MAC implementation for IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN

This paper presents the implementation of IEEE 802.11 enhanced MAC (medium access control) layer that can be applied to wireless LAN for multimedia services. It is implemented in a hardware prototype that can interface with not only OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplex) physical layer at 5 GHz but also DSSS (direct sequence spread spectrum) physical layer at 2.4 GHz. The prototype can easily support the interface between the MAC layer and one of the two physical layers by changing the logic in a FPGA (field programmable gate array). To meet the high-speed requirement of physical layers, we designed the MAC protocol layer with hardwired logic and embedded firmware. This prototype can be utilized to the development of System IC (integrated circuit) for wireless communication.