Ramtron Launches Versa 8051 Alternative to the 16-Bit MCUs

Ramtron International Corp. has introduced the VRS51L2070, a fast and flexible 8051-based microcontroller that delivers the power and speed of a 16-bit MCU without migrating from an 8-bit device. Operating at 3.3 volts over the entire industrial temperature range, the VRS51L2070 is designed for embedded data acquisition, sensor and control applications in the industrial, medical, consumer, instrumentation and automotive markets.

"The VRS51L2070 meets the current market demand for a high performance MCU, without a costly investment in new architecture and code," explains Irv Lustigman, General Manager of Ramtron Canada. "This optimizes system performance, but keeps development costs to a minimum."

The VRS51L2070 is the newest series in Ramtron's Versa 8051 MCU family. This fully integrated, high performance system-on-chip incorporates an advanced 40-MIPS, single-cycle 8051-core, 64KB flash with In-System/In-Application Programming, 4KB SRAM, a JTAG program/debug interface, digital signal processing (DSP) extensions and a robust digital peripheral set.

The VRS51L2070 incorporates an array of digital peripherals that enable full integration and ease the load on the processor. These include: The universal asynchronous receiver/transmitters (UARTs) operate at up to 1.25 Mbps. Each UART incorporates a dedicated baud rate generator with 16-bit resolution and 4-bit micro baud rate adjustment. The communication speed on the serial peripheral interface can be configured up to 20 Mbps and transactions are adjustable from 1 to 32 bits. Two pulse width counter modules provide advanced timer control, simplifying event duration measurement. The VRS51L2070 incorporates eight pulse width modulators (pwm) with up to 16-bit adjustable resolution. Each pwm includes its own timer, which can also be used as general-purpose timers.

Other support peripherals include an I2C interface, three 16-bit general-purpose timers/counters with three timer capture inputs, a watchdog timer, and 49 interrupts that share 16 interrupt vectors. The VRS51L2070 is available in a QFP-64 package.

The VRS51L2070 is currently sampling and costs under $4 in volume.