Embedded product developers who want to add Internet connectivity to their designs may now have a simple way to do it, thanks to a tiny new Ethernet controller from Microchip Technology, Inc.
Touted as the world’s smallest Ethernet controller, Microchip’s ENC28J60 reportedly simplifies the task of adding connectivity to embedded products because it is smaller and is designed to work with any microcontroller that has an industry-standard serial interface. The company’s engineers say it is the first such Ethernet controller aimed specifically at the embedded world.
“If you look at what’s been on the market up to now, you find that stand-alone Ethernet controllers have always been designed for the PC market,” says Nate Smith, product marketing manager for Microchip Technology. “For years, the embedded market has been trying to force-fit a square peg into a round hole, so we set out to develop a controller that would give the embedded designer the ability to create networks.”
The company plans to target the new technology at a multitude of applications that didn’t previously offer Internet connectivity, or used proprietary protocols to achieve it. Potential applications include vending machines, hotel mini-bars, security panels, access control systems, fingerprint recognition systems, industrial controllers, power supplies, point-of-service terminals, VoIP (voice over IP) phone adaptors, and a multitude of other devices with embedded intelligence.
Microchip engineers claim that one of the keys to success in those applications is the use of a 28-pin package, instead of the more traditional 80- to 100-pin packages, which have been employed by the PC industry for many years. The smaller package is critical, the company says, because the 28-pin package is typically about one-sixth the size of a 100-pin version, enabling it to serve in applications that might otherwise be constrained by size. Moreover, they say, the smaller package reduces the cost of associated printed circuit boards and conforms to the SPI serial interface, which is a virtual standard throughout the embedded world.
Microchip’s Ethernet interface boards are designed to ease development of applications using the ENC28J60 Ethernet controller.
“In the past, when third parties tried to enable small-pin-count devices for Internet connectivity, they had to develop their own proprietary protocols,” Smith says. “And those protocols weren’t consistent with the rest of the embedded world.”
The new device includes a 10 Mbps SPI interface, an on-chip 10 Mbps Ethernet physical layer, and programmable 8-Kbyte dual-port SRAM buffer. Microchip engineers describe it as a compatible companion chip for virtually microcontroller any used by the embedded market.
“Today, you’d be hard-pressed to find a microcontroller that doesn’t have an SPI interface,” Smith says. Microchip engineers believe that the new device will find a big market in remote diagnostics applications, especially in appliances, factory machinery, and point-of-service terminals. The technology builds on the growing popularity of Ethernet, which has become a networking staple on many factory floors, as well as in front offices.
“We expect it to expand the use of Ethernet,” Smith says. “It’s going to enable a whole new class of Ethernet-based applications.”
A four-wire SPI serial interface enables the Ethernet controller to be used with virtually any embedded microcontroller.
By experimenting with the photovoltaic reaction in solar cells, researchers at MIT have made a breakthrough in energy efficiency that significantly pushes the boundaries of current commercial cells on the market.
In a world that's going green, industrial operations have a problem: Their processes involve materials that are potentially toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive. If improperly managed, this can precipitate dangerous health and environmental consequences.
With LEDs dropping in price virtually every year, automakers have begun employing them, not only on luxury vehicles, but on entry-level models, as well.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
3 
