Hitachi's Low-Cost SuperH System-on-a-Chip Processor is Tailored for Low-End to Mid-Range Telematics Systems.

Business Editors & Automotive Writers

Convergence 2002

NOTE TO MEDIA: Multimedia assets available

DETROIT--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 21, 2002

The embedded SH-4 CPU Core has a Floating Point Unit That Eliminates

the Need for a Separate DSP Chip in Systems Offering

Signal-Processing-Intensive Features Such as Echo Cancellation for

Hands-free Calling

At the Convergence 2002 conference today in Detroit, Hitachi Semiconductor (America) Inc. -- a leading supplier of microprocessors (MPUs) and microcontrollers (MCUs) for embedded systems -- announced the economical SH7760 "Camelot(TM)" SuperH(R) RISC system-on-a-chip (SoC) device. Its performance characteristics and many built-in peripherals are tailored specifically to facilitate the design of the next generation of low-/ to mid-range automotive telematics products.

The Camelot SoC device is based on a proven 32-bit superscaler SH-4 RISC CPU core that executes two instructions simultaneously. The core runs at up to 200 Megahertz (MHz) and operates with an on-chip cache and RAM to deliver high performance: up to 360 million instructions per second (MIPS) and 1.4 giga-flops (GFLOPS). Telematics system engineers can use this high-speed processing throughput to implement more and better convenience and safety features, such as hands-free calling for cellular communications.

With FPU, separate DSP device isn't needed

The SH-4 CPU core incorporates an on-chip floating-point unit (FPU) -- a fast hardware accelerator for mathematical operations. The FPU eliminates the need for a separate DSP device to run echo cancellation and other signal-processing-intensive middleware in many systems. Thus, it enables simpler, smaller, less-expensive telematics system designs. In addition to the Camelot SoC, Hitachi also offers the recently announced HD64404 companion chip and SH-4 CPUs for high-end multimedia and navigation applications within the car.

"Hands-free calling is beginning to be a 'killer application' in the low-to-medium end of the telematics product spectrum, a compelling reason for consumers to buy a system. The Camelot chip is an excellent fit for that capability and much more," said Tatsuo Yamamoto, vice president of CIS/Telematics business unit at Hitachi semiconductor (America) Inc. "We asked customers what CPU features were needed to produce products that will stimulate consumer interest, acceptance, purchase and use of telematics products. Their responses helped our device engineers design a sophisticated yet low-cost chip that is a true technology enabler. We worked closely with both the telematics service providers (TSP's) and the Tier-1 OEMs in defining the chip specifications."

"Given the rapid evolution of the telematics market," Yamamoto continued, "we are especially pleased about the turnaround time our engineering and production teams achieved for the Camelot SoC device. Hitachi's extensive library of intellectual property (IP) modules helped the teams design, debug and manufacture the chip quite quickly. It took just a little over 14 months to go from device definition to working samples."

Many functions packed into one low-cost IC

The pressure to reduce chip count to decrease manufacturing cost is especially critical in price-sensitive low-end telematics systems. For that reason the Camelot chip, which is built with 0.18-micron process technology (1.5V core and 3.3V I/O), has an exceptionally comprehensive set of built-in peripheral functions. They include system timers, a watchdog timer, memory management unit (MMU), clock pulse generator with phase locked loop (PLL) and power-down modes, interrupt controller (INTC), direct memory access controller (DMAC) and bus-state controller (BSC). A built-in color liquid crystal display (LCD) controller allows simple displays for navigation functions.

There are many input/output (I/O) circuits, too. Key ones include the multi functional interface (MFI), which allows the MPU to connect directly to other processor chips; a 10-bit 4-channel analog-to-digital converter (ADC); 2 channels of Hitachi controller area network 2 (HCAN2) interface for inter-system communication and control; a USB host interface; and two audio CODEC interfaces. The SoC device also has MultiMediaCard(TM), smart card, serial communication, I2C, SSI and HSPI interfaces, as well as a JTAG port for system debugging and 32 general-purpose I/O ports.

Industry analyst: Peripheral functions and capabilities are

exactly right

According to Egil Juliussen, principal technology analyst at Telematics Research Group, "Hitachi's SH-4 microprocessor family is entering the cell-phone integration telematics market, which is the fastest growing telematics segment. TRG is projecting that cell-phone integration telematics systems will grow from less than 100,000 units annually in 2002 to nearly 10 million units annually worldwide in 2010."

"Hands-free, voice activated communications from within the vehicle require a low-cost telematics solution. Hitachi's movement into this segment improves their competitive position," adds Juliussen.

Compatible CPU core can reduce need to write new software

Camelot's SH-4 RISC CPU core is software compatible with the popular SH7750/7750R and SH7751/7751R SH-4 series MPUs now being used for high-end telematics systems. The core is also upward compatible with devices in the SH-2 and SH-3 series, which are well established as popular embedded system solutions. This compatibility helps reduce system engineering time and cost by permitting the use of proven application software developed by customers or purchased from third-party suppliers.

"The Camelot chip is a good fit for our mobile multimedia programs we are currently working on," said Jeff Jones, chief engineer, Delphi Corporation. "It has the required CPU horsepower, feature set and system support to develop timely and cost-effective systems for our customers."

Many system development tools available

Extensive software/hardware development tools for the Camelot SH7760 MPU are available from Hitachi and third-party suppliers. Foremost among the Hitachi products is the modular "Biscayne(TM)" SoC development platform (US7760-HRP13E). It's a 2- DIN* sized unit that runs from a 12V DC source and uses many automotive-grade components. It contains two PCMCIA slots for attaching peripheral devices and allows system engineers to use all on-chip functions, as well as the chip's six power-down modes. The platform has configurable memory and accommodates up to 64 Megabytes (MB) of RAM and up to 32MB of flash.

Currently, the Biscayne platform supports the QNX(R) RTOS (6.2). Future software support plan for the Biscayne platform includes other operating systems (VxWorks(R), Windows(R) CE for Automotive and Linux(R)), Java support (IBM(R), OTI and Sun Java(TM) Virtual Machine), and middleware (speech recognition, echo cancellation etc).

To ease system debugging, Hitachi offers the E10A JTAG connected debugger for real-time emulation and source level debugging. Code development is supported by the Hitachi Embedded Workshop (HEW). The HEW package offers a flexible code development environment with project generation, tools configuration, version control, graphical analysis and debugger control capabilities. It includes a set of fully integrated software tools: editor, C compiler, assembler, linker, librarian, and simulator.

Price and availability
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SH7760 32-bit SuperH    Hitachi Part Number   Package     Availability
RISC SoC  MPU
----------------------------------------------------------------------

200MHz/3.3V device         HD6417760BP200D   PlasticBGA-256,   Q1/2003
 with SH-4 CPU core                            21 mmx21mm
 with cache and FPU,
 CPG, MMU, INTC, UBC,
 BSC, DMAC, TMU, CMT,
 WDT, LCDC, ADC, SCIF,
 SSI, I2C, HSPI, MFI,
 Audio CODEC I/F,
 HCAN2, MultiMediaCard
 I/F, NAND Flash I/F,
 SIM, and USB (host)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Reader contact

Readers can find additional product and contact information on Hitachi Semiconductor's Web site at http://semiconductor.hitachi.com/automotive.html or by calling 408-433-1990.

Hitachi, a leading supplier of automotive system solutions, combines a cutting-edge technology based around the SuperH 32-bit RISC architecture and automotive market expertise earned over the last 15 years to deliver products that suit individual applications at a system level. The Hitachi system architecture is also supported by an established third party network, providing a reliable and flexible development environment for CIS and telematics applications. Hitachi is continuously developing new products with increased performance and advanced peripheral functions, supporting the evolution of in-vehicle computing systems.

About Hitachi Semiconductor (America) Inc.

Hitachi Semiconductor (America) Inc., a subsidiary of Hitachi America, Ltd., supports the requirements of the North American marketplace with a broad range of standard and low-power semiconductor solutions. Offering some of the industry's most popular RF and memory components, microcontrollers and microprocessors, among other semiconductor solutions, Hitachi provides chips to the world's leading device manufacturers within industrial, consumer and emerging market applications. Hitachi's substantial design engineering, research and development facilities in the United States help bring the world's best technology to U.S. customers. For more information, visit: www.hitachi.com/semiconductor

Hitachi America, Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), markets and manufactures a broad range of electronics, computer systems and products, consumer electronics and semiconductors, and provides industrial equipment and services throughout North America. For more information, visit: www.hitachi.com.

Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company, with approximately 320,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2001(ended March 31, 2002) consolidated sales totaled 7,994 billion yen ($60.1 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors, including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's web site at http://global.hitachi.com.

* Note: DIN stands for Deutsches Institut fur Normung

SuperH is a U.S. registered trademark of Hitachi, Ltd.

Camelot and Biscayne are U.S. trademarks of Hitachi Semiconductor (America) Inc.

All other trademarks or registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.

-------------------------- -------------------------------------------
Item                       Specification
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------
Product Code               SH7760 (HD6417760BP200D)
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------
Operating temperature       -40(degrees)C + 85(degrees)C
 range
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------
Operating voltage          Internal: 1.5V       I/O: 3.3V
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------
Operating frequency        200MHz (max.)
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------
Processing speed           360MIPS, 1.4GFLOPS (at 200MHz)
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------
CPU core                   SH-4 core
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------
CPU instructions           91 (16-bit fixed-length instructions)
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------
Cache                      16-KB instructions/32-KB data separation,
                            two-way set associative, write
                            through/copy back selectable
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------
External memory            Bus state controller supports SRAM,
                            Synchronous DRAM, Burst ROM
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------
Data bus width             External 8/16/32 bits selectable
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------
On-chip peripheral         Interrupt controller (INTC)
 functions                 Direct memory access controller (DMAC)
                            x 8channels
                           Clock pulse generator (CPG) with phase
                            locked loop (PLL)
                           Watch dog timer (WDT)
                           User break controller (UBC)
                           Timer unit (TMU) x 3 channels
                           Compare match timer (CMT) x 4 channels
                           LCD controller (LCDC)
                           Smart card interface module (SIM)
                           10-bit resolution A/D converter
                            x 4 channels
                           Advance user debugger (AUD)
                           Hitachi user debug interface (H-UDI)
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------
Interfaces                 Serial communication interface with FIFO
                            (SCIF) X 3 channels
                           I2C bus interface x 2 channels
                           Serial sound interface (SSI) x 2 channels
                           Hitachi Audio CODEC interface (HAC)
                            x 2 channels
                           USB host interface (version 1.1 support)
                            x 1 channel
                           Hitachi controller area network 2 (HCAN2)
                            x 2 channels
                           Hitachi serial peripheral interface (HSPI)
                           MultiMediaCard interface (MMCIF)
                           NAND flash memory interface
                           Multi-function interface (MFI)
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------
Power-down modes           Sleep mode
                           Deep sleep mode
                           Software stand-by mode
                           Hardware stand-by mode
                           Module stand-by mode
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------
Package                    BGA-256 pin (21mm X 21mm, 1.0 mm pitch)
-------------------------- -------------------------------------------

Note: A Photo is available at URL:

http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.102102/bb5