Realtek PDF datasheets for RTL8180

The Realtek RTL8180 is a highly integrated and cost-effective wireless LAN network interface controller that integrates a wireless LANMAC and a direct sequence spread spectrumbaseband processor into one chip. It provides 32-bit performance, PCI bus master capability, and full compliance with IEEE 802.11 and IEEE 802.11b specifications (1 Mbps, 2 Mbps, 5.5 Mbps, and 11 Mbps operation).

The RTL8180 has on board A/D and D/A converters for analog I and Q inputs and outputs. Differential phase shift keying modulation schemes DBPSK and DQPSK, with data scrambling capability, are available along with complementary code keying to provide a variety of data rates. Both receive and transmit AGC functions obtain maximum performance in the analog portions of the transceiver. The RTL8180 also includes a built-in enhanced signal detector to alleviate severe multipath effects. The target environment for 11Mbps is 125ns RMS delay spread. It also supports short preamble and antenna diversity. For security issues, the RTL8180 also implements a high performance internal WEP engine supporting up to 104 bit WEP.

It also supports Advanced Configuration Power management Interface (ACPI), PCI power management system for modern operating systems that are capable of Operating System directed Power Management (OSPM) to achieve the most efficient power management possible.

In addition to the ACPI feature, the RTL8180 also supports remote wake-up (including AMD Magic Packet and Microsoft wake-up frame) in both ACPI and APM environments. The RTL8180 is capable of performing an internal reset through the application of auxiliary power. When the auxiliary power is applied and the main power remains off, the RTL8180 is ready and waiting for the Magic Packet or wake-up frame to wake the system up. Also, the LWAKE pin provides four different output signals including active high, active low, positive pulse, and negative pulse. The versatility of the RTL8180 LWAKE pin provides motherboards with Wake-On-LAN (WOL) functionality.

PCI Vital Product Data (VPD) is also supported to provide the information that uniquely identifies hardware (i.e., the RTL8180 LAN card). The information may consist of part number, serial number, and other detailed information.

The RTL8180 supports an enhanced link list descriptor-based buffer management architecture, which is an essential part of a design for a modern network interface card. It contributes to lowering CPU utilization. Also, the RTL8180 boosts its PCI performance by supporting PCI Memory Read Line & Memory Read Multiple when transmitting, and Memory Write and Invalidate when receiving.

The RTL8180 keeps network maintenance costs low and eliminates usage barriers. The RTL8180 is highly integrated and requires no “glue” logic or external memory.