Renesas has introduced the SH72546RFCC, a 32-bit, 200 MHz SuperH microcontroller that integrates up to 3.75 MB of flash memory built with a 90 nanometer process node. An additional 128 KB of on-chip flash provides functions virtually equivalent to electrically erasable and programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), the company said.
Paul Fox, director of Renesas’ automotive business unit, said the device, based on an SH-2A CPU core, is optimized for development of control programs for automobile engines, transmissions, and other systems that require real-time control capabilities. Its flash capacity is sufficient for storing cutting-edge, high-precision real-time control algorithms, Fox said, adding that the FCC designation stands for “flash on-chip calibration chip.”
Fox describes the SH72546RFCC as a preproduction device optimized for control program development; offering features tailored to aid software design and debug. The part forms the basis for a mass-production product family that will offer performance, package, and pin arrangement compatibility, so engineers designing systems based on the SH72546RFCC can easily transition to lower-cost mass production devices.
The SH72546RFCC’s SH-2A CPU core is an enhanced superscalar design with a built-in double precision floating point unit (FPU) that delivers about four times the performance of the 80 MHz Renesas SH-2E (SH-2 and single-precision FPU) core used in the powertrain systems of many of today's vehicles, according to Fox. A cache unit allows single-cycle access to on-chip flash memory at 200 MHz for high-speed application processing.
On-chip peripheral functions for real-time engine and transmission control applications include a multifunction timer unit (ATU-III: advanced timer unit III) with up to 106 outputs; a high-speed 37-channel 12-bit A/D converter; CAN (controller area network) interface, and an serial peripheral interface (SPI). To improve program development efficiency, the SH72546RFCC device has a large-capacity on-chip emulation RAM, separate from the user RAM, that overlaps the flash memory area and allows real-time adjustment of application program control parameters while data is rewritten as desired during microcontroller operation.
System development tools include an advanced user debugger (AUD), the USB bus-powered E10A-USB on-chip debugging emulator that requires no external power supply, and the E200F full-spec emulator. Renesas also offers the high-performance embedded workshop integrated development environment with compiler, assembler, and linker products.
The chip will be available in sample quantities in October, priced at $980.