at http://www.intersil.com.

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PRISM is a registered trademark of Intersil Corporation
"Antenna-to-Computer" and PRISM II WLAN Chip Set are trademarks of Intersil Corporation