A 2.4 & 5 GHz dual band 802.11 WLAN supporting data rates to 108 Mb/s

A three chip set, and its associated reference design, implementing a dual mode, dual band 802.11 a/b WLAN is presented. The reference design achieves -91 dBm sensitivity at 6 Mb/s, -73 dBm at 54 Mb/s, and -70 dBm at 108 Mb/s. 18 dBm transmit power is achieved at 6 Mb/s, 14 dBm at 54 and 108 Mb/s. An overview of 802.11a is given. Worldwide spectral allocations are summarized. Required RF component performance is described including PA linearity and achievable PA efficiencies.