Embedded Processor Watch

Editor: Jim Turley

In This Issue:

• Eight-Bit Microcontroller Hums at 100 MHz
• Tundra PCI Chip Bolts Up To Motorola QUICC Chips
• Speak at Embedded Processor Forum 99!
• Industry Resources: Demos in the Desert
• Industry Resources: Inside IBM (or Lucent, or IDT, or Atmel...)
• New Embedded IC Announcements

Eight-Bit Microcontroller Hums at 100 MHz

Scenix Semiconductor (http://www.scenix.com) has greatly improved the speed of its 8-bit microcontrollers, boosting clock frequency to 100 MHz. Furthermore, almost all instructions execute in a single clock cycle, giving the company's SX chips 100 native MIPS of performance. This speed allows the SX chips to effectively emulate various peripheral controllers in software.

The SX family of chips is "designed to be compatible" with Microchip's PIC 16C5x-series chips, according to Scenix. SX parts are both object- code and pin-compatible with Microchip's microcontrollers. Scenix's claim to fame, however, is its concept of Virtual Peripherals: the ability of the 100-MHz SX processors to emulate UARTs, modems, PWM (pulse-width modulation) outputs, and other peripherals in software. By reprogramming the chip's flash memory, a single SX chip can be used for a variety of low-end control functions. The same chip can also be reprogrammed as features, functions, or standards change. Scenix provides a library of such functions, including timers, DTMF, LCD drivers, FSK/PSK, speech compression, caller ID, and A/D converters. Pricing for the SX18 and SX28 chips (which have 18 and 28 pins, respectively) starts at about $5 in 1,000-unit quantities.

To some extent, Scenix rides on the coat tails of Microchip, which has been quite successful selling a seemingly infinite variety of 8-bit microcontrollers into low-cost applications. Scenix's high speed, however, sets its chips apart, encroaching on 16-bit territory. The idea of "soft peripherals" is not entirely new; in the 32-bit world, other companies have dabbled with this concept, with mixed results. Scenix believes that the short product cycles of many low-cost embedded items, such as toys, makes last-minute configuration of its chip attractive to harried product engineers.

Tundra PCI Chip Bolts Up To Motorola QUICC Chips

Canadian chip maker Tundra (http://www.tundra.com) has added to its assortment of PCI bridge chips designed for Motorola processors. The QSpan II is a pin- and software-compatible upgrade from the QSpan that adds PCI v2.2 features, hot-swap support, and I2O-compatible messaging. The QSpan II is sampling now; production quantities are expected in 2Q99, for $23 for 10,000-unit quantities.

Tundra has made something of a cottage industry of fashioning support chips for Motorola's communications processors. The original QSpan added a PCI bus and other features to Motorola's original QUICC (68360) and PowerQUICC (MPC860) processors, as well as the PowerPC 850, 821, and 823. Likewise, Tundra's PowerSPAN bolts up to the PowerQUICC II (MPC8260; see Embedded Processor Watch #13 Flash).

Currently, only one of Motorola's popular processors sports a PCI interface, the MPC8240 (see Embedded Processor Watch #19). As this bus becomes more popular in high-end embedded systems, Tundra finds its products in demand. The company feels that even if Motorola were to add PCI to its own processors, the need for separate a bus controller would not disappear. ATM controllers, for example, might require both PCI and local-memory interfaces for maximum bandwidth. As V3, Galileo, and other companies have found, following in the wake of a major CPU supplier can be lucrative, if unglamorous, business.

Speak at Embedded Processor Forum 99!

If your company is developing a new microprocessor or DSP for embedded applications, and you'd like to present your new chip to the world in May of 1999, maybe you should be speaking at the Embedded Processor Forum.

Proposals are now being considered for next year's conference. If accepted, presentations must include significant new technical detail and new information not available elsewhere. Presentations should be given by the lead architect or chief engineer of the project.

To be considered for the Forum, send a brief proposal via e-mail at mailto:EPFProgram@MDRonline.com. Winners will be notified in December. For more information and the official Call for Papers, visit http://www.MDRonline.com/events/empf.

Industry Resources: Demos in the Desert

The annual gathering of gadget freaks and their venture capitalists, Demo '99, is scheduled for February 7-10 at the Renaissance Esmerelda Resort in Indian Wells, California. With no fixed program, the Demo conference is usually filled by an assortment of new hardware demonstrations and proofs of concept.

Early registration (before 12/22) costs $1,995. Late registration runs $2,295. For more information, or to register, visit http://www.demo.com/demo_conferences/demo99/demo99.html.

Industry Resources: Inside IBM (or Lucent, or IDT, or Atmel...)

The Petrov Group has just completed its analysis of the ASIC business and capabilities of IBM. Joining similar analyses of IDT, Lucent, TI, Vantis (AMD), Atmel, and other semiconductor manufacturers, the report covers company organization, management profiles, product lines, business model, and detailed looks into the company's ASIC technology.

Your check for $19,600 gets you four copies of the IBM ASIC report and a half-day on-site presentation. For more information, contact Petrov Group (Los Altos, Calif.) at 650.941.7180 or fax 650.941.8529.

New Embedded IC Announcements

ST75C530 (STMicroelectronics) Monolithic device for telephones, answering machines, and faxes includes DSP and analog front-end functions for V.17 and V.32bis fax/modem. Price: $12/100,000 Production: Now; Call STM at 781.259.0300.

CS5529 (Crystal) Delta-signal analog-to-digital converter uses a single power supply, industrial temperature range, and settles in one conversion cycle. Price: $3.80/1,000 Production: Now; Call Crystal at 512.912.3736.

INA121 (Burr-Brown) FET-input instrumentation amplifier has low, 4-pA input-bias current and supply range from 2.3V to 18V; in DIP and SO packages. Price: $2.35/1,000 Production: Now; Call Burr-Brown at 800.548.6132.

ADS7843 (Burr-Brown) Single-chip touch-screen controller has 12-bit ADC, consumes 0.6 mW at 75 kHz; with SSI/SPI interface, and "touch interrupt" alert signal. Price: $4.95/1,000 Production: Now; Call Burr-Brown at 800.548.6132.

HM5225xx5A (Hitachi) Synchronous DRAMs have 256-Mbit capacity with standard packaging for easy design of PC-100 DIMMs; in x4, x8, and x16 organization. Price: $500/1; Samples: Now; Production: 4Q98; Call Hitachi at 800.285.1601.

70V9079 (IDT) Synchronous dual-port SRAM has 3.3-V supply voltage, 50- MHz bus interface, and 32Kx8 configuration; 5-V version runs at 66 MHz. Price: $23.80/10,000; Production: Now; Call IDT at 800.345.7015.

HN5x2402 (Hitachi) Serial EEPROMs have 400-kHz two-wire interfaces, 2- Kbit to 64-Kbit capacity, and wide supply range from 1.8 V to 5.5 V. Price: $0.40/10,000; Production: Now; Call Hitachi at 800.285.1601.

M40Z111 (STMicroelectronics) Nonvolatile SRAAM has snap-on battery over surface-mounted SRAM, which allows reflow soldering of SRAM and later attachment of battery. Price: $7.47/1,000; Production: Now; Call STM at 781.259.0300.