Broadcom ignites innovation with PC industry's first 40nm Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo chip

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: Broadcom Corp. is expanding the opportunity for OEMs to deliver wireless innovation in personal computers, notebooks and netbooks with its BCM43142 InConcert combo chip. The new chip combines Wi-Fi Direct connectivity with seamless proximity-based pairing, dramatically simplifying wireless connectivity in the home. The combo chip supports a variety of platforms including next generation Windows® and Android-based systems.

The single-die BCM43142 is the industry's first 40nm Wi-Fi Bluetooth Combo Chip for notebooks and netbooks. It features power savings and coexistence improvements over earlier InConcert PC combo modules that Broadcom has been shipping since 2008. With its high levels of integration, the 40nm device also provides a significant reduction in footprint and a lower bill-of-materials and a 40 percent reduction in power consumption, providing a cost effective, compact and high-performance solution for the PC market.

The BCM43142 software development kit includes APIs for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Bluetooth High Speed and 802.11n Wi-Fi Direct functionality. This allows devices to automatically recognize and communicate with each other directly, delivering innovative applications such as proximity-based PC security, router-less collaboration and instant photo/video sharing.

The BCM43142 and accompanying software applications will be demonstrated in Broadcom's Computex Booth.

While nearly all smart phones already include combo chips, a study by ABI Research finds that demand for single-die Bluetooth and Wi-Fi combo chips will continue to grow by 15 percent CAGR between 2009 and 2015. The ABI Research study also indicates that more than 75 percent of the combined notebooks and netbooks shipments in 2013 will have both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Broadcom now extends this capability to address Windows and Android-based PCs and notebooks and netbooks with its fourth generation Bluetooth-Wi-Fi combo chip.