Silicon Labs unveils MCU plus temperature sensing

The C8051F39x/7x MCU family from Silicon Labs combines a high-performance 8-bit MCU with an integrated temperature sensor featuring best-in-class accuracy over an extended temperature range—without calibration.  Housed in a 4mm x 4mm package, the family provides an optimal solution for optical transceiver modules, sensor interfaces and brushless dc motor applications.

Industrial applications need highly accurate sensors that automatically adjust for behavior shifts over temperature for such components as sensors, lasers, or power sources. The MCU/temperature sensor combo provides ±2°C accuracy through an extended temperature range to 105°C. and 5x higher accuracy than competing in-class MCUs.

The feature rich, high-performance and affordable solution is 30% smaller than competing solutions. The high integration eliminates such external components as a temperature sensor, crystal, differential ADC converter, voltage reference and two DACs.

The MCUs consume an ultra-low 160μA/MHz in active mode, for up to 80% power savings over competing products. They feature 512B of EEPROM, supporting 10x more write/erase cycles and faster programming times compared with standard flash implementations. Faster programming times are especially valuable in industrial control and optical module applications that require tight calibration loops.

Development kids for the C8051F39x/7x MCU family include C8051F390 or C8051F370 target boards, USB debug adaptor/programmer, power supply, cables, quick-start guide, and complimentary downloadable software tools. The TOOLSTICK370-A-DC daughter card enables designers to develop and debug application firmware directly on the target MCU using the Silicon Labs IDE.

Production quantities are available in 4 mm x 4 mm 20-pin and 24-pin QFN packages with 4 to 16 kB flash sizes and 1 kB RAM. The devices are footprint and code compatible with Silicon Labs’ C8051F33x MCUs. Pricing for the MCU family in 10,000 unit quantities begins at $0.98 (USD). The C8051F390-A-DK and C8051F370-A-DK development kits are $69.00 and the Tookstick370-A-DC is available for $9.90 (USD).

For more information visit Silicon Labs.

Related content: Microcontroller-based temperature sensors—Accuracy considerations