diff --git a/drivers/at86rf231/at86rf231.c b/drivers/at86rf231/at86rf231.c
index 5bba3ebb90d607be2491bfb8b55d87c334e93f81..aa2a42f20dd4a932dd305d4943279df41166c031 100644
--- a/drivers/at86rf231/at86rf231.c
+++ b/drivers/at86rf231/at86rf231.c
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 /*
- * at86rf231.c - Implementation of at86rf231 functions.
  * Copyright (C) 2013 Alaeddine Weslati <alaeddine.weslati@inria.fr>
  *
  * This file is subject to the terms and conditions of the GNU Lesser
@@ -7,15 +6,12 @@
  * directory for more details.
  */
 
-#include "kernel_types.h"
-#include "transceiver.h"
-
 /**
  * @ingroup     drivers_at86rf231
  * @{
  *
- * @file        at86rf231.c
- * @brief       Driver implementation for at86rf231 chip
+ * @file
+ * @brief       Driver implementation of the AT86RF231 device driver
  *
  * @author      Alaeddine Weslati <alaeddine.weslati@inria.fr>
  * @author      Thomas Eichinger <thomas.eichinger@fu-berlin.de>
@@ -24,8 +20,13 @@
  */
 
 #include "at86rf231.h"
-#include "at86rf231_arch.h"
 #include "at86rf231_spi.h"
+#include "board.h"
+#include "periph/gpio.h"
+#include "periph/spi.h"
+#include "kernel_types.h"
+#include "transceiver.h"
+#include "vtimer.h"
 
 #define ENABLE_DEBUG (0)
 #include "debug.h"
@@ -37,6 +38,11 @@ static uint64_t radio_address_long;
 
 uint8_t  driver_state;
 
+uint8_t at86rf231_get_status(void);
+void at86rf231_gpio_spi_interrupts_init(void);
+void at86rf231_reset(void);
+
+
 void at86rf231_init(kernel_pid_t tpid)
 {
     transceiver_pid = tpid;
@@ -71,7 +77,8 @@ void at86rf231_init(kernel_pid_t tpid)
 
 void at86rf231_switch_to_rx(void)
 {
-    at86rf231_disable_interrupts();
+    gpio_irq_disable(AT86RF231_INT);
+
     // Send a FORCE TRX OFF command
     at86rf231_reg_write(AT86RF231_REG__TRX_STATE, AT86RF231_TRX_STATE__FORCE_TRX_OFF);
 
@@ -82,7 +89,7 @@ void at86rf231_switch_to_rx(void)
     at86rf231_reg_read(AT86RF231_REG__IRQ_STATUS);
 
     // Enable IRQ interrupt
-    at86rf231_enable_interrupts();
+    gpio_irq_enable(AT86RF231_INT);
 
     // Start RX
     at86rf231_reg_write(AT86RF231_REG__TRX_STATE, AT86RF231_TRX_STATE__RX_ON);
@@ -104,8 +111,10 @@ void at86rf231_switch_to_rx(void)
     while ((status & AT86RF231_TRX_STATUS_MASK__TRX_STATUS) != AT86RF231_TRX_STATUS__RX_ON);
 }
 
-void at86rf231_rx_irq(void)
+void at86rf231_rx_irq(void *arg)
 {
+    (void)arg;
+
     /* check if we are in sending state */
     if (driver_state == AT_DRIVER_STATE_SENDING) {
         /* Read IRQ to clear it */
@@ -202,3 +211,51 @@ void at86rf231_set_monitor(uint8_t mode)
     (void) mode;
     // TODO
 }
+
+void at86rf231_gpio_spi_interrupts_init(void)
+{
+    /* SPI init */
+    spi_init_master(AT86RF231_SPI, SPI_CONF_FIRST_RISING, SPI_SPEED_5MHZ);
+    /* IRQ0 */
+    gpio_init_int(AT86RF231_INT, GPIO_NOPULL, GPIO_RISING, at86rf231_rx_irq, NULL);
+    /* CS */
+    gpio_init_out(AT86RF231_CS, GPIO_NOPULL);
+    /* SLEEP */
+    gpio_init_out(AT86RF231_SLEEP, GPIO_NOPULL);
+    /* RESET */
+    gpio_init_out(AT86RF231_RESET, GPIO_NOPULL);
+}
+
+void at86rf231_reset(void)
+{
+    /* force reset */
+    gpio_clear(AT86RF231_RESET);
+
+    /* put pins to default values */
+    gpio_set(AT86RF231_CS);
+    gpio_clear(AT86RF231_SLEEP);
+
+    /* additional waiting to comply to min rst pulse width */
+    uint8_t delay = 50;
+    while (delay--){}
+
+    gpio_set(AT86RF231_RESET);
+
+    /* Send a FORCE TRX OFF command */
+    at86rf231_reg_write(AT86RF231_REG__TRX_STATE, AT86RF231_TRX_STATE__FORCE_TRX_OFF);
+
+    /* busy wait for TRX_OFF state */
+    uint8_t status;
+    uint8_t max_wait = 100;
+
+    do {
+        status = at86rf231_get_status();
+
+        if (!--max_wait) {
+            printf("at86rf231 : ERROR : could not enter TRX_OFF mode\n");
+            break;
+        }
+    } while ((status & AT86RF231_TRX_STATUS_MASK__TRX_STATUS)
+             != AT86RF231_TRX_STATUS__TRX_OFF);
+}
+
diff --git a/drivers/at86rf231/at86rf231_rx.c b/drivers/at86rf231/at86rf231_rx.c
index 469e531477c3d7080b32b3d9ba9f438cac7fefea..725310c0be9d7f8d9a882a30a87e20fb40a05029 100644
--- a/drivers/at86rf231/at86rf231_rx.c
+++ b/drivers/at86rf231/at86rf231_rx.c
@@ -6,8 +6,20 @@
  * directory for more details.
  */
 
+/**
+ * @ingroup     drivers_at86rf231
+ * @{
+ *
+ * @file
+ * @brief       RX related functionality for the AT86RF231 device driver
+ *
+ * @author      Alaeddine Weslati <alaeddine.weslati@inria.fr>
+ * @author      Thomas Eichinger <thomas.eichinger@fu-berlin.de>
+ *
+ * @}
+ */
+
 #include "at86rf231.h"
-#include "at86rf231_arch.h"
 #include "at86rf231_spi.h"
 
 #include "kernel_types.h"
diff --git a/drivers/at86rf231/at86rf231_spi.c b/drivers/at86rf231/at86rf231_spi.c
index d72d74c33af9b60ab6c77ce8f5c09ce452b1e07a..73c25bb0284266f61e7d7884d184def9104d68af 100644
--- a/drivers/at86rf231/at86rf231_spi.c
+++ b/drivers/at86rf231/at86rf231_spi.c
@@ -6,68 +6,72 @@
  * directory for more details.
  */
 
+/**
+ * @ingroup     drivers_at86rf231
+ * @{
+ *
+ * @file
+ * @brief       Register access functions for the AT86RF231 device driver
+ *
+ * @author      Alaeddine Weslati <alaeddine.weslati@inria.fr>
+ * @author      Thomas Eichinger <thomas.eichinger@fu-berlin.de>
+ *
+ * @}
+ */
+
 #include "at86rf231_spi.h"
-#include "at86rf231_arch.h"
 #include "at86rf231.h"
+#include "board.h"
+#include "periph/spi.h"
+#include "periph/gpio.h"
 
 void at86rf231_reg_write(uint8_t addr, uint8_t value)
 {
-    // Start the SPI transfer
-    at86rf231_spi_select();
-
-    // Send first byte being the command and address
-    at86rf231_spi_transfer_byte(AT86RF231_ACCESS_REG | AT86RF231_ACCESS_WRITE | addr);
-
-    // Send value
-    at86rf231_spi_transfer_byte(value);
-
-    // End the SPI transfer
-    at86rf231_spi_unselect();
+    /* Start the SPI transfer */
+    gpio_clear(AT86RF231_CS);
+    /* write to register */
+    spi_transfer_reg(AT86RF231_SPI, AT86RF231_ACCESS_REG | AT86RF231_ACCESS_WRITE | addr, value, 0);
+    /* End the SPI transfer */
+    gpio_set(AT86RF231_CS);
 }
 
 uint8_t at86rf231_reg_read(uint8_t addr)
 {
-    uint8_t value;
-
-    // Start the SPI transfer
-    at86rf231_spi_select();
-
-    // Send first byte being the command and address
-    at86rf231_spi_transfer_byte(AT86RF231_ACCESS_REG | AT86RF231_ACCESS_READ | addr);
-
-    // Send value
-    value = at86rf231_spi_transfer_byte(0);
-
-    // End the SPI transfer
-    at86rf231_spi_unselect();
-
-    return value;
+    char value;
+
+    /* Start the SPI transfer */
+    gpio_clear(AT86RF231_CS);
+    /* read from register */
+    spi_transfer_reg(AT86RF231_SPI, AT86RF231_ACCESS_REG | AT86RF231_ACCESS_READ | addr, 0, &value);
+    /* End the SPI transfer */
+    gpio_set(AT86RF231_CS);
+    return (uint8_t)value;
 }
 
 void at86rf231_read_fifo(uint8_t *data, radio_packet_length_t length)
 {
-    // Start the SPI transfer
-    at86rf231_spi_select();
-
-    // Send Frame Buffer Write access
-    at86rf231_spi_transfer_byte(AT86RF231_ACCESS_FRAMEBUFFER | AT86RF231_ACCESS_READ);
-
-    at86rf231_spi_transfer(0, data, length);
-
-    // End the SPI transfer
-    at86rf231_spi_unselect();
+    /* Start the SPI transfer */
+    gpio_clear(AT86RF231_CS);
+    /* Read a number of bytes from the devices frame buffer */
+    spi_transfer_regs(AT86RF231_SPI, AT86RF231_ACCESS_FRAMEBUFFER | AT86RF231_ACCESS_READ,
+                      0, (char*)data, length);
+    /* End the SPI transfer */
+    gpio_set(AT86RF231_CS);
 }
 
 void at86rf231_write_fifo(const uint8_t *data, radio_packet_length_t length)
 {
-    // Start the SPI transfer
-    at86rf231_spi_select();
-
-    // Send Frame Buffer Write access
-    at86rf231_spi_transfer_byte(AT86RF231_ACCESS_FRAMEBUFFER | AT86RF231_ACCESS_WRITE);
-
-    at86rf231_spi_transfer(data, 0, length);
+    /* Start the SPI transfer */
+    gpio_clear(AT86RF231_CS);
+    /* Send Frame Buffer Write access */
+    spi_transfer_regs(AT86RF231_SPI, AT86RF231_ACCESS_FRAMEBUFFER | AT86RF231_ACCESS_WRITE,
+                      (char*)data, 0, length);
+    /* End the SPI transfer */
+    gpio_set(AT86RF231_CS);
+}
 
-    // End the SPI transfer
-    at86rf231_spi_unselect();
+uint8_t at86rf231_get_status(void)
+{
+    return at86rf231_reg_read(AT86RF231_REG__TRX_STATUS)
+           & AT86RF231_TRX_STATUS_MASK__TRX_STATUS;
 }
diff --git a/drivers/at86rf231/at86rf231_tx.c b/drivers/at86rf231/at86rf231_tx.c
index 8f7072093753c21871f28cfaab58f45f64ca5e5c..1d1068c1e6e3c06e2dc2697951ec0c015992a245 100644
--- a/drivers/at86rf231/at86rf231_tx.c
+++ b/drivers/at86rf231/at86rf231_tx.c
@@ -6,9 +6,22 @@
  * directory for more details.
  */
 
+/**
+ * @ingroup     drivers_at86rf231
+ * @{
+ *
+ * @file
+ * @brief       RX related functionality for the AT86RF231 device driver
+ *
+ * @author      Alaeddine Weslati <alaeddine.weslati@inria.fr>
+ * @author      Thomas Eichinger <thomas.eichinger@fu-berlin.de>
+ *
+ * @}
+ */
+
 #include "at86rf231.h"
-#include "at86rf231_arch.h"
 #include "at86rf231_spi.h"
+#include "vtimer.h"
 
 #define ENABLE_DEBUG (0)
 #include "debug.h"
diff --git a/drivers/at86rf231/include/at86rf231_arch.h b/drivers/at86rf231/include/at86rf231_arch.h
deleted file mode 100644
index ec19ee23f3f1588b89751fdcd74c812202b8d80c..0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
--- a/drivers/at86rf231/include/at86rf231_arch.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
-#ifndef AT86RF231_ARCH_H_
-#define AT86RF231_ARCH_H_
-
-#include <stdint.h>
-
-#include "vtimer.h"
-
-void at86rf231_gpio_spi_interrupts_init(void);
-
-void at86rf231_reset(void);
-uint8_t at86rf231_get_status(void);
-
-void at86rf231_spi_select(void);
-void at86rf231_spi_unselect(void);
-
-void at86rf231_spi_transfer(const uint8_t *data_out, uint8_t *data_in, radio_packet_length_t length);
-uint8_t at86rf231_spi_transfer_byte(uint8_t byte);
-
-void at86rf231_init_interrupts(void);
-void at86rf231_enable_interrupts(void);
-void at86rf231_disable_interrupts(void);
-#endif
diff --git a/drivers/at86rf231/include/at86rf231_spi.h b/drivers/at86rf231/include/at86rf231_spi.h
index 6ddae54960c2cf56a1f7ef7db0e002002d34e1ea..da01aa77e19f437f4c2d983dee9e501719bd05dd 100644
--- a/drivers/at86rf231/include/at86rf231_spi.h
+++ b/drivers/at86rf231/include/at86rf231_spi.h
@@ -1,3 +1,22 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2014 Freie Universität Berlin
+ *
+ * This file is subject to the terms and conditions of the GNU Lesser General
+ * Public License v2.1. See the file LICENSE in the top level directory for more
+ * details.
+ */
+
+/**
+ * @ingroup     drivers_at86rf231
+ * @{
+ *
+ * @file
+ * @brief       Register access function definitions for the AT86RF231 device driver
+ *
+ * @author      Alaeddine Weslati <alaeddine.weslati@inria.fr>
+ * @author      Thomas Eichinger <thomas.eichinger@fu-berlin.de>
+ */
+
 #ifndef AT86RF231_SPI_H_
 #define AT86RF231_SPI_H_
 
@@ -10,4 +29,8 @@ void at86rf231_reg_write(uint8_t addr, uint8_t value);
 
 void at86rf231_read_fifo(uint8_t *data, radio_packet_length_t length);
 void at86rf231_write_fifo(const uint8_t *data, radio_packet_length_t length);
-#endif
+
+uint8_t at86rf231_get_status(void);
+
+#endif /* AT86RF231_SPI_H_ */
+/** @} */
diff --git a/drivers/include/at86rf231.h b/drivers/include/at86rf231.h
index 64fc0475d194b462da2b25dce4ed3e85e18b17e0..36a4b1426be02e53e7f61757cf7cfca2f5961b43 100644
--- a/drivers/include/at86rf231.h
+++ b/drivers/include/at86rf231.h
@@ -6,6 +6,19 @@
  * directory for more details.
  */
 
+/**
+ * @defgroup    drivers_at86rf231
+ * @ingroup     drivers
+ * @brief       Device driver for the Atmel AT86RF231 radio
+ * @{
+ *
+ * @file
+ * @brief       Interface definition for the AT86RF231 device driver
+ *
+ * @author      Alaeddine Weslati <alaeddine.weslati@inria.fr>
+ * @author      Thomas Eichinger <thomas.eichinger@fu-berlin.de>
+ */
+
 #ifndef AT86RF231_H_
 #define AT86RF231_H_
 
@@ -13,21 +26,20 @@
 #include <stdint.h>
 
 #include "kernel_types.h"
-
 #include "board.h"
 #include "radio/types.h"
-
 #include "ieee802154_frame.h"
-
 #include "at86rf231/at86rf231_settings.h"
+#include "periph/gpio.h"
 
-#define AT86RF231_MAX_PKT_LENGTH 127
-#define AT86RF231_MAX_DATA_LENGTH 118
+#define AT86RF231_MAX_PKT_LENGTH    127
+#define AT86RF231_MAX_DATA_LENGTH   118
 
 /**
  *  Structure to represent a at86rf231 packet.
  */
-typedef struct __attribute__((packed))
+typedef struct __attribute__((packed))      /* TODO: do we need the packed here? it leads to an
+                                               unaligned pointer -> trouble for M0 systems... */
 {
     /* @{ */
     uint8_t length;             /** < the length of the frame of the frame including fcs*/
@@ -53,10 +65,10 @@ extern volatile kernel_pid_t transceiver_pid;
 extern uint8_t driver_state;
 
 void at86rf231_init(kernel_pid_t tpid);
-//void at86rf231_reset(void);
+/* void at86rf231_reset(void); */
 void at86rf231_rx(void);
 void at86rf231_rx_handler(void);
-void at86rf231_rx_irq(void);
+void at86rf231_rx_irq(void *arg);
 
 int16_t at86rf231_send(at86rf231_packet_t *packet);
 
@@ -84,4 +96,5 @@ enum {
 
 extern at86rf231_packet_t at86rf231_rx_buffer[AT86RF231_RX_BUF_SIZE];
 
-#endif
+#endif /* AT86RF231_H_ */
+/** @} */
diff --git a/drivers/include/at86rf231/at86rf231_settings.h b/drivers/include/at86rf231/at86rf231_settings.h
index ab427bd6f1170df243ce587ff82d67e5a32e4170..56ccdac04fbfa598198551fdc09c25e8c1eaa755 100644
--- a/drivers/include/at86rf231/at86rf231_settings.h
+++ b/drivers/include/at86rf231/at86rf231_settings.h
@@ -1,3 +1,21 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2014 INRIA
+ *
+ * This file is subject to the terms and conditions of the GNU Lesser
+ * General Public License v2.1. See the file LICENSE in the top level
+ * directory for more details.
+ */
+
+/**
+ * @ingroup     drivers_at86rf231
+ * @{
+ *
+ * @file
+ * @brief       Register and command definitions for the AT86RF231 radio
+ *
+ * @author      Alaeddine Weslati <alaeddine.weslati@inria.fr>
+ */
+
 #ifndef AT86AT86RF231_SETTINGS_H
 #define AT86AT86RF231_SETTINGS_H