NEC Electronics America Inc. has extended its 8- and 32-bit All Flash™ microcontroller (MCU) lineup with four new devices optimized for motor control applications. Featuring 120-degree (trapezoidal) and 180-degree (sinusoidal) control methods, the new 32-bit V850ES/IE2™ series and 8-bit uPD78F0711 and uPD78F0712 MCUs are designed to reduce vibration and noise in household appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines that employ inverter controllers.
"The demand for home appliances whose power consumption and electricity costs are low is steadily increasing," said Bart Ladd, general manager of NEC's standard solutions strategic business unit. "NEC Electronics' 8- and 32-bit motor control solutions are designed to help system developers meet this demand."
Based on NEC Electronics' V850ES™ central processing unit, the 32-bit V850ES/IE2 devices have flash memory capacities of 64 and 128 kilobytes (KB) and deliver precise motor control functions that help to limit vibration and noise, reduce power consumption, lower electricity costs for consumers and minimize environmental impact, officials said.
The 8-bit uPD78F0711 and uPD78F0712 All Flash MCUs are based on NEC's 78K0 CPU core, and offer flash memory capacities of 8 and 16 KB as well as packages with half the pins of the company's previous-generation 8-bit uPD78F0714 MCU.
All the new 8- and 32-bit MCUs operate at speeds up to 20 megahertz (MHz) at 4.0 to 5.5 volts (V) and incorporate a variety of safety features necessary for motor control applications, including a power-on-clear (POC) reset circuit, low-voltage indicator, watchdog timer, clock monitor and external hardware trigger for controlled system shutdown and recovery after a power failure. The devices also include hardware that has been optimized for inverter control, such as multi-function timers, high-speed analog-to-digital (A/D) converters and overcurrent protection circuits, NEC officials said.
In addition to the standard 120-degree control method, the devices offer 180-degree control, which has been gaining popularity in recent years because of its greater precision and reduced torque ripple, company officials said. Separation of system control functions and optimization of MCU design specifically for motor control applications enhances the performance of these devices and contributes to the development of household appliances that consume less power and help reduce utility bills.
NEC Electronics' V850ES/IE2, uPD78F0711 and uPD78F0712 MCUs provide embedded flash memory based on the SuperFlash® technology licensed from Silicon Storage Technology Inc., which allows system developers to program software even after production, thereby reducing development times, and to adjust software in the field to accommodate product specification changes.
The V850ES/IE2 devices are packaged in a 64-pin LQFP. The uPD78F0711 and uPD78F0712 are packaged in a 30-pin SSOP and 32-pin SDIP, respectively. Samples of the V850ES/IE2, uPD78F0711 and uPD78F0712 are currently available. Volume pricing will start at $2 for the uPD78F0711 and uPD78F0712 and $4 for the V850ES/IE2 devices. Pricing varies according to device specifications. Volume production for the MCUs is scheduled to begin in June and reach about 800,000 units per month by fiscal year 2007.
