Infineon catapults Bluetooth onto mass market - One chip integrates everything needed for radio data communication in a few square millimeters

Munich, April 29, 2002 – Come the end of 2005, if several hundred million everyday high-tech devices are communicating with one another without a wire in sight, then “Bluetooth” is very probably in the air. A reliable hardware solution for the coming product generations is urgently needed if digital camcorders, cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and notebooks are soon to rely quite naturally on Bluetooth as a short-range data highway. Infineon Technologies has already found the right solution: “BlueMoon Single” is a powerful chip which integrates all the Bluetooth components, including send and receive unit for radio signals, in a mere 7 x 7 mm footprint. Independent quality tests have now certified that “BlueMoon Single” fully supports Bluetooth specification 1.1.

Industry giants put faith in smallest Bluetooth chip

Infineon’s BlueMoon Single is a new member of the “BlueMoon” family. Depending on the field of application, Bluetooth solutions of differing complexity are accommodated in minimum space. The latest offspring is designed primarily as a low-cost component for use in mobile terminal devices. For a high-volume price of less than 6 euros per chip, BlueMoon Single enhances the desired product with versatile data communication via Bluetooth. Infineon’s Bluetooth devices have already found high-profile users. For example, leading mobile phone suppliers and Sony use BlueMoon chips in digital camcorders, both products with very high requirements in terms of battery operating times and product design.

All BlueMoon chips are manufactured at Infineon in leading-edge CMOS technology with a feature size of 0.25 µm. A digital signal processor (DSP), radio transceiver (send and receive unit), memory, and important operating software (firmware) are integrated on the chip. “BlueMoon Single” samples are already being shipped to manufacturers, with mass production currently slated to start in summer 2002.

Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for applications in the wired and wireless communications markets, for security systems and smartcards, for the automotive and industrial sectors, as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon operates in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. Employing about 33,800 people worldwide, the company achieved sales of EUR 5.67 billion in fiscal 2001 (ending September). Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol IFX.