The big word for DSP embedded controllers is light energy consumption and small size. Customers are seeking tiny size for portable, handheld devices. Those tiny DSPs also need to extend the life of batteries, so they are increasingly built for low power consumption. At the same time, energy-conscious developers want devices that can help keep their product energy efficient. Microcontrollers are now taking on a big role in keeping cars efficient. As well as managing engine performance and power train efficiency, these devices are used to run robotized transmission systems and support emissions' controls. Additional automotive applications include knock-detection and communications' management for the array of entertainment systems in the passenger compartment.
32-BIT MICROCONTROLLERS FOR VEHICLE ELECTRONICS
STMicroelectronics has introduced four microcontrollers in four new Power Architecture families enabling integrators to use the 32-MCU core throughout power train, car body, chassis and safety and instrumentation systems. The devices are designed to support advanced functions, enable improved vehicle performance and economy, and deliver savings in development by promoting hardware and software reuse. All the devices combine the scalable e200-core 32-bit Power Architecture with an application-optimized peripheral set and plentiful embedded Flash memory to increase integration, maximize design reuse, shorten time to market and reduce costs. The MCU families are the product of ST's joint-development program with Freescale Semiconductor. All of the new MCU families are designed to support the latest automotive standards, including the AUTOSAR open-systems architecture and FlexRay high-performance vehicle networking.
SINGLE-BOARD COMPUTER WITH INTEGRATED ETHERNET
Winsystems Inc. has released the SAT-520Plus, a highly integrated, PC-compatible single-board computer with integrated Ethernet and video support. The device is a combination of three of Winsystems' PC/104 modules, including the PPM-520, PPM-FPVGA and the PCM-1048. The computer was designed to support PC/104 and PC104Plus expansion. Winsystems notes the new device provides PC-AT power, performance and compatibility for space- and budget-limited industrial application while operating from -40 degrees centigrade to +85. The board will support DOS, Linux and Windows CE operating systems, as well as other x86-compatible code. Even though the board is PC-AT compatible, it will operate without disks, keyboard or a monitor.
LOW-POWER PROCESSORS FOR PORTABILITY
Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) has developed 15 new devices across four product lines designed to offer low power and portability. TI has created the devices so designers will be able to bring portability to applications requiring high-precision floating-point processor capabilities. TI notes the new devices also enable significantly longer battery life with the low-power, fixed-point DSP. The new TMS320C674x DSP offers the ability to bring portability to audio, medical, industrial and other applications requiring wide dynamic range. The TMS320C640x uses half the power of existing high-performance devices in TI's TMS320C6000 DSP platform. The OMAP-L1x offers networking and touch-screen capabilities in portable devices. The TMS320C550x was developed for long battery life. All of these DSPs were designed with energy conservation in mind. The goal is to give developers choices that will make their products more environmentally friendly for consumers who have a growing awareness of environmental concerns.
Q1.5 MOSFET DRIVERS IN SOT-23 PACKAGE
Microchip Technology Inc. has released the MCP1415 and the MCP1416 single-output MOSFET drivers. The inverting MCP1415 and the non-inverting MCP1416 drivers are rated for a peak output current of 1.5A over a wide operating voltage range of 4.5 to 18V. Both devices have latch-up immunity and are available in miniature. The devices were designed in a small package size so designers can position the device close to the MOSFET's physical gate connection, which is intended to minimize fate bounce cause by the parasitic PCB layout. The small size also minimizes gate rise-and-fall times, propagation-delay times and shoot-through current, all of which was intended to help increase system efficiency and reduce power dissipation. Microchip notes designers are constantly working to build smaller, more efficient designs and the MCP drivers were designed to meet these needs and to provide durability and latch-up immunity.
NEW DEVICE ENHANCES DATA AQUISITION AND PROCESSING PERFORMANCE
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) has introduced a highly integrated microcontroller family with enhanced data conversion performance for hardware, firmware and industrial systems for engineers developing factory automation and instrumentation equipment. The ADuC706x family expands ADI's precision analog microcontroller portfolio by incorporating two 24-bit sigma-delta analog-to-digital converters and a host of analog peripherals with a 32-bit ARM7 core to create a solution for precision sensing applications. The combination of small size, low operating power and ADI's data conversion was designed to reduce the complexity, cost and performance degradation issues associated with discrete mixed-signal solutions. ADI notes the new family of microcontrollers was designed to provide the resolution required by high-performance industrial and instrumentation equipment while keeping the noise low. This single-chip solution is intended to handle all data acquisition, processing and communications functions at the signal source.
FLEXIBLE COST-EFFECTIVE MULTICORE AUDIO DSPS
Freescale Semiconductor has introduced the Symphony DSP56724 and the DSP56725 processors to the DSP5672x product family. The high-performance DSPs come with full peripheral support required for new applications. They are designed for automotive, consumer and professional audio applications where low cost and high performance are critical. The processors provide performance via two DSP cores delivering up to 250 MHz per core and featuring 112K x 24-bit words of integrated memory. The new devices have retaining pin and peripheral compatibility with the earlier Symphony DSPs, which allow OEMs to expand their product lines across various market tiers. Scalability among the products was designed to give developers the flexibility to choose DSPs at the right price and performance mix for their systems with an easy migration path. The DSP56724 includes an external memory controller to allow expanding memory off-chip or to interface to external parallel peripherals. The DSP56725 was designed to eliminate the external memory controller to provide a smaller package option for systems that do not require off-chip memory.
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