Freescale Delivers 32 b Dual-Core, Single-Chip MCU for Next-Generation Auto Gateways
November 24, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
Freescale Semiconductor introduced the MPC5668G, a 32 b automotive microcontroller (MCU) designed for in-vehicle gateway modules.
Freescale said automotive developers using the new MCU can reduce the cost and design complexity of connecting in-vehicle networks together at a single point.
The dual-core Power Architecture device supports the automotive industry's communications interfaces, such as controller area network (CAN), local interconnect network (LIN), Ethernet, media local bus and FlexRay technology.
"The MPC5668G MCU offers unmatched performance and integration that enables a single connection point to eliminate the bottleneck between various high-speed communication protocols," said Kevin Klein, global automotive MCU marketing manager at Freescale.
"Our new dual-core MCU also builds upon a strong Power Architecture software ecosystem, which is especially critical for gateways that require specific software enablement solutions," he said.
The MPC5668G is a member of a scalable family of Freescale automotive MCUs designed for body electronics applications. MPC5668G product features include:
- Dual Power Architecture e200 cores operating at up to 128 MHz with enhanced digital signal processing (DSP) capability.
- 2 MB of program flash.
- 592 KB embedded random access memory (RAM), split into two blocks to allow concurrent accesses by bus masters.
- Dual-channel FlexRay controller.
- Media local bus DIM controller.
- Ethernet controller.
- 6 x FlexCAN.
- 4 x enhanced serial communication interface (eSCI) with LIN master support.
- 3 x DSPI.
- 64-channel analog-to-digital controller (ADC).
- 32-channel enhanced direct memory access (eDMA) controllers.
- 208-pin mold array process ball-grid array (MAPBGA) package.
In addition to contributing to module cost-savings benefits, the MPC5668G device delivers system performance improvements in the areas of communication bandwidth, diagnostic capabilities and module reflashing time, according to Freescale.
The MPC5668G is backed by an ecosystem of hardware and software development tools optimized for automotive MCUs built on Power Architecture technology. Access to this ecosystem of Freescale and third-party tools can reduce application development complexity and debugging/validation time during prototyping and software integration, Freescale said.
Samples of the MPC5668G are planned to be available to selected customers in February 2009.
Source: Freescale Semiconductor Inc.