Microcontroller takes ferroelectric RAM onboard

Ramtron has added FRAM into its fast and flexible Versa 8051s for quick and reliable nonvolatile data storage and a processing system that only a FRAM-enhanced MCU can provide.

Ramtron International has launched the VRS51L3074, the market's first 8051-based microcontroller with nonvolatile FRAM.

Ramtron has added FRAM into its fast and flexible Versa 8051s for quick and reliable nonvolatile data storage and a processing system that only a FRAM-enhanced MCU can provide.

"The VRS51L3074 represents an advance that could fundamentally alter the microcontroller landscape by providing all the advantages of FRAM on an MCU", explains Irv Lustigman, General Manager of Ramtron Canada.

"This is the first in a series of planned products leading to a microcontroller based entirely on FRAM, where FRAM will be used for program, data and register memory, eliminating the need for Flash and SRAM altogether".

FRAM simplifies the design cycle by eliminating the code overhead accompanying Flash data storage, and the limited endurance and drawn out write cycles of Flash/EEPROM.

Unlike Flash, FRAM bytes can be modified without first erasing an entire sector, rendering it easier to use.

And unlike Flash/EEPROM, FRAM provides virtually unlimited read/write cycles and fast data writes.

The VRS51L3074 combines 8Kbyte of FRAM memory with a fully integrated, high-performance system-on-chip.

Features include an advanced 40MIPS, single-cycle 8051-core, 64Kbyte Flash with in-system/in-application programming, 4Kbyte SRAM, a JTAG program/debug interface, digital signal processing (DSP) extensions and a robust digital peripheral set.

Operating at 3.3V over the entire industrial temperature range, the VRS51L3074 offers the ideal embedded data acquisition solution, targeting a wide array of applications from sensors and metering to industrial control, instrumentation and medical devices.

The 8K x 8bit FRAM provides 8Kbyte of true nonvolatile RAM (no battery/supercap required to maintain data) mapped into the VRS51L3074's XRAM for easy access, fast writes and essentially unlimited endurance.

The 40MHz, single-cycle 8051 processor is one of the fastest 8bit processors on the market.

Its advanced core can deliver up to 40MIPS throughput and is instruction-compatible with standard 8051s, for smooth device migration.

The multiplier/accumulator/divider unit with 32bit barrel shifter significantly outperforms 8bit processors when executing DSP operations (FIR filtering, sensor output linearisation, multiple-byte arithmetic operations etc).

It performs 16bit signed multiplication and 32bit addition in one cycle (at 40MHz) and 16bit signed division in five cycles (at 40MHz).

The barrel shifter enables logic/arithmetic shift operations.

The VRS51L3074's internal oscillator provides better than 2% accuracy and cuts system costs by eliminating the need for an external crystal oscillator.

A JTAG interface provides user-friendly and quick device programming and real-time, in-circuit debugging/emulation of the user application without the need for a costly emulator.

Two universal asynchronous receiver/transmitters operate at up to 1.25Mbit/s.

Each UART incorporates a dedicated baud rate generator with 16bit resolution and 4bit micro baud rate adjustment.

The communication speed on the serial peripheral interface can be configured up to 20Mbit/s and transactions are adjustable from 1 to 32bit.

Two pulsewidth counter modules provide advanced timer control, simplifying event duration measurement.

The VRS51L3074 incorporates eight pulsewidth modulators with up to 16bit adjustable resolution.

Each PWM includes its own timer, which can also be used as general purpose timers.

Other support peripherals include an I2C interface, three 16bit general purpose timers/counters with three timer capture inputs, a watchdog timer, and 49 interrupts that share 16 interrupt vectors.

The VRS51L3074 is available in a QFP-64 package.

The VRS51L3074 is currently sampling and costs under $5 in volume.

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