MCUs put more Flash in smaller packages

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Apr 28, 2003

The latest additions to the Z8 Encore! family of Flash microcontrollers feature 4 or 8Kbyte of high-speed Flash memory housed in 20- and 28-pin SOIC packages.

The latest additions to the Zilog Z8 Encore! family of Flash microcontrollers expand the company's Flash memory product offerings with devices that feature 4 or 8Kbyte of high-speed Flash memory packaged in 20- and 28-pin SOIC packages.

"These new devices meet the needs of designers working in the most cost-sensitive markets while still offering the robust features and high-performance clock speeds that define the Z8 Encore! family", said Mike Burger, President of Zilog.

"When the family was launched in November, we promised our customers an extension of the Z8 Encore! family that would include devices to meet the need for performance and compactness at a lower cost.

This commitment is fulfilled with these new devices which target designs that need the same high performance characteristics but with fewer peripherals and a smaller package".

The Z8 Encore! microcontrollers, which operate at more than twice the speed and execute instructions three times faster than Zilog's classic Z8 MCU meet the needs of designers working on consumer and appliance applications.

The Zilog Z8F08 (8Kbyte Flash) and Z8F04 (4Kbyte Flash) devices feature 1Kbyte of linear register SRAM, as well as a robust array of peripherals, including one 9bit UART port, two 16bit counter timers and a five-channel 10bit A/D convertor.

Like the rest of the family, the new devices feature Zilog's high-performance register-to-register based architecture and a fast eZ8 CPU 20MHz core, which maintains backward compatibility with the company's very popular Z8 MCU.

All of the devices in the Z8 Encore! family use the same core and peripheral interfaces to ensure seamless migration across different devices without expensive code modification or reinvestments in tools.

Zilog offers a comprehensive development kit for the Z8 Encore! family.

The kit includes the Windows version of Zilog Developer Studio (ZDSII), an ANSI-C compiler and C source-level debugger, a full-featured evaluation board, a sample Flash device, an RS232 to ZDB cable, a 9V DC universal power supply, and a target module interface board.

The development kit also includes the Zilog XTools, an intuitive, production-quality suite of tools designed to reduce total system development time.

For a limited time, the company is offering its Z8 Encore! development kit for only $49.95 (compared with a normal list price of $199.00).

The Z8F04 devices, which feature 4Kbyte of Flash, will initially sell for $2.23 to $2.31 each in 1000s (depending on configuration).

The Z8F08 devices, which feature 8Kbyte of Flash, will sell for $2.65 to $2.78 each in 1000s (depending on configuration).

The new devices are currently expected to be available in production quantities starting in August 2003, while sample quantities are expected to be available in July.

Continuing the drive to innovative new designs using the Z8 Encore!, Zilog is holding a "Flash for cash" design contest, with 14 cash prizes worth a total of $20,000.

The contest, which encourages designers to create creative applications using a Zilog Z8 Encore! Flash microcontroller, closes for entries on 31st October 2003.

"Zilog has enhanced the 8bit market with the Z8 Encore! family of Flash microcontrollers", said Mike Burger, President of Zilog.

"With the Flash for cash contest, we want to encourage designers to demonstrate the ways that they have leveraged these devices to speed their development process and implement a higher level of functionality than ever before".

The contest is open to individuals or groups of US residents who are 18 years and older.

Complete rules and entry forms for the design contest are available from the Zilog website.