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Infineon Eases Switch from 8-Bits to 32-Bits with XMC1000 MCUs

February 24, 2014 by Jeff Shepard

Infineon Technologies AG has launched volume production of its XMC1000 microcontrollers (MCUs) that offer 32-bit performance at 8-bit prices and use the ARM® Cortex™-M0 processor. At the same time, Infineon announced new, highly compact VQFN (Very Thin Quad Flat No Leads) package variants for the XMC1000 family and providing information on their new, free ARM® Microcontroller Development Kit (MDK). The XMC1000 microcontrollers are consistently optimized in line with their target applications: sensor and actuator applications, LED lighting, simple motor drives (e.g. for household appliances, pumps, fans) and digital power conversion (such as uninterruptible power supplies).

“With the XMC1000 microcontrollers, Infineon is creating a decisive incentive for switching architecture from 8 to 32 bit – particularly for motor drives, sensor and actuator applications that need to be highly compact”, says Maurizio Skerlj, Senior Director, Industrial and Multimarket Microcontrollers at Infineon Technologies AG. “No rival microcontroller of the XMC1000 in a VQFN-24 package currently offers this much functionality in such a confined space.”

With the new VQFN packages featuring 24 pins and 40 pins, Infineon is extending its portfolio for XMC1000 industrial microcontrollers, which currently includes more than 30 products. XMC1000 microcontrollers in the VQFN-24 package are only 4 mm x 4 mm in size. No one in the market currently offers this much functionality in such a small package, such as for example up to 200KB flash memory and application-optimized control peripherals. This makes the XMC1000 microcontrollers suited for motor drives as well as sensor and actuator applications that need to have a highly-compact design. In addition to the VQFN packages, the XMC1000 MCUs are also available in TSSOP packages with 16, 28 and 38 pins.

The XMC1000 family addresses industrial applications which, to date, were reserved for 8-bit MCUs. The three series XMC1100 (Entry series), XMC1200 (Feature series) and XMC1300 (Control series) differ essentially in terms of their memory capacity and peripheral set. Their flash sizes range between 8KB and 200KB, which is a far broader memory range than is usual today for 8-bit MCUs used in industrial applications. In addition, the XMC1000 MCUs feature high-performance PWM timers, 12-bit A/D converters and programmable serial communication interfaces. All XMC1200 derivates feature e.g. a module for touch control and LED displays and a peripheral unit for the dimming and colour control of LEDs – otherwise known as the Brightness and Color Control Unit (BCCU).

The XMC1300 series has a mathematical coprocessor specifically for motor drive controls. In addition, the microcontrollers of the XMC1000 family (as well as those of the XMC4000 family) satisfy the requirements of the standard IEC60730 Class B, which is prescribed for the safety of household appliances sold in Europe. For example, XMC MCUs offer hardware error correction (ECC) and corresponding memory tests. A further unique feature is the flash loader with a 128-bit AES accelerator, which allows the software IP – so important especially in cost-sensitive applications – to be better protected.

For all XMC1000 series, volume production in TSSOP package variants with 16, 28 and 38 pins is already underway. Samples for VQFN-24 packages are available. Series production for both packages VQFN-24 and VQFN-40 is due to commence from Q4 2014.

Boot kits are available for all the XMC1000 series for simple and low-cost evaluation in addition to more comprehensive application kits for the XMC1000 target applications. The XMC MCUs are supported by powerful software tools and ready-made software solutions from third-party suppliers and Infineon. In addition, Infineon has licensed the “Silicon Vendor Edition” of the ARM® Microcontroller Development Kit (MDK). Developers of embedded software can download the ARM MDK free from www2.keil.com/infineon/mdk. The free licence comprises all the tools for the development of XMC1000 applications up to a code size of 128KB. An application library developed with DAVE™ can be imported with a few simple clicks via CMSIS-PACK interface into the ARM MDK.

DAVE is a free, integrated development platform for all XMC microcontrollers. Using DAVE, it is possible to develop an application library quickly, which abstracts all the hardware-related tasks and also offers middleware solutions. The some 170 plus DAVE apps currently available make it possible to combine and configure software components, to map these automatically to the available microcontroller resources and to generate the C code for an application library. The C code generated in this way can then either be further used within DAVE with the integrated GNU compiler and debugger for developing the application, or it can be imported into a third-party tool, such as for example ARM MDK, Atollic TrueStudio, IAR EWARM, TASKING or Rowley.