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Welcome to the August 2007 edition of MicroController Pros Corporation's Embedded News Digest, your source for microcontroller and embedded system news.
Elan Releases 8-bit High-Speed Flash MicrocontrollerExpress Logic Launches ThreadX MCU Edition for PIC24 and dsPICFujitsu's 32-bit Microcontroller with 6 channel CAN InterfaceHI-TECH Offers Free Upgrade to PICC PRO Development SoftwareMicrochip Technology Launches Semiconductor WikiNEC Announces Two New 32-bit ARM CoresRenesas Expands 16-Bit R8C/Tiny MCU Series with 30 New ProductsRenesas Accelerates SuperH Family to 200MHz with SH72546RFCCRenesas Releases H8SX/1725F Achieving 80 MHzSTMicroelectronics Extends ST7Lite MCU FamilyXeltek Universal Programmer PromotionZilog Introduces New Z8 Encore! XP 8-bit MCU SeriesElan Releases 8-bit High-Speed Flash MicrocontrollerElan Microelectronics recently released the 40 MIPS high-speed 8-bit Flash microcontroller, EM77F900. The chip is a low-cost and high performance 8-bit CMOS MCU with advanced RISC architecture. The EM77F900 Flash microcontroller has an operating voltage range of 2.2V to 3.6V under temperature range of 0 to 70 degrees C. Aside from 40 MIPS (1 clock/cycle) speed, the MCU has 16 kBytes Flash program ROM, 1.3 kBytes data RAM, up to 42 I/O pins, USB1.1, 48 MHz clock USB hub, SPI, dual PWM with 16-bit resolution, 8-bit timer clock counter with a 16-bit free-run timer, multi-channel ADC with 10-bit resolution, key wake-up function, power-on reset, watchdog timer, security protection bit, and a power-saving Sleep mode. The EM77F900 is available in 100-pin QFP package. ICE (ICE900) and Flash-type Development Platform are made available to provide full support to customers in their product development with the EM77F900 chip. MASK ROM versions of the chip with reduced features (i.e., EM77910, EM77930, EM77950) are also available, in die or 44/52/64-pin QFP packages. Express Logic Launches ThreadX MCU Edition for PIC24 and dsPICExpress Logic has announced the availability of its new ThreadX Microcontroller Edition RTOS, for the 16-bit PIC24 microcontrollers and dsPIC digital signal controllers from Microchip Technology. ThreadX/MCU provides full pre-emptive scheduling, interrupt management, message passing, thread synchronization, resource locking, event management and timer control, and supports up to 10 threads, queues, timers, mutexes, event flag groups, block pools and byte pools. ThreadX/MCU is fully upward-compatible with Express Logic's full-featured ThreadX RTOS, employed in over 450 million electronic products based on 32-bit processors. Like ThreadX, ThreadX/MCU is royalty-free. ThreadX/MCU is designed to reside in an extremely small memory footprint, as small as 1.6 kBytes, and to deliver low-overhead operations that execute in only 50 to 150 clock cycles, leaving more CPU cycles for the application. ThreadX/MCU is designed to work with Microchip's MPLAB development tools. The MPLAB IDE provides kernel-awareness for the ThreadX/MCU RTOS, giving developers insight into the status and operation of their application using ThreadX/MCU. To speed application development and reduce time-to-market, ThreadX/MCU is pre-configured to work with MPLAB out of the box, enabling applications using ThreadX/MCU to be built, compiled, linked and downloaded with ease. In addition to introducing ThreadX/MCU for Microchip's 16-bit controllers, Express Logic also has ported its NetX TCP/IP stack, FileX embedded file system, USBX USB host/device stack, and PEGX graphics development kit for use with ThreadX/MCU on Microchip's PIC24 MCU and dsPIC DSC family. Under license from Express Logic, Microchip plans to sell ThreadX/MCU to its customers through its direct and online sales channels. Free Demo licenses for ThreadX/MCU, and full production ThreadX/MCU licenses, are available from Microchip or through the microchipDIRECT online storefront. Full production licenses begin at $5,990. NetX/MCU, FileX/MCU and PEGX/MCU also are available from Express Logic. For a powerful PIC24/dsPIC RTOS at half the above price, check out AVA: http://microcontrollershop.com/product_info.php?cPath=112_103&products_id=2049 Fujitsu's 32-bit Microcontroller with 6 channel CAN InterfaceFujitsu Microelectronics has announced the new MB91F467BA with 6-channel CAN controller. The MB91F467BA microcontroller has 1 MByte Flash Memory and a 32-channels A/D Converter as basic function. The MB91F467BA microcontroller provides high-speed processing at 100MHz, and with its 6 CAN channels not only offers body control functionality, but can provide gateway functionality that allows integration of several in-vehicle CAN networks. It can operate on a single 3.0V to 5.5V power supply. HI-TECH Offers Free Upgrade to PICC PRO Development SoftwareHI-TECH Software is offering a free upgrade to its highly anticipated PIC C PRO development environment for PIC10/12/14/16/17 microcontrollers. Customers who purchase the PICC standard compiler between September 10 and the release date of PICC PRO (expected date November 31) will receive a coupon good for a free upgrade to PICC PRO -- a $400 upgrade value. PICC PRO will include the Omniscient Code Generation feature that can reduce code size by up to 50 percent. The offer applies to single-user, multi-user and educational-user licenses of PICC, and to customers purchasing the PICC Enterprise Edition. Microchip Technology Launches Semiconductor WikiMicrochip Technology has launched ICwiki (www.microchip.com/ICwiki), a Web site that enables engineers, students and professors working with microelectronics to collaborate and share information related to semiconductor products, applications and best practices. Using Wiki technology, participants can change content on the site and participate in Web logging (or "blogging"), voting and messaging. ICWiki is available in several different languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, French, German and Russian. NEC Announces Two New 32-bit ARM CoresNEC Electronics Corporation has unveiled two 32-bit ARM processor cores. The 90 nm , 700 MHz (931 MHz under nominal process conditions) dual-core implementation of the ARM11 MPCore multicore processor is the highest-performing ARM processor core on the market, while the NEC-implemented ARM926EJ-S processor core is the industry's fastest at 130 nm, clocking in at 400 MHz (532 MHz under nominal process conditions). The silicon-proven 400 MHz ARM926EJ-S processor is currently available in NEC Electronics' CB-130M IP library. The 700 MHz ARM11 MPCore multicore processor is scheduled to be available for SoC integration before the end of 2007 in the CB-90M IP library. Both processors are available for either cell-based IC (CB-IC) or customer-owned tooling (COT) applications. Renesas Expands 16-Bit R8C/Tiny MCU Series with 30 New ProductsRenesas Technology has announced commercialization of 30 new products in seven groups as part of the R8C/Tiny Series of compact, high-performance 16-bit MCUs with on-chip Flash memory. Designed for applications such as power supply control and motor control, the R8C/2E, R8C/2F, R8C/2G, R8C/2K, and R8C/2L Groups have 32-pin packages, while the R8C/2H and R8C/2J have 20-pin packages. Sample shipments began on August 28, 2007 in Japan. The addition of the 30 new products will bring the total number of products in the R8C/Tiny Series to 268. The R8C/2E and R8C/2F groups are the first 32-pin R8C/Tiny Series products to incorporate a D/A converter (8-bit x 2 channels) and comparator (2 channels) adding to a 12-channel A/D converter. They provide rich analog peripheral functions, and their low pin count and compact 32-pin packages make them suitable for a wide range of analog data processing functions. These groups support power supply voltages from 3.0V to 5.5V and have a maximum operating frequency of 20 MHz. The R8C/2G, R8C/2H, and R8C/2J groups are versions of existing R8C/Tiny Series products with peripheral functions reduced. This increases the number of options available to customers wishing to select MCUs for their systems that make good use of functions. In addition, these MCUs incorporate a voltage detection circuit with a comparator mode. This enables monitoring of the power supply voltage or digital output of external input voltage comparison results. These groups support power supply voltages from 2.7V to 5.5V and have a maximum operating frequency of 8 MHz. The R8C/2K and R8C/2L groups are 32-pin products with timer functions suitable for motor control applications. The 3-channel 16-bit timer has an input capture/output compare function. A single MCU can handle both 3-phase PWM output and 3-phase pulse input for control of brushless DC motors, etc. These groups support power supply voltages from 3.0V to 5.5V and have a maximum operating frequency of 20 MHz. Available development environments include the E8a emulator, which supports on-chip debugging via a 1-pin interface, and the existing E8 emulator. Both emulators connect via a single pin, so all I/O pins remain available for use during debugging. In addition, both the above emulators can be used as a Flash memory writer. Renesas Accelerates SuperH Family to 200MHz with SH72546RFCCRenesas Technology has announced the development of the 32-bit SuperH Family SH72546RFCC as the industry's first microcontroller with on-chip Flash memory to use a 90 nm process. Sample shipments will begin in October 2007 in Japan. The SH72546RFCC achieves an operating speed of 200 MHz in a high-temperature environment with an operating ambient temperature of 125 degrees C required for automotive applications. Together with other architectural improvements this increases performance by more than 4 -fold compared to earlier SuperH offerings. The SH72546RFCC incorporates a high-performance SH-2A CPU core employing superscalar design and a Harvard architecture. The use of a 90 nm process has made it possible to provide on-chip Flash memory with a 3.75 MByte capacity. In addition, 128 kBytes of on-chip Flash memory with virtually equivalent to EEPROM functions are provided for data storage, eliminating the need for external EEPROMs. In the SH72546RFCC, higher Flash memory access speed has been achieved through the use of proprietary Renesas technology, and performance virtually equivalent to 1-cycle access at 200 MHz has been attained through the implementation of a cache circuit. The SH72546RFCC incorporates a comprehensive set of functions suitable for engine and transmission control. Among the peripheral functions and interfaces provided on chip are a multifunction timer unit (ATU-III: Advanced Timer Unit III) useful for engine and transmission control, a high-speed 12-bit A/D converter, a CAN interface, and an SPI, enabling both high-precision real-time control and small-area mounting to be achieved. Large-capacity on-chip emulation RAM is provided separately from the user RAM as a function specifically for program development use. This RAM overlaps the Flash memory area, and allows real-time adjustment of application program control parameters while data are rewritten as desired during microcontroller operation. Debugging functions such as an Advanced User Debugger are also included that help to improve the efficiency of user program development. The package used is a 272-pin P-BGA (21 mm x 21 mm). Available development tools include the USB bus-powered E10A-USB on-chip debugging emulator requiring no external power supply, and the E200F full-spec emulator. Renesas Releases H8SX/1725F Achieving 80 MHzRenesas has announced the development of the H8SX/1700 Series, featuring a maximum operating frequency of 80 MHz, as a new in-vehicle control system oriented series in the H8SX Family of microcontrollers incorporating an H8SX 32-bit CISC CPU core. Sample shipments will begin in October 2007 in Japan. The H8SX/1725F employs a 150 nm CMOS process and has 256 kBytes of on-chip Flash memory for program storage use. It is high-speed Flash memory capable of 1-cycle access at 100 MHz. The Flash memory can be programmed on board. In addition, 16 kBytes on-chip data Flash is provided for data storage use, offering a maximum of 480,000 program and erasure, and a guaranteed 15-year data retention period. It can be used to replace previously used external EEPROM in a system, enabling cost reductions to be achieved through the use of fewer parts. The H8SX/1725F is also equipped with a comprehensive set of on-chip peripheral functions suitable for use in in-vehicle control systems. A high-speed serial interface that enables high-speed communication with other chips is included, allowing maximum 32-bit length data communication at a maximum communication frequency of 10 MHz, while the provision of a 4-stage 32-bit data buffer allows 4 frames of data to be stored at one time, for implementation of easy-to-use functions. Moreover, the CPU load can be greatly reduced through combined use with a DMAC or DTC. Other examples of the comprehensive set of functions suitable for in-vehicle control system use include a 2-channel module supporting communication via a CAN, the virtually de facto industry standard in-vehicle LAN, a 2-channel serial communication module, a hardware LIN, and a 12-channel 16-bit timer (TPU). The package used is a small 100-pin LQFP (14 mm x 14 mm). STMicroelectronics Extends ST7Lite MCU FamilyThe new ST7LITE49M series, available in an LQFP32 package for mass production and in SDIP32 for prototyping, will enlarge the Lite family by offering small-memory MCUs, up to 4 kBytes, with up to 24 high-sink-current I/O lines and 128 Bytes of true EEPROM Memory on board. A powerful timer set is integrated on the chip, including a configurable watchdog timer, dual 8-bit timers with prescaler, and dual 12-bit Auto-Reload timers, which operate over the 250 Hz to 4 MHz range and provide four PWM signals with output compare function, input capture, dead-time generation, and one-pulse mode. In particular, the 12-bit timer is specifically optimized for lighting and motor control applications, such as in e-bikes or air conditioning. Other on-chip functions include a precise internal 8 MHz RC oscillator, 32 kHz auto-wake up oscillator, a 10-channel 10-bit ADC, five power saving modes, and a trimmable Reset circuit with low voltage detection. In addition, an I2C communication interface is integrated on chip. The ST7LITE49M is available now in SDIP (samples) and LQFP32 (volume) packages, priced at $0.78 in quantities of 10,000 pieces. Xeltek Universal Programmer PromotionFor a limited time and exclusively for customers of the MicroControllershop, Xeltek offers a 25% discount on its popular entry level SuperPro-Z and the top-of-the line SuperPro3000U Universal Device programmers. The SuperPro-Z entry level programmer connects to a PC's parallel port and supports programming of over 3400 devices. The SuperPro3000U supports 10 times as many devices (over 34000) and connects to a PC's USB port. In addition it supports PC-independent operation via the use of CompactFlash memory cards and can be cascaded with additional SuperPro3000U units to deliver a high-speed, high-volume, concurrent programming solution. To receive the 25% discount order online by following above links and put "XeltekPromo" into the Comment box that is displayed after you submit your order. We will then deduct your 25% discount from the invoice. Offer expires September 15th, 2007. Zilog Introduces New Z8 Encore! XP 8-bit MCU SeriesAvailable immediately, the Z8 Encore! XP F083A Flash MCUs are designed based on the powerful Zilog eZ8 CPU core. The family supports up to 8 kBytes of Flash memory, 256 Bytes of register RAM, and is pin-for-pin compatible with other members of the Z8 Encore! XP family. The Z8F083A Series includes a peripheral set featuring an up to an eight-channel successive approximation register ADC, a 20 MHz Internal Precision Oscillator that eliminate the need of an external crystal or oscillator, and 100 Bytes of Non-Volatile Data Storage for storing system parameters or user data. The new series also offers a single-pin On-Chip Debugger port for in-system Flash programming and debugging. These devices also include two enhanced 16-bit timers/counters featuring capture, compare and PWM capabilities, and one analog comparator, providing increased design flexibility in end applications. In addition, the F083A's single-pin debugger and programming interface simplifies code development, allowing for easy in-circuit programming. Pricing for the Z8 Encore! XP F083A and F0830 families varies according to product type and order quantity. Prices range from $0.60 to $1.10 USD. About MicroController Pros CorporationMicroController Pros Corporation (µCPros) is an authorized distributor for many microcontroller tool vendors, which enables us to offer you a large selection of Microcontroller Development Tools for almost any major microcontroller architecture. The MicroControllerShop (http://microcontrollershop.com) puts convenient and secure online shopping, feature- and price-comparison on your computer's desktop. Microcontroller Development Tools featured at the MicroControllerShop include: Emulators, EPROM programmers, FLASH programmers, microcontroller C- compilers, assemblers, emulator accessories, pin adapters, pin converters, microcontroller starter kits and embedded evaluation boards for various microcontroller architectures and manufacturers. copyright 2007 by |
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