Atmel First to Achieve Certification for ZigBee Light Link, Golden Units for Lighting Reference Implementation

With this reference implementation for ZigBee Light Link, Atmel has achieved ‘golden unit’ status, making it the benchmark against which future ZigBee Certified products designed to this standard will be tested. Widely known for its superior RF performance and extremely low power consumption, the ATmega128RFA1 wireless MCU serves as an ideal hardware platform for the ZigBee Light Link Golden Units.

Designed to allow engineers the ability to manage multiple lighting devices on a single network, this reference design integrates Atmel’s ATmega128RFA1 wireless MCUs on a RF4CE-EK evaluation kit with ZigBee Light Link profile software stack ported onto the system. The ATmega128RFA1 offers the industry’s lowest power consumption at 12.5mA in active receive mode, combined with receiver sensitivity at -101dBm. The ZigBee Light Link reference implementation can also be used seamlessly with Atmel’s LED drivers for color-mixing, system management and advanced dimming in commercial, industrial or architectural solid-state lighting applications.

“Atmel continues to deliver leading-edge, innovative ZigBee Certified devices for the latest standards,” said Ryan Maley, vice president of strategy at the ZigBee Alliance. “We are excited to work with companies such as Atmel and help them deliver products that will enable a new and efficient lighting experience using ZigBee.”

ZigBee Light Link provides a global standard for interoperable and very easy-to-use consumer lighting and control products. In addition, the standard allows consumers to change lighting remotely to reflect ambiance, task or season, all while managing energy use and making their homes greener. There are a number of industry advantages, including single platform control of multiple devices, including lamps, switches, dimmers, timers and remote controls. The standard also enables the lighting control platforms to control up to 255 devices.

“The need to manage all your lighting requirements on one control panel is becoming increasingly more popular,” said Oyvind Strom, sr. director of wireless solutions, Atmel Corporation. “ZigBee Light Link addresses this requirement by enabling end users to control lighting, color and dimming for improved comfort, energy savings and convenience. With Atmel’s latest ZigBee Certified products and software stacks, designers are able to develop these innovative lighting products to address the end users’ needs.”

Pricing and Availability
Atmel’s ZigBee Light Link Profile (software stack) is available now free of charge. Pricing for the RF4CE-EK evaluation kit is US $479.