Motorola boosts on-chip Flash for 16-bit microcontrollers; Denso uses 68HC916Y3 in award-winning engine control units.

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 30, 1997--Motorola (NYSE:MOT) Semiconductor Products Sector's Transportation Systems Group today introduced the 68HC916Y3, a new 16-bit microcontroller (MCU) with 100 Kbytes of integrated Flash Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM).

This highly integrated 16-bit microcontroller and the Denso engine control unit in which it is used have won the International Semiconductor Cooperation Center (INSEC) President's Design-In Excellence Award.

Denso (Kariya, Japan) helped define the feature set on the new 68HC916Y3, including the incorporation of on-chip Flash, which enables fast software development and provides the required market flexibility. The engine control unit has fuel control, exhaust gas cleaning and component deterioration functions that are implemented through software stored in the Flash memory.

The software can be programmed not only during manufacturing, but also by the dealer after a vehicle has been sold. The performance, functions, ease of use and future utility of the 68HC916Y3 met Denso's development goals of improved fuel consumption and engine output, reduced exhaust emissions and reduced size of the engine control unit.

Flash MCUs afford the convenience of field-reprogrammability, allowing customers to adapt to changing market needs. They also offer time savings and reduced costs through on-board programming, reduced number of components, increased reliability and easy software upgrades. Moreover, the 68HC916 Flash MCU series provides programming times as fast as 45 Kbytes per second (42 microseconds per word).

"We're seeing increased demand for higher capability microcontrollers with integrated Flash memory," said Bill Pfaff, modular MCU operations manager in Motorola's Transportation Systems Group. "Motorola's ability to meet these customer demands -- without sacrificing speed or flexibility -- is the key to maintaining market leadership."

The 68HC916Y3 offers 96 Kbytes of Flash EEPROM and four Kbytes of block-erasable Flash EEPROM with fast programming. It also includes Motorola's popular Background Debug Mode for in-circuit programming and debugging; two timer modules -- including TPU2, an enhanced version of the RISC-based Time Processor Unit co-processor; several serial units and a host of other features.

The original TPU is an on-chip co-processor with a microengine dedicated to complex timing and input/output (I/O) tasks, relieving the central processing unit (CPU) of time-intensive tsks. It features 16 channels, two independent 16-bit counters used for channel timing control, a task-switched microengine, which interfaces to all channels and executes micro-instructions, and a micro-ROM control store to hold executed programs. This control store can hold up to 16 separate programs, called TPU functions.

There are more than 20 timing functions available in the TPU library which can be mixed and matched by downloading them into the microcontroller's TPU2 emulation Flash.

In response to customer needs, Motorola has enhanced the time base resolution on the TPU2 to a maximum of one-half the system clock speed (16.78 MHz), allowing higher frequency signals to be measured and/or generated by the TPU2. The microcode ROM of the TPU2 is larger, holding up to 4 Kbytes of customer-generated microcode or TPU library timing functions. A new optional fail-safe shutdown input pin can be used to immediately turn off the TPU2 outputs if an error condition is detected.

The use of emulation mode in the TPU2 has been made simpler -- users can now use Flash for the TPU microcode storage. Other new features of the TPU2 include programmable digital input filters for all pins and increased TPU parameter RAM (256 bytes).

The new TPU2, along with the General Purpose Time (GPT), perform critical timing functions for Denso's engine control unit, controlling fuel spray, ignition timing, engine rpm measurement and vehicle speed measurement.

68HC916Y3 Features

The 68HC916Y3 is based on Motorola's modular design methodology. Motorola's 16-bit 68HC16 family, as well as its 32-bit 68300 and 68HC12 families, make use of an extensive library of peripheral modules that interact through similar bus interfaces. This modular design methodology facilitates the rapid development of new derivatives tailored for specific applications, markets or customers. -0-

-- CPU16, high-performance 16-bit core with C language support and control-oriented DSP capability

-- General purpose accumulator-based register architecture

-- Addresses up to one Mbyte program space and one Mbyte data space

-- Upward software compatible with the 68HC11 and 68HC12 families -- 96 Kbytes flash EEPROM -- Four Kbytes block-erasable Flash EEPROM (BEFLASH) that can be used for TPU emulation or for program and/or data storage -- Four Kbytes Standby RAM (SRAM) -- Background Debug Mode -- allows read and write access of the target system's registers and memory, and offers a comprehensive set of debug commands -- Enhanced RISC-based time processing unit (TPU2) with 4 Kbyte program store -- General-purpose 16-bit time (GPT) with two Pulse Width Modulators (PWM), 3 input capture (IC), 4 output compare (OC), and one programmable IC/OC, external clock input, and pulse accumulator -- Eight-channel, 10-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) -- Multi-channel communications interface (MCCI) with two asynchronous serial communications interfaces (SCI) -- Queued Serial Module (QSM) that integrates a queued serial peripheral interface (QSPI) with a 16-entry transfer queue -- Enhanced single-chip integration module (SCIM2) that combines address and data pins usable as I/O ports with nine on-chip programmable chip selects, watchdog timers, periodic timer, and PLL clock generator -- 16.78 MHz clock speed at five volts -- 83 I/O pins -- Extended operating temperature ranges (-40 degrees to 105 degrees Celsius and -40 degrees to 125 degrees Celsius) -0-

Development Support

Development support for these 68HC16 family members includes both Motorola and third party tools. Motorola offers its Modular Evaluation Board (MEVB1632), MMDS1632 Modular Development System, SDI serial interface and the RTEK embedded kernel.

A convenient platform to create, develop and debug application code, the MEVB1632 is a two-board system consisting of a modular platform board and an MCU personality board, which is specific to the microcontroller device being evaluated.

The MMDS1632 provides comprehensive hardware and software and real-time, in-circuit emulation for embedded applications based on the 68HC16 and 68300 microcontrollers. This modular system consists of a station module, device-specific microcontroller personality board, package-specific personality and target boards as well as emulation software, HIWARE HI-LITE(TM) debugging software and the necessary interfaces.

The SDI interface is a serial in-circuit debugger that makes use of the Background Debug Mode on 68HC16 and 68300 devices. It allows quick verification and updating of customers' embedded software.

A full-featured real-time operating system, the RTEK kernel supports the 68HC16 as well as five other Motorola microcontroller families.

The many independent development tool suppliers that support the 68HC16 family with both hardware and software tools, include the following that plan to support the new 68HC916Y3: -0-

-- Avocet Systems 2500AD Softaid (Rockport, Maine) C-compiler, assembler, simulator, emulator

-- Cosmic Software (Woburn, Mass.) C-compiler, assembler, simulator/debugger

-- Embedded Systems Products (Houston) real-time operating system

-- HIWARE/Archimedes Software (Kirkland, Wash.) C-compiler, macro assembler, simulator/debugger, background mode-based debugger

-- IAR Systems (San Francisco) C-compiler, simulator/debugger

-- Intec Ino Ventures Inc. (B.C., Canada) evaluation board development system, C-compiler

-- Introl Corp. (Milwaukee, Wis.) C-compiler

-- Lauterbach Inc. (Framingham, Mass.) in-circuit emulator, background mode-based debugger

-- Nohau Corp. (Campbell, Calif.) in-circuit emulator

-- P&E Microcomputer (Woburn, Mass.) programmer, assembler, debugger

-- Pentica Systems (Bedford, Mass.) in-circuit emulator

-- US Software Corp. (Portland, Ore.) real-time operating system

Pricing and Availability

The 68HC916Y3 is available now in a 160-pin Quad Flat Pack (QFP) package for US$48.50 per unit in 10,000 piece quantities (suggested list). Motorola also offers a ROM version, the 68HC16Y3, which is available now in a 132-pin PQFP package, priced at US$25.95 per unit in 10,000 piece quantities (suggested list).

Motorola has over 250 different 8-, 16- and 32-bit microcontrollers in its portfolio and has been the number one supplier of microcontrollers for four years running.

With 1996 worldwide sales of $7.9 billion, Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector is the largest U.S.-based broad line supplier of semiconductor solutions. Motorola is one of the world's leading providers of wireless communications, semiconductors, advanced electronic systems, components and services. Major equipment businesses include cellular telephone, two-way radio, paging and data communications, personal communications, automotive, defense and space electronics and computers.

Motorola semiconductors power communication devices, computers and millions of other products. Motorola Inc.'s 1996 sales were $28 billion. -0-

Note to Editors: Background Debug, RTEK and SDI are trademarks of Motorola. PowerPC is a trademark of International Business Machines Corp. used under license therefrom. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. -0-

Reader Contact/Inquiry Response: Motorola Microcontroller Information, P.O. BOX 13026, Austin, TX 78711, 800/765-7795 ext. 601 or 512/328-2268 ext. 601.

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