32-Bit MCUs Boost Smartcard Performance

Outperforming the company's AE-4 series by a factor of four, the AE57C 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) give smartcards a power boost with 132 KB of EEPROM, stated as the largest memory capacity currently available in a smartcard MCU. The device also includes 320 KB of mask ROM and supports the latest AES encryption processing. It employs the AE-5 CPU core that includes a 32-bit ALU and internal bus width. Upward compatible with the AE-4 16-bit CPU, the core executes one instruction per cycle instead of one instruction in two cycles. The device also includes a bytecode extension module for fetching bytecode and executing conversions to user-defined execution addresses. Other features include a DMAC, two full-duplex I/O ports, and an exponential multiplication/division algorithm coprocessor with 2,112-bit capability. Samples are available now. RENESAS TECHNOLOGY AMERICA INC., San Jose, CA. (408) 382-7407.