Provided in one tiny package, Ericsson Microelectronics has launched a radio transceiver that is fully compliant with the Bluetooth standard for wireless communications.

The PBA 313 01/2 is a short-range microwave frequency radio transceiver, operating in the globally available, free, 2.4 - 2.5 GHz ISM band. Its compact size, high level of integration and low power consumption make it ideal for Bluetooth communications applications in mobile phones, modems, laptop computers, and other portable equipment.

With the addition of only an antenna, a 13MHz reference frequency crystal, and digital control and data circuitry, the PBA 313 01/2 forms a complete radio. It is provided in a compact 34 Ceramic Ball Grid Array (CBGA) package, measuring only 10.2mm x 14.0mm x 1.6mm. No external shield is required, as the transceiver is self-shielded.

RF output power is 1mW, allowing the transceiver to communicate at distances up to 10m, in accordance with the Bluetooth standard.

The PBA 313 01/2 is based around a BiCMOS Radio Frequency Application Specific Integrated Circuit (RF ASIC). A simple digital interface for control and data makes it straightforward to integrate the transceiver with the Ericsson Bluetooth Baseband, or to use it in embedded applications. The integrated VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) generates an accurate radio frequency to optimise performance.

An antenna filter is included, which band-pass filters the radio signal to and from the external antenna. Transmit and receive baluns handle biasing of the output amplifier stage, and the transformation between balanced and unbalanced transmission. The antenna filter and the baluns are integrated into the transceiver's ceramic substrate.

"This is going to be big!" is used today in radio advertising for an Internet site that offers what amounts to an online auction for airline tickets; the expression probably started in a Hollywood boardroom when postulating on the future of a new movie. But believe me, Bluetooth is going to be bigger than any of them! Infra-red transmission with the IrDA standard was a wonderful development for inter-device communications  but it is often impractical to get different products located around an office to take advantage of the transmission capabilities. With Bluetooth, on the 2.4 to 2.5-GHz ISM band, transmissions will be ominidirectional and will probably penetrate most construction materials to allow a printer, for example, to be coupled to a number of users in their cubicles without wires. Better still, the protocols have been developed such that they are internationally standard, so equipment can be used in a global manner "without wires." The speed of data transmission to be used can also be increased at a later date by changing the bandwidth of the protocol. The open standard was developed by Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia and Toshiba and there are now more than 500 companies belonging to the Bluetooth special interests group.

We should expect to see Bluetooth transceivers in PCs, printers, digital cameras, cellular phones and just about any other portable appliance. We should also see considerable use in the downloading of data obtained from portable medical sensors of one kind or another.