Freescale Delivers Its Highest Level of 8-Bit On-Chip Integration for the Price; MC9S08QG8/QG4 Microcontrollers Provide a Strong Combination of Functionality and Packaging for Cost-Sensitive Applications.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Designers of consumer electronics and industrial control applications can now take advantage of 8-bit microcontroller solutions that feature an attractive combination of performance, low power and price. Freescale Semiconductor (NYSE: FSL) (NYSE:FSL.B) is introducing the S08QG family of highly integrated, cost-effective 8-bit microcontrollers (MCUs).

To deliver increased on-chip integration, the MC9S08QG8/QG4 MCUs add an enhanced 8-channel, 10-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) designed for better resolution, speed of conversion and low-power. The onboard analog integration allows customers to easily interface to analog inputs with minimal external glue logic. The inclusion of a serial communications interface (SCI), a serial peripheral interface (SPI) module and inter-integrated circuit (IIC) bus modules maximizes the customer's options for external components to interface with and enables increased design flexibility.

Reducing system costs

Flexible timer options allow for greater software flexibility with the 8-bit modulo timer module (MTIM), as well as motion control capabilities with the 2-channel Timer/PWM module (TPM). The combination of these components on a single chip reduces the need for external system components and can help decrease the overall system costs.

"By offering tightly integrated 8-bit MCUs that combine flexibility and competitive price points, Freescale is giving designers wide latitude in choosing the right devices for their systems," said Eddie Sinnott, 8-bit MCU operations manager for Freescale. "The 9S08QG8/QG4 MCUs provide designers with the necessary functionality at a very competitive suggested resale price to enable even the most demanding and cost-sensitive application."

The 9S08QG8/QG4 also offers on-chip integration without compromising the low power consumption demands of many 8-bit applications by offering a series of clock source options. The internal clock source (ICS) module provides an accurate, low power internal clock generator, eliminating the need for and cost of an external crystal or oscillator. The 9S08QG8/QG4 MCUs are capable of supporting external clock source inputs from 32 kHz up to 20 MHz.

"Indesign places a great deal of strategic value in our partnership with Freescale," said Jerry Gotway, president of Indesign. "The 9S08QG8/QG4's high level of on-chip integration at this price point creates a great foundation for the design of new products. In addition to strong product innovation and aggressive pricing, Freescale provides us with the tools, reference designs and support we need to go to market quickly with a sustainable competitive advantage."

Speeding system development

Freescale provides an out-of-the-box development experience with cost-effective boards, production-worthy code via software libraries and the award-winning CodeWarrior(TM) development environment to help customers bring products to market easily and quickly.

--The 9S08QG8/QG4 devices include a background debugging system and on-chip in-circuit emulation (ICE) with real-time bus capture, to eliminate the need for expensive emulation tools

--Virtual lab allows customers a hands-on experience prior to purchasing, visit http://www.embeddedlearningcenter.com

MC9S08QG8/QG4 product features

--Based on the HCS08 core

--Up to 20MHz (10MHz bus) at greater than 2.1V operation for 100ns minimum instruction time and 16MHz (8MHz bus) frequency at less than 2.1V

--8K and 4K reprogrammable flash options

--Synchronous and asynchronous serial peripherals (SPI, IIC, SCI)

--8-channel, 10-bit Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) with temperature sensor

--Analog comparator module (ACMP)

--2-channel Timer/PWM module (TPM) and 8-bit modulo timer module (MTIM)

--8-pin keyboard interrupt (KBI) module with software selectable polarity on edge or edge/level modes

--Internal clock source (ICS) module containing a frequency-locked loop (FLL)

--External oscillator to support external clock sources

--System protection features, such as low voltage detect (LVD), power on reset (POR), and computer operating properly (COP) counter with independent oscillator

--Background debugging system and on-chip in-circuit emulation (ICE) with real-time bus capabilities

Price and availability

The 8-bit microcontrollers are available for the suggested resale price of $0.89 (USD) for the MC9S08QG4 and $0.99 for the MC9S08QG8 for 1K unit MSRP on the least expensive package. For more information about these products and available services and support, visit http://www.freescale.com/files/pr/MC9S08QG.html.

About Freescale Semiconductor

Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NYSE:FSL) (NYSE:FSL.B) is a global leader in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for the automotive, consumer, industrial, networking and wireless markets. Freescale became a publicly traded company in July 2004 after more than 50 years as part of Motorola, Inc. The company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development, manufacturing or sales operations in more than 30 countries. Freescale, a member of the S&P 500(R), is one of the world's largest semiconductor companies with 2004 sales of $5.7 billion (USD). www.freescale.com

Reader Inquiry Response:
Freescale Semiconductor
P.O. Box 17927
Denver, CO 80217 USA

Freescale(TM) and the Freescale logo are trademarks of Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. The HCS08 products incorporate SuperFlash(R) technology licensed from SST. (C) Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. 2005.