CC1101 Sub-1GHz RF Transceiver - Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments introduced the CC1101, a sub-1GHz radio-frequency (RF) transceiver. The CC1101 is an improved version of TI's CC1100 sub-1GHz RF transceiver. This new RF transceiver targets low-power wireless applications such as in automatic meter reading, alarm and security, home/building automation and industrial monitoring/control.

Texas Instruments CC1101 Sub-1GHz RF Transceiver

The low-cost CC1101 Sub-1GHz RF Transceiver is designed for the ISM and SRD frequency bands at 315, 433, 868 and 915MHz. However, this RF transceiver can also be programmed for operation at frequencies: 300-348MHz, 387-464MHz and 779-928MHz bands. (ISM: Industrial Scientific and Medical; SRD: Short Range Device)

The CC1101 RF Transceiver provides hardware support for package handling, data buffering, burst transmissions, link quality indication, wake-on radio and clear channel assessment. The main operating parameters and the 64-byte transmit/receive FIFOs can be controlled via an SPI interface. In a typical system, the CC1101 will be used with a microcontroller, such as TI's MSP430 ultra-low-power microcontrollers, and a few additional passive components. Extensive digital features speed development time and reduce microcontroller strain, even at high data rates.

CC1101 RF Transceiver is an improved and code compatible version of the CC1100 RF transceiver. The main improvements on the CC1101 include:

• Improved spurious response
• Better close-in phase noise improving Adjacent Channel Power (ACP) performance
• Improved output power ramping
• Extended frequency bands of operation, i.e.
  CC1100: 400-464 MHz and 800-928 MHz
  CC1101: 387-464 MHz and 779-928 MHz
• Higher input saturation level

General Benefits of CC1101 Sub-1GHz RF Transceiver:

• Few external components: Completely on-chip frequency synthesizer, no external filters or RF switch needed
• Small size (QLP 4×4 mm package, 20 pins)
• Support for asynchronous and synchronous serial receive/transmit mode for backwards compatibility with existing radio communication protocols
• Suited for systems targeting compliance with EN 300 220 (Europe) and FCC CFR Part 15 (US)
• Green package: RoHS compliant and no antimony or bromine

Features of CC1101 Sub-1GHz RF Transceiver

• RF Performance
  • High sensitivity (–111 dBm at 1.2 kBaud, 868 MHz, 1% packet error rate)
  • Programmable output power up to +10 dBm for all supported frequencies
  • Programmable data rate from 1.2 to 500 kBaud
  • Low current consumption (14.7 mA in RX, 1.2 kBaud, 868 MHz)
  • Excellent receiver selectivity and blocking performance
  • Frequency bands: 300-348 MHz, 387-464 MHz and 779-928 MHz

• Analog Features
  • 2-FSK, GFSK, and MSK supported as well as OOK and flexible ASK shaping
  • Suitable for frequency hopping systems due to a fast settling frequency synthesizer: 90us settling time
  • Integrated analog temperature sensor
  • Automatic Frequency Compensation (AFC) can be used to align the frequency synthesizer to the received center frequency
• Digital Features
  • Flexible support for packet oriented systems: On-chip support for sync word detection, address check, flexible packet length, and automatic CRC handling
  • Digital RSSI output
  • Efficient SPI interface: All registers can be programmed with one ‘burst’ transfer
  • Programmable Carrier Sense (CS) indicator
  • Programmable channel filter bandwidth
  • Programmable Preamble Quality Indicator (PQI) for improved protection against false sync word detection in random noise
  • Support for per-package Link Quality Indication (LQI)
  • Support for automatic Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) before transmitting (for listen-before-talk systems)
  • Optional automatic whitening and dewhitening of data
• Low-Power Features
  • 400 nA sleep mode current consumption
  • Fast startup time: 240us from sleep to RX or TX mode
  • Separate 64-byte RX and TX data FIFOs (enables burst mode data transmission)
  • Wake-on-radio functionality for automatic low-power RX polling

Applications of CC1101 Sub-1GHz RF Transceiver:

• Ultra low-power wireless applications operating in the 315/433/868/915 MHz ISM/SRD bands
• Industrial monitoring and control
• Wireless alarm and security systems
• Wireless sensor networks
• Home and building automation
• AMR – Automatic Meter Reading

Key parameters of CC1101 Sub-1GHz RF Transceiver:

Tools & Software for of CC1101 Sub-1GHz RF Transceiver:

The CC1101 Sub-1GHz RF Transceiver is available in a QLP-20 package. Suggested resale pricing starts at US$1.85 in 1K unit qty.

More info: Texas Instruments CC1101 Sub-1GHz RF Transceiver