Freescale mcu has 'fastest' dual PAN functionality for ZigBee networks

The ARM CortexTM-M4 based mcu has up to 512KB of flash and 64KB of SRAM, which Freescale says provides enough memory to run both network protocol stacks on a single device while eliminating the need for a second mcu. "Freescale recognises the need to support multiple ZigBee networks and even different versions of protocols within a small area," said Bruno Baylac, director and general manager of Freescale's metering, medical and connectivity business unit. "Our hardware implementation is less complex than software only implementations, while significantly improving the performance and robustness of the end product." The hardware implementation is said to maintain key network information for two networks, including the PAN ID, short and long network addresses as well as the rf channel, allowing the device to change between networks in 64uS. The KW20 is also designed to function as a coordinator, a router or an end device on each network.