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Welcome to the February/March 2008 edition of MicroController
Pros Corporation's Embedded News Digest, your source for microcontroller and
embedded system news.
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microcontroller news source.
Let your friends, colleagues or customers know about the Embedded News Digest.
This month's issue:
Nu Horizons presents the 2008 San Jose MCU Symposium. Participation is free.
Three 2 hour sessions each day will introduce you to the current MCU
offerings from STM Micro, OKI, Toshiba, Atmel, Renesas and Silicon Labs.
Breakfast & Lunch will be served both days. Prizes and Giveaways: Apple iTouch &
Gift Cards. Table top exhibitions during break times will showcase development
tools and boards from various 3rd party vendors.
Register for individual sessions or entire symposium at:
http://www.nuhorizons.com/xpress/MCU-SanJose-2008.asp
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STM: STM32, ARM7, AMR9 MCUs
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OKI: ARM7 and ARM9 MCUs
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Toshiba: MCU line-up, incld.
Toshibas first ARM based MCU
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Atmel: MCU Overview: 8051, AVR,
AVR32, and ARM based processors
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Renesas: MCU roadmap & example
designs
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SiliconLabs: New F900 Low Voltage
family of processors
For a more detailed agenda, see:
http://www.nuhorizons.com/xpresstrack/mcu/index.asp
Atmel Introduces AVR MCUs with USB, Battery Charging and Analog Features
Atmel Corporation has announced new ATmega16U4 and ATmega32U4 microcontrollers
combining USB controller and high-performance analog features.
The new devices have a rich feature set that includes a 10-bit ADC with 12
channels; a built-in temperature sensor allowing compensating thermal effects on
analog performance; and a programmable gain x1, x10, x40 and x200 giving more
flexibility to measure differential voltages for current monitoring. A
high-speed timer with three PWM channels with complementary outputs and
programmable dead-times allows 8-bit resolution PWM with a frequency of 500 kHz,
up to 11-bit resolution PWM with a frequency over 60 kHz.
A hardware flow control on the USART eases the connection to other devices when
bridging with USB at high baud rates. Digital inputs with TTL thresholds ease
interface with 3V devices in mixed 5/3V applications. A On-Chip 3.3V regulator
can deliver up to 50 mA and supply external devices in USB-powered applications.
Jitter and accuracy of the on-chip 8 MHz calibrated RC oscillator can support
serial communication without crystal. All devices include a hardware multiplier,
one USART, one SPI, one TWI, two 8-bit and two 16-bit timers with PWM and 26
programmable I/Os.
ATmega16U4 features 16 Kbytes of In-System Programmable Flash, 1 Kbytes of RAM
and 512 bytes of EEPROM. ATmega32U4 features 32 Kbytes of In-System Programmable
Flash, 2.5 Kbytes of RAM and 1 Kbytes of EEPROM. They are available in 44-pin
packages.
An extensive software library is offered to support the most relevant USB
classes for the embedded market: Mass Storage Device, Human Interface Device,
Device Firmware Upgrade, Communication Device Class, Audio Class, etc.
ATmega32U4 engineering samples are available now, and both devices will be
shipping in volume in Q2 2008. ATmega32U4 is offered in TQFP44 and QFN/MLF44
packages at $2.65 in quantities of 10,000 units, and ATmega16U4 is offered in a
QFN44 package at $2.40 in quantities of 10,000 units.
Crossware
Adds Support for 64 Silicon Labs 8051 Chips
Crossware has enhanced its 8051 C- Development Suite by adding support for an
additional 64 chips across 10 families in the Silicon Laboratories mixed signal
microcontroller (MCU) range.
The chips supported include the recently introduced C8051T610 family of
small-form-factor low-cost 8-bit MCUs. Also supported are the F320, F330, F340,
F350, F360, F410, F520, F530 and T600 families of MCUs.
The Crossware enhancements allow developers to rapidly exploit the advanced
features of these chips by providing a combination of wizards, simulation,
debugging, compiler extensions and pre-configuration. This allows the programmer
to accelerate the development process and significantly reduce new product
time-to-market.
Crossware's Code Creation Wizards are provided for all on-chip peripherals, and
many are able to generate configuration code, interrupt routines and, for the
UARTs, complete I/O handlers. The simulator simulates the 8051 core itself as
well as many of the on-chip peripherals. This allows a developer to use the
simulator to immediately test the code created using the wizards. The simulator
can also be extended using the Virtual Workshop Interface allowing developers to
construct a simulation of their complete target system.
The 64 additional chips now supported by Crossware include the following:
C8051F330/1/2/3/4/5, C8051F340/1/2/3/4/5/6/7, C8051F350/1/2/3,
C8051F360/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9, C8051F410/1/2/3, C8051F520/1/3/4/6/7,
C8051F530/1/3/4/6/7, C8051F326/7, C8051F336/7/8/9, C8051T600/1/2/3/4/5 and
C8051T610/1/2/3/4/5/6/7.
The Crossware 8051 Development Suite is a available at the
MicroControllerShop.
Freescale Introduces Scalable 8-bit MCUs for Automotive Market
Freescale Semiconductor has expanded its popular 8-bit S08SG microcontroller
family with the new S08SG16 and S08SG32 MCUs.
Operating at up to 40 MHz with 16K and 32K Flash memory options, the S08SG16/32
MCUs stretch the boundaries of 8-bit performance. This performance, coupled with
on chip timers, makes these devices ideal for motor control applications. The
devices also are designed to enable simplified development of LIN systems
through an on-chip serial communications interface (SCI). The SCI module allows
LIN break detection and synchronization without the use of an external timer
channel.
Other notable features include low-voltage inhibit (LVI) circuits, voltage
regulators, I/O multiplexers, watchdog circuits and analog-to-digital converters
(ADCs).
The S08SG16/32 devices offer an on-chip background debug mode (BDM) capability
that enables developers to perform non-intrusive debugging and emulation on the
fly.
Samples of the S08SG16/32 devices are available now.
Fujitsu Introduces MCU integrating SMSC MediaLB Interface
Fujitsu Microelectronics Europe and SMSC have announced the implementation of
SMSC's Media Local Bus (MediaLB) technology in the latest member of Fujitsu's
32-bit MB91460 microcontroller product series, the MB91F467M. These
microcontrollers are designed to support high-performance automotive and
industrial applications to ensure fast data processing and distribution. The
MediaLB serial bus interface provides seamless connectivity to SMSC's Media
Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) Intelligent Network Interface Controller (INIC)
family.
The MB91F467M is a member of Fujitsu's MB91460 range of controllers designed for
automotive applications including body control, dashboard and/or infotainment.
The MB91F467M targets car audio applications and acts as a gateway between the
MOST bus, via its MediaLB interface, and up to 10 I2S interfaces. In addition to
data, MediaLB also provides a clock path with extremely low jitter from the MOST
backbone to or from those interfaces.
The MediaLB function block allows 256fs and 512fs operation. It contains a
buffer of 2048 x 32 bits and offers support for 16 channels.
SMSC's MediaLB is an inter-chip communication technology that gives applications
access to the MOST network by connecting them to an INIC. MOST technology is a
de facto industry standard for automotive multimedia networking of
high-bandwidth audio, video and control information or network data, enabling
applications to communicate with minimum effort. MediaLB is also designed to
support future MOST networks, thereby providing a simple migration path from
existing MOST architectures to next-generation platforms.
The MB91F467M is optimised for applications requiring 32-bit performance at up
to 80MHz and various communication interfaces. In addition to the MediaLB I2S
gateway, it features two CAN controller interfaces with 32 and 64 message
buffers, nine LIN-USART modules for synchronous and asynchronous serial
communication, including LIN support, and eight dedicated I2C interfaces, which
can act as master or slave modules. A variety of timers, a 10-bit ADC with 12
channels and a 16-bit external bus interface, complete the set of functions.
The on-chip memory includes 1088kB of Flash, 64kB of RAM and an 8kB cache.
Debugging is supported by the on-chip debug support unit, which can be connected
to Fujitsu's ICE system. The MB91F467M is housed in an LQFP-216 package.
First samples will be available in the second quarter of 2008. Fujitsu will also
offer its MB91460 support eco-system for this latest member of the MB91460
series.
Microchip Technology has announced 30 new 28- and 44-pin 16-bit devices for
embedded system designers requiring increased memory or performance, or enhanced
peripherals, while obtaining the cost and size savings associated with
lower-pin-count devices.
Announced are 10 PIC24H Family 40 MIPS 16-bit microcontrollers, 10 dsPIC33
Family General Purpose DSCs, and 10 dsPIC33 Motor Control and Power Conversion
Family DSCs. These 28- and 44-pin devices offer 32, 64 or 128 Kbytes of
programmable Flash memory, up to 2 Kbytes of dual-port RAM, 4 to 16 Kbytes of
SRAM including DMA, two on-chip comparators, a user-selectable 10-bit (4 S&H) or
12-bit (1 S&H) Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC), and a real-time clock and
calendar. Standard serial peripherals include two SPIs, two UARTs and one I2C
module.
Selected DSCs include a new 16-bit peripheral: a dual-channel, 16-bit audio
Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC). Some devices also offer an on-chip CAN 2.0B
module and a CODEC interface supporting the I2S and AC'97 protocols.
All three families are offered in packages as small as 6x6 mm. All devices
operate at up to 40 MIPS and are offered in the Industrial and Extended
temperature ranges.
The devices also feature a Parallel Master Port for rapid parallel communication
with off-chip resources, such as displays, communication peripherals or memory.
The on-chip Peripheral Pin Select (PPS) feature permits digital peripherals to
be remapped to other pins to achieve layout efficiency or access to
pin-multiplexed peripherals.
The dsPIC33F Motor Control and Power Conversion DSCs add a powerful 6-channel
PWM, plus a similarly featured 2-channel PWM with a separate timebase for power
factor correction or for induction-cooking applications. This family also
includes two quadrature encoder interfaces for sensor-based motor control
applications.
Selected members of the new PIC24 and dsPIC33 families are sampling today.
Production for all 30 of the new PIC24 and dsPIC33 controllers is expected to
occur by the end of Q2 2008. Prices range from $2.63 to $4.18 each in
10,000-unit quantities.
Microchip Technology has announced six new 28- and 44-pin 16-bit dsPIC
Digital Signal Controllers (DSCs) with a dual-channel, 100ksps, 16-bit audio
Digital-to-Analog Conversion (DAC) module.
These dsPIC DSCs are DMA-enabled with 2 Kbytes of dual-port RAM to eliminate CPU
overhead during data transfer. All feature 16 Kbytes RAM, including dual-port
RAM. The dsPIC33 devices are offered with 64 and 128 Kbytes of Flash memory,
which can be used to store instructions or data.
Microchip software libraries are available that optimize the use of on-chip DSP
resources, so designers can add DSP-enabled features without delving into DSP
technology for the remainder of their development task. For example, several
industry-standard speech-compression libraries can be downloaded for evaluation
and development at no charge, and can be licensed for production for a low cost
or free, depending on the library.
Also included on the new dsPIC DSCs are two analog comparators, a
user-selectable 10- or 12-bit ADC, and a real-time clock and calendar. Serial
peripherals include 2 UARTs, 2 SPIs, I2C and CAN2.0B. A Parallel Master/Slave
Port (PMP) enables parallel connection to external memory, communication
peripherals or displays. The devices also include Peripheral Pin Select (PPS),
which permits digital peripherals to be remapped to other pins to achieve layout
efficiency or access to pin-multiplexed peripherals. Cyclic Redundancy Checking
(CRC) hardware is also included on-chip. All devices are offered in Industrial
and Extended temperature ranges.
Four of the new dsPIC33 DSCs also offer a CODEC interface supporting the I2S and
AC'97 protocols. Two of the new DSCs also offer motor control and power
conversion peripherals, including a 3-phase PWM, a power factor correction PWM
and two quadrature encoder interfaces.
Volume production for all six of the new dsPIC33 controllers is expected to be
in place by the end of second quarter 2008. Prices range from $3.67 to $4.18
each in 10,000-unit quantities.
Available in 28-pin SOIC, QFN and SPDIP packages, the dsPIC33FJ64GP802 and
dsPIC33FJ128GP802 feature 64KB or 128KB Flash memory, respectively. The
dsPIC33FJ64GP804 and dsPIC33FJ128GP804 have the same features but in 44-pin TQFP
and QFN packages. Also in the 44-pin packages, the dsPIC33FJ64MC802 and
dsPIC33FJ128MC802 are designed for motor control and power conversion.
Microchip Announces Expansion of Motor Control DSCs, Tools and Libraries
Microchip Technology has announced 10 new 28- and 44-pin 16-bit Digital Signal
Controllers (DSCs) for motor control designs.
Microchip also announced five motor control software solutions for: Power
Factor Correction (PFC), sensorless Field Oriented Control (FOC) of a PMSM
motor, sensorless FOC of an ACIM motor, sensorless control of a BLDC motor using
Back EMF filtering and sensorless BLDC control with Back-EMF Filtering Using a
Majority Function.
The 10 new dsPIC33 Motor Control Family devices are offered in 28- and 44-pin
configurations, and come in packages as small as 6x6 mm. They offer up to 128
Kbytes of programmable Flash memory.
Two of the motor control devices contain Digital-to-Analog Converters (DACs). A
user-selectable 10- or 12-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) is available on
chip. The 10-bit ADC mode features up to four Sample & Holds that can be
triggered simultaneously, which is especially useful for sensorless control
strategies to gain improved loop performance from synchronized sampling
strategies.
All of the new motor control DSCs feature two quadrature encoder interfaces,
a three-phase PWM controller and two additional PWM outputs on a separate time
base for PFC (Power Factor Correction). PFC is increasingly required for
line-connected motors. Microchip offers PFC software that can be
downloaded from their Web site (search for application note AN1106).
Microchip also offers software solutions for low-cost, sensorless motor control
solutions: Sensorless FOC software for controlling PMSM motors is available and
described in application note AN1078. FOC software for controlling ACIM motors
is contained in application note AN1162. Also available are two new sensorless
BLDC software solutions -- application notes AN1083 and AN1160.
The 10 new motor control DSCs range from $2.85 to $4.18 each in 10,000-unit
quantities. These DSCs are sampling now and are expected to be available for
volume production in Q2 2008. The motor control software and related application
notes are available today as a free download from the Microchip web site.
NXP Introduces Four New
32-bit ARM9 MCUs
NXP Semiconductors has introduced the LPC3200 family, based on the ARM926EJ
processor. The family consists of the LPC3220, LPC3230, LPC3240 and LPC3250.
Designed in 90nm process, the new NXP LPC3200 family combines the performance of
an ARM926EJ core, a Vector Floating Point (VFP), an LCD Controller, an Ethernet
MAC, On-The-Go USB, an efficient bus matrix and a large set of standard
peripherals.
Designed for flexibility in applications that require fast, simultaneous
communications, the LPC3200 combines high performance, low power consumption and
a myriad of peripherals. The features include I2C, I2S, SPI, SSP, UARTs, USB,
OTG, SD, PWMs, A/D with touch-screen interfaces, 10/100 Ethernet MAC and a
24-bit LCD controller that supports STN and TFT panels. The family supports DDR,
SDR, SRAM and Flash memory devices, and provides the option of booting up from
NAND Flash, SPI memory, UART or SRAM.
The NXP LPC3200 family of microcontrollers will be sampling in April with volume
shipping in Q3 2008.
Silicon Laboratories Expands Family of Small Form Factor MCUs with EPROM
Silicon Laboratories Inc. has announced the C8051T630 family of 8-bit MCUs.
Pin-for-pin compatible with their C8051F330 family, the T630 devices are
low-cost, feature-rich, EPROM-based MCUs that give customers the ability to
interchange the two MCU families easily for a given product platform.
The T630 family is based on a pipelined single-cycle 8051 core that delivers up
to 25 MIPS of CPU bandwidth while providing high functional density per square
millimeter. The MCU integrates a 10-bit, 500 ksps analog-to-digital converter
with an on-chip voltage reference that can perform faster and more accurate
measurements than found in most small form factor MCUs. The T630 also offers a
true analog output with its 10-bit digital-to-analog converter. Additional
on-chip features include a voltage regulator and precision internal oscillator.
Systems using the T630 family can be designed and prototyped using the F330
family Flash memory equivalent and then switched to T630 without any hardware
changes. A full-featured development kit is available containing all the
hardware and software required to develop an embedded system using the T630
including a socket to program EPROM OTP memory.
The C8051T630 Small Form Factor MCU family is available now with pricing
beginning at $0.62 in quantities of 10,000.
Zilog Launches Its First Flash Universal IR Remote Control Solution
Zilog has announced its first series of Flash-based universal infrared remote
control (UIR) solutions. Zilog's new Crimzon ZLF645 series UIR microcontrollers
integrate up to 64 KB of Flash memory technology with Zilog's ZBase code
database. In addition to the Flash memory, several new design features have been
added to the series, including innovative new enhanced IR learning remote
functionality.
With 64 KB of Flash memory, the ZLF645 can store user-programmed data, IR
learning signal timing and the IR code database, removing the need for an
external EEPROM. Also, with an integrated IR learning amplifier, the ZLF645
alleviates the need for an external filter, amplifier, and automatic gain
control circuit, thereby decreasing overall BOM costs even further.
The Crimzon ZLF645 product family is available from Zilog and its worldwide
network of distribution partners and representatives. Pricing varies based on
order quantity and product requirements. Typically, the ZLF645 with 64 KB of
Flash is sold in production volumes ranging from $1.40 to $1.70.
MicroController 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 2008 by
MicroController Pros Corporation
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