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Silicon Labs claims MCUs with best-in-class temperature sensing
8/29/2012 3:13 PM EDT
SAN FRANCISO—Silicon Laboratories Inc. Wednesday (Aug. 29) introduced a family of high-performance 8-bit microcontrollers with an integrated temperature sensor that the company claims provides best-in-class accuracy over an extended temperature range and without the need for calibration.
Silicon Labs (Austin, Texas) said the new C8051F39x/7x MCUs offer a mix of integrated high-performance analog peripherals and a very fast 8051 CPU in a compact package. According to the company, the new MCUs are well suited for optical transceiver modules, sensor interfaces and brushless dc motor applications for fans, dryers, vacuum cleaners and remote control toy vehicles.
The C8051F39x/7x MCUs' on-chip temperature sensor provides ±2 oC accuracy through an extended temperature range (up to 105 oC) without the need for calibration, according to Silicon Labs. The temperature sensor provides five times higher accuracy than competing in-class MCUs, according to the company. The temperature sensor also reduces manufacturing cost by eliminating the need for the factory calibration step required by competing MCUs, Silicon Labs said.
C8051F39x/7x MCUs are more than 30 percent smaller than competing solutions, suiting them for space-constrained applications like optical transceiver modules, Silicon Labs said. The MCU family's integration eliminates the need for external components such as a temperature sensor, a crystal, a differential analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a voltage reference and two digital-to-analog converters (DACs), further reducing bill-of-materials (BOM) cost and PCB footprint, according to Silicon Labs.
The C8051F39x/7x MCUs are based on a patented, pipeline 8051 core that provides 2.5x faster CPU performance (up to 50 MIPS) than competing devices, according to Silicon Labs. Finer resolution pulse-width modulation (PWM) offers the ability to execute more complex algorithms, enabling a greater range of motor speeds and higher efficiency in motor control applications, the firm said.
The C8051F39x/7x MCUs are designed to consume an ultra-low 160 µA/MHz in active mode, enabling up to an 80 percent power savings compared to competing devices, according to Silicon Labs.
The C8051F37x devices are the first Silicon Labs MCUs with 512B of EEPROM, supporting 10 times more write/erase cycles (1 million, compared with 100,000 typically) and faster programming times compared to standard flash implementations, Silicon Labs said.
Silicon Labs' development kits for the C8051F39x/7x MCU family provide everything embedded developers need to evaluate hardware and develop code including C8051F390 or C8051F370 target boards, USB debug adaptor/programmer, power supply, cables, quick-start guide and complimentary downloadable software tools, according to the company.
Production quantities of Silicon Labs' C8051F39x/7x MCUs are available now in 4 mm x 4 mm 20-pin and 24-pin QFN packages with 4 to 16 kB flash sizes, as well as 1 kB RAM, Silicon Labs said. Pricing for the MCUs begins at 98 cents per unit in 10,000-unit quantities, the firm said. The C8051F390-A-DK and C8051F370-A-DK development kits are available for $69, while the Toolstick370-A-DC is available for $9.90, the firm said.
More information about the new MCUs is available on Silicon Labs' website.
Silicon Labs (Austin, Texas) said the new C8051F39x/7x MCUs offer a mix of integrated high-performance analog peripherals and a very fast 8051 CPU in a compact package. According to the company, the new MCUs are well suited for optical transceiver modules, sensor interfaces and brushless dc motor applications for fans, dryers, vacuum cleaners and remote control toy vehicles.
The C8051F39x/7x MCUs' on-chip temperature sensor provides ±2 oC accuracy through an extended temperature range (up to 105 oC) without the need for calibration, according to Silicon Labs. The temperature sensor provides five times higher accuracy than competing in-class MCUs, according to the company. The temperature sensor also reduces manufacturing cost by eliminating the need for the factory calibration step required by competing MCUs, Silicon Labs said.
C8051F39x/7x MCUs are more than 30 percent smaller than competing solutions, suiting them for space-constrained applications like optical transceiver modules, Silicon Labs said. The MCU family's integration eliminates the need for external components such as a temperature sensor, a crystal, a differential analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a voltage reference and two digital-to-analog converters (DACs), further reducing bill-of-materials (BOM) cost and PCB footprint, according to Silicon Labs.
The C8051F39x/7x MCUs are based on a patented, pipeline 8051 core that provides 2.5x faster CPU performance (up to 50 MIPS) than competing devices, according to Silicon Labs. Finer resolution pulse-width modulation (PWM) offers the ability to execute more complex algorithms, enabling a greater range of motor speeds and higher efficiency in motor control applications, the firm said.
The C8051F39x/7x MCUs are designed to consume an ultra-low 160 µA/MHz in active mode, enabling up to an 80 percent power savings compared to competing devices, according to Silicon Labs.
The C8051F37x devices are the first Silicon Labs MCUs with 512B of EEPROM, supporting 10 times more write/erase cycles (1 million, compared with 100,000 typically) and faster programming times compared to standard flash implementations, Silicon Labs said.
Silicon Labs' development kits for the C8051F39x/7x MCU family provide everything embedded developers need to evaluate hardware and develop code including C8051F390 or C8051F370 target boards, USB debug adaptor/programmer, power supply, cables, quick-start guide and complimentary downloadable software tools, according to the company.
Production quantities of Silicon Labs' C8051F39x/7x MCUs are available now in 4 mm x 4 mm 20-pin and 24-pin QFN packages with 4 to 16 kB flash sizes, as well as 1 kB RAM, Silicon Labs said. Pricing for the MCUs begins at 98 cents per unit in 10,000-unit quantities, the firm said. The C8051F390-A-DK and C8051F370-A-DK development kits are available for $69, while the Toolstick370-A-DC is available for $9.90, the firm said.
More information about the new MCUs is available on Silicon Labs' website.
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