By merging microcontroller product families from Hitachi and Mitsubishi, Renesas offers the broadest variety of microcontrollers in the industry. Extending this line even further, the company has released high-performance extensions to the 32-bit H8 processor and to the 16-bit M32C/81 architecture.
The 32-bit H8SX consists of a high-performance CISC CPU core with an on-chip multiplier and divider to handle a wide range of compute-intensive control applications. Operating at up to 48 MHz, the H8SX architecture can deliver a throughput of up to 48 MIPS (Dhrystone). Overall, it delivers almost a threefold improvement in processing power versus the company's 16-bit H8S CPU core. The new core includes 18 new instructions and three new addressing modes. The new instructions should help programmers lower the application code size by an average of 17%, reducing the amount of external code storage required.
The first processor based on the new core is the H8SX/1650, a ROMless implementation for cost-sensitive applications. It operates at 35 MHz using a 3.0- to 3.6-V supply and packs 24 kbytes of SRAM, a six-channel timer-pulse unit, a data-transfer controller, four serial communications channels, a 10-bit, eight-channel analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and a dual-channel, 8-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC), all in a 120-lead TQFP. It also can address up to 16 Mbytes of external memory.
Attacking the 16-bit world, the M32C/81 (M3081x) family includes processors that can operate at speeds of up to 40 MHz. Some of the processors in the family will include a high-speed 10-bit ADC that can run at 20 MHz. Incorporated intelligent I/O peripheral functions and a CAN 2.0B interface suit the devices for automotive, industrial, and communications systems. The MCUs operate from −40°C to 125°C. I/O peripheral choices include 16-bit timers, serial I/O ports, HDLC interfaces, 10-bit ADCs, direct memory access controllers, and up to 128 kbytes of ROM/flash and either 10 or 12 kbytes of RAM.
The ROMless H8SX/1650 costs about $7in lots of 10,000 units. MCUs in the M32C/81 family will start at about $12.50 apiece in similar quantities.
Renesas Technology America Inc.
www.renesas.com • (408) 433-1990