Anaren A1101R09x User manual

Anaren Integrated Radio
A1101R09x Users Manual
Release Date 02/10/11

THIS PAGE LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK

iii
Users Manual
Models A1101R09A and A1101R09C
Contents
1. Overview...............................................................................................................................................
1.1. A1101R09A...................................................................................................................................5
1.2. A1101R09C...................................................................................................................................5
1.3. Features ........................................................................................................................................6
1.4. Theory of Operation.......................................................................................................................6
1.4.1. Typical Flow........................................................................................................................9
1.5. Applications.................................................................................................................................11
2. Product Approvals ............................................................................................................................12
2.1. USA (Federal Communications Commission, FCC, )............................................................12
2.1.1. FCC Labeling Requirements.............................................................................................12
2.1.2. End User Manual ..............................................................................................................13
2.1.3. RF Exposure.....................................................................................................................13
2.2. Canada (Industry Canada, IC) ....................................................................................................14
2.3. Potential Interference Sources....................................................................................................15
2.3.1. Time critical data...............................................................................................................15
2.4. Approved Usage..........................................................................................................................15
2.4.1. USA & Canada..................................................................................................................16
3. Electrical Characteristics ..................................................................................................................18
3.1. Absolute Maximum Ratings.........................................................................................................18
3.2. Operating Conditions...................................................................................................................18
3.3. Pin Out.........................................................................................................................................19
3.4. Recommended Layout ................................................................................................................21
3.5. Power Supply Considerations.....................................................................................................23

THIS PAGE LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK

A1101R09x – Users Manual Page 5 of 26
Release Date 02/10/11
1. Overview
The A1101R09A and A1101R09C are surface mount modules – each with an integrated crystal,
internal voltage regulator, matching circuitry and filtering. The A1101R09A has an integral
antenna, whereas the A1101R09C utilizes an external antenna through a U.FL connector (see
Table 1). The modules operate in the US 902 – 928MHz ISM band and are ideal for achieving
low power wireless connectivity without having to deal with extensive RF, antenna design and
regulatory compliance, allowing quick time to market. The modules are 100% tested to provide
consistent performance.
The A1101R09A and A1101R09C have received regulatory approvals for modular devices in
the United States (FCC) and Canada under Industry Canada (IC) Radio Standards Specification
(RSS) RSS-210 and RSS-Gen. The modular approval allows the OEM or end user to place
either an A1101R09A or an A1101R09C with an approved antenna inside a finished product
without having to perform costly regulatory testing for an intentional radiator. Section 2 has
information on the requirements for the end user/integrator must fulfill to use the modules
without intentional radiator regulatory testing.
The A1101R09A and A1101R09C are based on the CC1101 transceiver IC from Texas
Instruments. All control lines for the transceiver are provided at module level for full control of its
operation. Please see the CC1101 data sheet (www.ti.com) for how to control the modules.
Please see section 8 for the recommended register settings to achieve optimal performance and
regulatory compliance.
The A1101R09A measure 9x16x2.5mm and A1101R09C measures 9x12x2.5mm. The modules
are footprint compatible with each other.
1.1. A1101R09A
The A1101R09A has an integral antenna, providing high efficiency and near omni-directional
radiation pattern. This approach offers the lowest system cost when the application allows
collocation of radio and antenna.
1.2. A1101R09C
The A1101R09C has a compact antenna connector that allows for locating the antenna away
from the module due to form/function or in order to exit a metal enclosure, see figure 6 – figure
9 for more information on antenna location and enclosure considerations.

Page 6 of 26 A1101R09x – Users Manual
Release Date 02/10/11
1.3. Features
Features:
•Frequency range: 902-928 MHz
•Ultra small package size
¾A1101R09C : 9mm x 12mm x 2.5mm
¾A1101R09A : 9mm x 16mm x 2.5mm
•Impedance controlled multi-layer PCB
•Shielded Package
•1.8 to 3.3 V operation
•SPI Interface
•ROHS Compliant
•LGA Footprint
•Low Power Consumption
•Regulatory approvals for FCC
•Digital RSSI output
•Programmable channel filter bandwidth
•Programmable output power up to +10
dBm
•High sensitivity (–104 dBm at 1.2
kBaud, 1% packet error rate)
•Low current consumption (14.4 mA in
RX, 1.2kBaud, input well above
sensitivity limit)
•Fast startup time: 240us from SLEEP
to Rx or Tx mode
•Separate 64 byte Rx and Tx FIFOs
•Data Rate: 1.2 – 500 Kbit/Sec
•Programmable data rate from 1.2 to
500 kBaud
•Sleep state: 0.4µA
•Idle State: 1.7mA
Benefits Summary:
•Operating temperature -40 to +85C
•100% RF Tested in production
•Common footprint for all family
members
•No RF engineering experience
necessary
•Only requires a 2 layer PCB
implementation
•Excellent receiver selectivity and
blocking Performance
•Suited for systems compliant with FCC
CFR47 Part 15.247a2 and 15.249 (US)
and Canada under Industry Canada
(IC) Radio Standards Specification
(RSS) RSS-210 and RSS-Gen.
•No regulatory “Intentional radiator”
testing required to integrate module
into end product. Simple certification
labeling replaces testing.
1.4. Theory of Operation
The A1101R09A and A1101R09C are for low power wireless applications in the US 902 –
928MHz ISM band. The devices can be used to implement a variety of networks, including;
point to point, point to multipoint, peer to peer and mesh networks.
The A1101R09A and A1101R09C both interface to an application microcontroller via an SPI
bus. Physical and MAC layer functionality are accessed via the SPI bus through addressable
registers as well as execution commands. Data received, or to be transmitted, are also
accessed through the SPI bus and are implemented as a FIFO register (64 bytes each for Tx
and Rx).

A1101R09x – Users Manual Page 7 of 26
Release Date 02/10/11
To transmit, a frame of data is placed in the FIFO; this may include a destination address. A
transmit command is given, which will transmit the data according to the initial setup of the
registers. To receive data, a receive command is given, which enables the unit to “listen” for a
transmission; when such a transmission occurs, it places the received frame in the FIFO. When
neither transmit or receive are required, the device can enter either an Idle mode, from which it
can quickly re-enter receive, a transmit mode, or a low power sleep mode from which a crystal
startup is required prior to transmit or receive operation.
Below is a block diagram for each of the A1101R09A and A1101R09C modules.
•Antenna
oThe antenna couples energy between the air and the AIR module. For
applications where installations are done by an end user (non-professional), an
omni-directional antenna pattern is desired, such that the application will work
equally well in any direction. Similarly for peer to peer or point to multipoint
applications an omni-directional pattern is desired such that all nodes have a fair
chance of communicating. The A1101R09A module has an integral antenna that
is near omni-directional, whereas the A1101R09C has approved antenna options
ranging from near omni-directional to shaped front/back patterns (useful for
inline, professional installations). Note that the end radiation pattern depends not
only on the antenna, but also on the ground plane, enclosure and installation
environment.
•Filtering
oFiltering removes spurious signals to comply with regulatory intentional radiator
requirements.
•Matching
oMatching provides the correct loading of the transmit amplifier to achieve the
highest output power, as well as the correct loading for the receive LNA to
achieve the best sensitivity.
•Physical
oThe physical layer provides conversions between data, symbol and RF signal.
•MAC
oThe MAC layer is part of the Logical Link Layer and provides frame handling,
addressing and medium access services.
•Microcontroller Interface
oThe microcontroller interface exposes registers and commands for the physical
and MAC layers to a microcontroller.
•Power Management
oPower management ensures a stable supply for the internal functions, as well as
providing means for a low power sleep mode (in which case, most of the
transceiver is power off).

Page 8 of 26 A1101R09x – Users Manual
Release Date 02/10/11
Figure 1 The functionality of the A1101R09A, using an integral antenna
Figure 2 The functionality of the A1101R09C, using an external antenna.

A1101R09x – Users Manual Page 9 of 26
Release Date 02/10/11
Figure 3 Transceiver IC block diagram.
1.4.1. Typical Flow
After initial setup of registers for desired behavior, the normal operation flow diagram is shown
in Figure 4. In applications of infrequent data transmissions, the transceiver would be in “sleep”
mode to save power (400nA). From there it would awaken and then enter “idle” mode. As part of
the wake up process the crystal oscillator is started (~240µs) and the digital microcontroller
interface is powered up. Before transmit or receive, the frequency synthesizer needs to be
started (“FS_Wakeup”) and, having been powered off (or idle for a while), the control loop of the
VCO/PLL needs to be calibrated (“calibrate”).
A data frame is loaded into the transmit FIFO and the “TX” mode is entered. The transceiver will
transmit the data and enter “idle” mode after completion. When transmit is complete “RX” mode
is entered to wait for the acknowledge frame. Once a frame is received, the transceiver will
again enter “idle” mode. If no acknowledge frame is received within a given timeout, the data
frame would be re-transmitted. If the acknowledge frame indicates that the data was received,
the next data frame will be transmitted. After the last data frame has been transmitted
successfully, the transceiver will again be put in “sleep” mode.

Page 10 of 26 A1101R09x – Users Manual
Release Date 02/10/11
Medium access
Figure 4 Transceiver state diagram