TI Expands Portfolio of 32-Bit Digital Signal Controllers
Continuing to broaden its digital signal controller portfolio, Texas Instruments Inc. announced four new members of the TMS320C2000™ platform optimized for motor control, digital power conversion and intelligent sensor control in industrial, appliance, automotive, medical and consumer applications.
The new controllers include the TMS320F2809 and TMS320F2802 flash-based controllers and custom ROM-based TMS320C2801 and TMS320C2802. All four new devices are 100 percent hardware and software compatible with existing TMS320F280x controllers, and they increase the portfolio to seven pin-compatible devices allowing engineers to easily switch controllers for optimized features and cost across a family of products, company officials said.
The C2000™ platform's ROM-based C280x and flash-based F280x devices feature a patent-pending pulse width modulator (PWM) with 150 picosecond (ps) resolution, 64 times more precise than competing processors, company officials said. TI's full TMS320C28x portfolio now includes 15 high-performance, 32-bit controllers that combine the real-time performance of TI's digital signal processors (DSP) with the peripheral integration, C-language efficiency and ease of use of a microcontroller (MCU).
The TMS320C28x and TMS320F28x devices offer unprecedented high resolution PWM technology that provides 16 bits of accuracy in a 100 KHz control loop and 12 bits at 1.5 MHz; competing processors limit accuracy to less than 10 bits at 100 KHz and less than 6 bits at 1.5 MHz, company officials said. In digital power applications, higher resolution PWM results in a faster transient response with a smaller ripple amplitude. The unique accuracy of the high resolution PWM eliminates "limit cycle" issues, which means power supply designers are now able to use digital control in high-switching frequency supplies like those found in wireless base stations, network servers, and even digital televisions. As a result, developers benefit from cleaner power output, higher power density, smaller magnetics and more compact, cooler supplies than are possible using analog technology.
The C28x™ and F28x™ new performance-memory-peripheral combinations also benefit new, forward-thinking motor control applications. Self-Guided Systems recently integrated F280x controllers into the brushless dc motors used to guide the company's Hybrid Z™ self-stabilizing, autonomous lawnmower. The mower's cutting blades triangulate their position based upon mower position and reflector location. The Hybrid Z then navigates itself and cuts grass to a pre-set length — all without any human intervention.
"Our lawnmower is the world's only self-guided mower that can cut within a one inch accuracy range in perfectly straight, parallel lines," said Ray Hallenbeck, electronics manager for Self-Guided Systems. "TI's F280x controller was the only solution that offered the on-chip functionality and C code efficiency we needed along with a high level of integration to help reduce the size and complexity of our mower's electronics system. The range of reprogrammable memory options allows for very scalable product development down the road, helping ensure long partnership with TI."
All C280x and F280x based devices feature a 32-bit wide data path for superior performance and mixed 16-/32-bit instruction set for improved code density. These devices offer exceptional system integration for controllers of their class, providing complete control system capabilities from signal input through the on-chip analog to digital converter (ADC), quadrature encoder pulse (QEP), and timer captures and compares through signal output with up to 16 independent PWM channels. The 12.5 megasamples per second (MSPS), 12-bit ADC, found on the F2809 controller, boasts an effective number of bits (ENOB) of 10.9 and is valid across the full -40 to 125 C temperature range. Key communication interfaces include multiple CAN, I²C, Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter (UART) and Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) ports.
The new TMS320F2809 offers 256KB of on-chip flash, double the size of the pin-compatible F2808. It also increases the number of PWM channels with 150ps resolution from four to six. The F2809 will be available for sampling in the third quarter of 2006 and be qualified for full production in the first quarter of 2007.
The TMS320F2802, C2801, and C2802 are available for full production from TI and authorized distributors. All devices are AEC Q100 qualified. Both 100-pin low-profile quad flat package (LQFP) and 100-ball BGA packaging is available.
