04 March 2010
News from Embedded World
Embedded World, which took place in Nuremberg from 2 to 4 March, saw a large number of product announcements, with attendance apparently up on last year's event.
Here are some of the microcontroller launches made at the Show.
'Lowest power' mcus
Microchip has added 11 variants to its mid range XLP mcu family. The devices are said to set new levels for power consumption and peripheral integration.
Steve Drehobl, vp of Microchip's STMD division, said: "Active power consumption can be as low as 50µA/MHz. Our aim was to get down to 100µA/MHz, but we did better than anticipated."
The result is an mcu that consumes 1.5mA when running at 32MHz. Amongst the lowest consuming devices are the PIC12LF1822 and the PIC16LF1947, drawing 42 and 53µA/MHz respectively from a 1.8V supply.
Drebhol added: "With the 28pin packaging option, we've managed to get an 8bit mcu into a 4 x 4mm qfn. Even the 40pin option can be supplied in a 5 x 5mm package."
Also announced was the MCP1640 synchronous boost regulator that allows PIC microcontrollers to run from an alkaline battery.
Go to the Microchip website
Fastest flash
Said to be the fastest embedded flash 32bit microcontroller, Renesas' SH7216 series is targeted at industrial applications such as ac servos, factory automation equipment, building automation and general purpose networking.
Running at 200MHz and capable of executing two instructions per cycle, the devices boast a processing power of 400DMIPS. The SH7216 family includes 72 devices, with variations including on chip memory capacity, package type, floating point unit and Ethernet functionality.
Development tool support has been announced by IAR Systems and Renesas has partnered with the FreeRTOS program to produce the first authorised port of FreeRTOS to the SuperH microcontroller line.
Go to the Renesas website
Even more energy friendly
Energy Micro's Tiny Gecko microcontroller range features entry level devices for low power applications where pcb space and product cost are major limitations. Although based on the 32bit ARM Cortex-M3 core, the parts are aimed at the 8bit end of the market, said ceo Geir Førre.
The smallest and lowest cost device is the EFM32TG100, with 4kbyte of flash and 1kbyte or ram. With 12 general purpose I/O, the part comes in a qfn20 package. Other options provide from 8 to 32kbyte of flash and either 2 or 4kbyte of ram, along with 24 or 56 GPIO.
Go to the Energy Micro website
Low power, long range
Targeting home automation and metering applications, Silicon Laboratories has released what it believes to be the lowest power single chip wireless microcontroller.
The Si10xx wireless mcu family combines a 25MHz 8051 core with its EZRadioPRO rf transceiver. Devices are available with up to 64kbyte of flash and with a 10 or 12bit a/d converter. Consuming 160µA/MHz in active mode, this can be reduced in sleep mode to 315nA with an active RTC and low frequency oscillator. In deep sleep mode, the parts draw as little as 25nA with full ram retention.
The company also claims the best rf performance, with devices capable of transmitting at 13 and 20dBm, with the former device aimed at European applications. Meanwhile receive sensitivity can be up to -121dBm.
Go to the Silicon Labs website
Author
Graham Pitcher
Supporting Information
Websites
http://eu.renesas.com
http://www.energymicro.com
http://www.microchip.com
http://www.silabs.com
Companies
Microchip Ltd
Renesas Electronics Europe Ltd
Silicon Laboratories Inc
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