Serial EEPROMs with built-in MAC addresses
18 February 2009
DSP, Micros & Memory
Microchip has released a family of serial EEPROM devices with built-in EUI-48 and EUI-64 compatible MAC addresses. Designed to work on standard buses such as SPI, I²C and UNI/O, the devices provide inexpensive access to MAC addresses and feature up to 1,5 Kb of EEPROM that can be used for storing configuration and user settings, or as a scratch-pad area for buffering small amounts of data. The devices can be ordered when needed without volume restrictions, and because they eliminate the need for designers to burn a unique MAC address into every microcontroller, they enable quick integration and shorter time-to-market.
The 24AA02E48, 25AA02E48 and 11AA02E48 serial EEPROMs have a built-in 48-bit extended unique identifier (EUI) that is needed to identify the network hardware’s physical address. These built-in MAC addresses enable designers to buy addresses only when needed, and also eliminate the need for serialisation and programming. The address is also EUI-64 compatible and is write-protected to ensure tamper-proof designs.
Example EUI-48 networking applications for which the new EEPROMs are appropriate include those involving Ethernet, 802.11 WiFi and Bluetooth technology. The devices are also well-suited for EUI-64 applications, such as those that utilise the FireWire, ZigBee/IEEE 802.15.4, Microchip’s MiWi and IPv6 protocols.
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