Product category:
Microprocessors, Microcontrollers and DSPs
News Release from: Freescale Semiconductor | Subject: MC9S12XF
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 06 December 2006
16bit automotive microcontrollers
expanded
With the market debut of FlexRay technology in 2007 model vehicles, high-speed communications networks are redefining automotive safety and performance.
With the market debut of FlexRay technology in 2007 model vehicles, high-speed communications networks are redefining automotive safety and performance To help drive next-generation vehicle network architectures forward, Freescale Semiconductor has expanded its family of 16bit automotive microcontrollers (MCUs) with FlexRay technology and Flash memory scaling to 512Kbyte
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 2 Dec 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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Based on Freescale's widely used, high-volume S12 architecture, the MC9S12XF family provides a high-performance distributed control solution for embedded nodes on FlexRay networks used in body, chassis and safety applications.
FlexRay technology provides up to 10 times the speed of existing communications protocols for automotive networks.
This leap in network performance can enable more nimble and versatile stability control systems, more precise engine management and weight-saving electronic "brake-by-wire" systems that eventually may replace bulky hydraulic brakes.
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"FlexRay technology provides the high-speed communications bandwidth required by today's active driving systems and tomorrow's autonomous cars with drive-by-wire capabilities," said Ray Cornyn, Freescale's global manager of automotive microcontrollers.
"To help proliferate this innovative technology, Freescale offers a growing portfolio of standalone FlexRay controllers and 16 and 32bit FlexRay embedded MCUs".
"Today's S12XF family expansion broadens the choice of FlexRay solutions for automotive system designers".
The S12XF family features four highly integrated MCUs offering a variety of memory configurations and Freescale's performance-boosting XGATE coprocessor.
Package options range from the 112-pin low-profile quad flat-pack (LQFP) device to the 10 x 10mm 64-pin LQFP - the smallest FlexRay controller available.
The small-footprint S12XF MCUs are ideal for space-restricted applications, such as distributed actuator and sensor control modules that communicate with 32-bit central controllers on a FlexRay network.
The 16bit S12XF devices can serve as end nodes for a wide range of advanced safety and active driving applications, such as suspension control, active rollover prevention, active braking, lane departure warning, parking manoeuvre assistance and electronic parking brakes.
FlexRay technology is a deterministic, fault-tolerant communications protocol that supports data rates of 10Mbps for advanced control applications.
By offering increased network throughput, this high-speed communications technology can help enable system cost reductions by reducing the number of parallel controller area networks (CAN) used to solve bandwidth bottlenecks.
The high bandwidth of FlexRay technology makes it an ideal protocol for vehicle-wide network backbones, and the dual-channel architecture addresses the redundancy requirements of advanced safety systems.
The combination of these benefits enables next-generation vehicle designs that are safer, more responsive, more reliable and more environmentally friendly.
A cofounder of the FlexRay Consortium, Freescale was the first semiconductor company to introduce to the automotive market a FlexRay controller based on a 16bit architecture.
Freescale offers the industry's broadest array of FlexRay-based products and is currently the only semiconductor supplier with a FlexRay controller in a production-ready automobile.
In addition, Freescale provides broad ecosystem support for its FlexRay solutions, including development software and starter kits.
In addition to offering FlexRay technology, the S12XF family integrates Freescale's XGATE coprocessor module, which functions like a dedicated coprocessor for the main CPU.
Introduced on the S12X architecture in 2004, the RISC-based XGATE coprocessor addresses the design challenge of achieving higher MCU performance without the cost and complexity of adding separate processors.
Running at twice the speed of the main CPU without any CPU processing overhead, the XGATE coprocessor is engineered to boost system performance by up to 100 MIPS at peak operation.
As a result of this coprocessor architecture, S12XF devices can deliver performance similar to many 32-bit MCUs while retaining the benefits of Freescale's successful S12X architecture, such as low system cost and high code efficiency.
Freescale's S12 and S12X products enable scalability, hardware and software reusability, and compatibility across a broad array of automotive electronics platforms.
The S12 MCU family is the most widely adopted 16bit architecture in the automotive market.
S12-based devices are now shipping at a rate of more than 100 million units per year.
The scalable S12 family offers developers a range of choices for their application needs, with on-chip Flash scaling from 32Kbyte to 1Mbyte and a smooth migration path to higher performance S12X devices.
MC9S12XF family features: 50MHz S12X core based on a highly efficient 16-bit CISC architecture; integrated single/dual-channel FlexRay v2.1 supporting data rates of 2.5, 5, 8 and 10Mbit/s per channel; FlexRay clock derived from crystals ranging from 4MHz to 40MHz for cost and EMC optimisation using a PLL; integrated XGATE module delivering up to 100 MIPS of additional processing power; 512, 384, 256 and 128Kbyte automotive-quality Flash memory options with error correction code (ECC); 2 and 4Kbyte of EEPROM and 16, 24 and 32Kbyte of RAM; up to 16 channel analog-to-digital convertor (ADC) with configurable 8/10/12bit resolution capable of 3us conversion time; integrated motor control module using 6-channel pulsewidth modulator (PWM) with fault protection and current sense inputs; support for control area network (CAN), local interconnect network (LIN) and serial peripheral interface (SPI) protocols; enhanced periodic interrupt timer with three sync sources (ADC, PMF trigger capability to enhance motor control algorithms); small-footprint package options scaling to I/O needs; extensive tools support from S12X family MC9S12XF family availability.
Freescale plans to offer samples of MC9S12XF family devices (MC9S12XF512, MC9S12XF384, MC9S12XF256 and MC9S12XF128) and evaluation boards in Q1 2007.
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