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AT86ZL3201

5056CS–WIRE–6/04

In addition to many powerful features commonly found on Atmel’s AVR microcontrollers,

the Z-Link Controller includes a 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) engine

and a NIST-certified random number generator to provide low-cost, low-power network

security that conserves program space. With buffered TX and RX ports, two SPI serial

interface blocks, 32 general purpose I/O with programmable pull-ups, numerous clock-

ing options, and a high-speed clock output, the Z-Link Controller is designed with a

flexible interface to support both low-band (868/915 MHz) and high-band (2.4 GHz)

radio solutions.

For power conservation, the Z-Link Controller includes two sleep modes, a power-down

mode for the ADC, and a programmable brown-out detector. In sleep mode, one 16-bit

timer can be running with the extremely low-power 32-kHz oscillator (max. 1uW), and all

analog blocks have low-power, standby modes.

The Z-Link Controller includes many features to aide in software development, including

a JTAG-compliant interface for on-chip debug and flash programming, and four 16-bit

timers.

The 32 KB Flash can be programmed in the system via the built-in bootloader using

data directly from either SPI interface or via ROM-code using data from some other

source such as RF data (for over-the-air programming). Code security options include

the ability to establish a variable-sized, protected section of Flash memory and the abil-

ity to lock out JTAG access.

The Z-Link Controller will include a proven IEEE 802.15.4 software stack including both

the PHY and the MAC protocol layers. In addition, the Z-Link Controller will be sup-

ported with a full suite of program and system development tools including C compiler,

macro assembler, progam debugger/simulator, in-circuit emulator, and an evaluation kit.