NEC Engineering Launches ZigBee™-Ready Wireless Network Module with NEC Electronics 78K0 Microcontroller and Chipcon CC2420 RF Transceiver Chip

DUESSELDORF, Germany, TOKYO, Japan and OSLO, Norway, November 15, 2004 — 15 Nov 2004

NEC Engineering, Ltd., in cooperation with NEC Electronics Corp. and Chipcon AS, today introduced a module developed for compatibility with IEEE 802.15.4 and ZigBee™ wireless network standards, for use in a wide range of industrial, commercial and residential applications. The module includes the CC2420 RF transceiver from Chipcon and the 78K0/KF1+ low-power 8-bit Flash microcontroller from NEC Electronics.

ZigBee is a wireless network technology that enables long lifetime with low power consumption using dry batteries. The technology is expected to be used in a wide array of industrial, commercial and residential applications such as sensor networks, security terminals, building management, factory automation, home automation and toys.

The wireless module enables wireless communication via a physical (PHY) layer and media access (MAC) layer that comply with existing specifications, allowing system developers and OEMs to easily develop ZigBee prototypes and products. The module is controlled by NEC Electronics’ 78K0/KF1+ 8-bit single chip Flash microcontroller, in which IEEE 802.15.4-compliant MAC software is embedded. The module includes Chipcon’s CC2420 2.4GHz RF transceiver chip, and also supports Flash programming and debugging of the 78K0 microcontroller via USB connection to PC, without any additional requirement of hardware.

“We are seeing an increased demand in wireless sensor network market, and expect ZigBee products to occupy a significant portion of it,” said Hiromichi Kono, General Manager, Device Solutions Division, NEC Engineering. “This collaboration among NEC Engineering, NEC Electronics and Chipcon enables us to offer customers a vehicle for low-power and cost efficient wireless sensor networks. The three companies will continue to cooperate to proactively pursue the worldwide wireless sensor network market.”

The wireless module will be demonstrated by NEC Engineering and NEC Electronics at Embedded Technology 2004 from Nov. 17–19, 2004 in Yokohama, Japan.
For examples of ZigBee implementations, ZigBee protocol layers and specifications of the wireless module click here.

Availability
Development kits containing two ZigBee-ready wireless modules and software development tools are scheduled to be available in February 2005. The kits will be sold in Japan by NEC Engineering, and in Europe by NEC Electronics Europe.

ZigBee is a trademark of Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.  Windows is a trademark or registered trademark of Microsoft in the United States and other countries.  PC-AT is a trademark of IBM Corp.

About NEC Electronics Corporation
NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) specializes in semiconductor products encompassing advanced technology solutions for the high-end computing and broadband networking markets, system solutions for the mobile handsets, PC peripherals, automotive and digital consumer markets, and platform solutions for a wide range of customer applications. NEC Electronics Corporation has 26 subsidiaries worldwide including NEC Electronics America, Inc. and NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH. Additional information about NEC Electronics worldwide can be found at www.necel.com.

About NEC Engineering, Ltd.
NEC Engineering, Ltd. specializes in wide range of technologies including System Solutions, Appliances, and IT Platforms. NEC Engineering provides a wide range of solutions such as system on a chip solutions, security system solutions and seamless broadband network integration solutions with various state of the art network equipment, IC tags, and biometrics. We are committed to providing our customers and markets in the information and communications technology (ICT) society with a large variety of core technologies in the most efficient and useful form to better realize a ubiquitous society.

About Chipcon AS: (www.chipcon.com)
Chipcon is a leading semiconductor design and manufacturing company. Chipcon's standard RF-ICs provide-low cost, low-power and high-performance RF solutions for a large number of wireless applications including Home and Building Automation, Wireless Sensor Networks, Automatic Meter Reading (AMR), Alarm and Security, Consumer Electronics and Automotive. Chipcon's single-chip RF transceivers and transmitters have outstanding performance and target low-power wireless applications in the 300 to 1000 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequency bands. The products are distributed worldwide.