Microcontrollers put Ethernet and USB onboard

The SH7670 has a maximum operating frequency of 200MHz and yields 480DMIPS at that speed.

Renesas Technology Europe has added eight new SH7670 microprocessors to its SuperH family.

Each device includes an Ethernet controller and USB 2.0 host on a single chip and all are intended for applications such as digital audio visual, office automation and factory automation systems requiring network connection functionality.

The SH7670 has a maximum operating frequency of 200MHz and yields 480DMIPS at that speed.

It also has a single/double-precision floating point unit (FPU), which is now wanted by many engineers who develop their algorithms on PCs using high-level-abstraction tools such as Matlab.

Without an FPU these algorithms will slow down dramatically when the application is moved from the PC to embedded hardware (microcontrollers).

The SH7670 implements an IEEE802.3 compliant media access controller (MAC) that makes it easy to develop systems supporting 10 and 100Mbit/s Ethernet LAN connections.

It also incorporates USB 2.0 high-speed (480Mbit/s) host and function module capabilities, simplifying development of USB functionality.

The host interface (HIF) enables easy connections between the SH7670 and another processor.

This function enables the SH7670 to be recognised and controlled as an SRAM-equivalent device by a main microprocessor performing system control.

The SH7670 as a 16bit bus device allows high-speed command transmission and rapid transfer of large amounts of data.

This facilitates its integration into existing systems.

Also, use of the HIF boot function eliminates the need for external nonvolatile memory such as Flash memory, reducing the number of parts required.

In addition to the above, an audio (voice) codec can be connected via the serial sound interface.

This makes it easy to implement a VoIP system.

The comprehensive other on-chip peripheral functions include an SD host interface and I2C bus interface.

These also help reduce the number of parts in the system, further reducing costs.

The trend toward connecting household devices to home networks continues to advance, making it possible for a variety of products to share content.

An increasing number of digital audiovisual applications, such as digital TVs, DVD recorders, and digital audio products, allow consumers to enjoy content supplied via Ethernet and USB connections.

In addition, increasingly the communication standard used to link equipment in industrial settings is Ethernet.

At the same time, USB is being used increasingly for connections with host PCs.

The SH7670 also includes a general-purpose DMA controller, enabling high-speed data transfers between separate banks of external memory.

This contributes to higher overall network data throughput.

The package is a compact 256-pin BGA (17 x 17mm) that helps minimise product sise.

A JTAG on-chip debugging function is included that enables real-time debugging at the maximum operating frequency.

A compact PC card size emulator, the E10A-USB, is available.

Samples and an M3A-evaluation board are available now.

A Renesas Starter Kit (RSK) is under development and planned to be available by the end of Q1 2008.

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