$149 Infineon C167 Development Kit With 544 KBytes of Flash.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 2000

World's Only Instant Prototyping Solution for C167 Designs With

Large External Flash. Supports In-application Programmability (IAP).

Waferscale Integration today introduced a development kit for the rapid prototyping of in-application programmable (IAP) embedded systems using any of Infineon's C166 family of microcontrollers. In-application programming is required in systems that need to remain functional while updating their own firmware. In-application programming is important in applications such as surveillance, data logging, automotive, and industrial control.

Development Kit Contents - The DK4000-C167 Development Kit includes a fully populated C167 development board, Waferscale's FlashLINK JTAG programmer for 10 second in-system programming (ISP) of the PSD device, a serial UART cable for IAP, and a power supply. Also included is Waferscale's CDROM with the company's Windows(R)-based PSDsoft(TM) Express EDA tool, an application to perform in-application programming from a PC, the DK4000-C167 manual, application notes and reference designs. The reference designs can frequently be used as-is for the C167 product application.

The DK4000-C167 development board is populated with a C167CR microcontroller, plus Waferscale's single chip PSD4135G2 with 512 KBytes of flash, a second 32-KByte flash memory array, 8 KBytes of SRAM and a 3,000 gate CPLD. The C167 on the DK4000-C167 board has a CAN bus that is typically used in high speed, real-time control in automotive powertrain applications and industrial control.

The large flash memory on the on-board PSD4135G2 has plenty of room for complex code, real time operating systems, and the recoding of fault records, data logs, and completed processes. Abundant flash memory is important in C167 systems because quite often they are used in networked distributed processing applications with self-diagnosis software that consumes large amounts of flash memory. Waferscale's DK4000-C167 board offers the largest flash memory density of any C167 development board on the market today.

The PSD's on-chip CPLD is used for complex memory mapping. It has sufficient logic to implement custom peripherals such as serial channels, shift registers and mail boxes. The DK4000-C167 board also has an expansion port for additional SRAM, expansion connectors for external peripherals or docking additional prototype boards, an LCD display, DIP switches, LEDs, a UART connector, and a JTAG-ISP port.

Speeds System Development Time - According to Bryan Hahn, Waferscale's PSD Product Marketing Manager, "With the DK4000-C167 Development Kit, designers have an instant prototype for any C166-based design, including the logic design for the in-application programmability. Infineon's C166 family of microcontrollers is one of the best selling 16-bit microcontroller architectures on the market today. The C167 derivative on our development board has both CAN and an analog-to-digital convertor, making it ideal for automotive and industrial control applications. Designers who don't need the CAN or the ADC can always migrate a design done on this board to a less elaborate C161 device.

"The DK4000-C167 board has more than twice as much on-board flash memory as any other C167 development board on the market. This is critical for designs that have large code size or need to maintain large data logs. If a designer needs more the 256 KBytes of flash on Infineon's development board or needs to implement in-application programming which requires two flash chips, he or she will have to build a board -- a costly and time-consuming procedure. With our DK4000-C167 Development Kit, the designer can begin writing code immediately, without having to wait for the final board design. This can shave several months off of the product development cycle. Product development time is further shortened by the inclusion of a ready-to-use reference design that handles the in-application programming of the PSD. Frequently, this IAP design can be used as-is, in the final application, saving additional product development time.

"The solution we have built on this board offers the smallest footprint, most cost effective option for any C166 design that needs in-application programming. C166 MCUs don't have any on chip flash, so updating the code or storing and re-writing large data logs requires external flash memory. Since the microcontroller cannot retrieve code from a flash memory that is being updated, two separate flash memory arrays are required. For example, an automotive diagnostic system that maintains a large data log is not able to execute from the flash memory that contains the data log, when the log is being updated. Therefore, a second flash memory array that is large enough to store the boot code, programming algorithms and enough application software to keep the system running will have to be added. In addition, an external CPLD will also be needed for memory mapping and paging and address decoding, as well as for demuxing latches.

"On top of that," Hahn explained, "16-bit flash memory is so expensive that it is often more cost effective to use two 8-bit flash memories instead of a single 16-bit flash device. This solution adds nine extra chips to the system board and dramatically increases power consumption. A lot of applications cannot afford the larger board size or the higher power consumption. This is particularly true in automotive applications which are severely space- and power-constrained.

"The PSD4135G2 on the DK4000-C167 development board provides all the external functionality required for these designs in a single, low cost chip. It is the ideal solution for Infineon C166-based systems that need an IAP capability," Hahn concluded.

PSD Allows Code To Be Downloaded From Any Channel - Infineon's C167CR MCU comes with a bootstrap loader that, if invoked during power-up, loads 16 instructions into the MCU's SRAM via the on-chip UART. This "worm code", in turn, loads a larger program into the SRAM and then executes it. Although this approach minimizes that memory required for code storage, it is exceptionally difficult to write and debug because the designer must deal with multiple different programs. Any interruption in the system power supply will require a reboot from scratch because the MCU has no way of keeping track of which piece of code it is executing. In addition, the UART is the only channel through which code may be loaded.

The PSD4135G2 on the DK4000-C167 development board allows code to be loaded through the UART, the CAN bus, or any other bus that the C167 supports. For example, it is highly desirable to upload firmware to all nodes in a factory over a CAN bus in a distributed industrial control network. The PSD makes this easy. The 32 KByte secondary flash array is large enough to store all the boot loader code, plus application code, making it much easier to write and debug and making it more stable than storing the code in SRAM.

Free PSDsoft(TM) EDA Tool - Waferscale's free EDA tool, PSDsoft Express, is included on a CDROM in the design kit. PSDsoft Express automatically generates HDL code for the PSD logic design from point-and-click menus. Designers do not have to know or write any HDL. The tool provides a completely automated programmable logic design flow for the PSD's microcontroller interface, memory mapping, chip selects, and pin assignments. The tool automatically cross checks for system and logic errors (a common source of problems in MCU-based designs with external devices), and then merges the logic design with the microcontroller firmware. The CDROM also includes Waferscale's data book, sample designs and other features. PSDsoft Express is also available for free on Waferscale's website, www.waferscale.com

PSDload UART Download Software - Also in the DK4000-C167 design kit is PSDload, a Windows(R) 95/98/NT-based UART download program that facilitates in-application programming of the embedded system. PSDload performs erase, fill, read, write, upload and download of data or code to either of the two flash memory arrays on the PSD device, using the C167's UART channel.

Price and Availability - The DK4000-C167 Development Kit is available now and costs $149. It may be purchased directly from Waferscale's web site, www.waferscale.com or from any of Waferscale's distributors.

Waferscale's World Wide Web site is www.waferscale.com.

Waferscale Integration, Inc is the leading supplier of highly integrated programmable solutions for high-speed embedded control designs. Its PSD families of single-chip, field-programmable microcontroller peripherals off-load microcontroller functions so that MCUs can operate faster and do more. The power-conserving features of PSD devices can extend system battery life by several hours. The company's family of high performance non-volatile memory products offers densities of 16 Kbit to 1 Megabit with access times as low as 25 ns and 3.3 volt devices with access times as low as 70 ns. Waferscale is located in Fremont, California.

Note to Editors: PSDsoft, EasyFLASH and FlashLINK are trademark of Waferscale Integration, Inc. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. ABEL is a registered trademark of MINC.