New Freescale MC56F8006 Digital Signal Controllers boast Low Power

Freescale has introduced the MC56F8006 family of very low power 16-bit Digital Signal Controllers. These new processors boast advanced peripherals and very low current draw.

The Freescale MC56F006 16-bit Digital Signal Controller (DSC) has a hybrid core - part digital signal processor (DSP), part microcontroller. This results in a core that is easy to program in C or assembly, and also has outstanding math performance. The primary target for DSCs are motor control, "Green" applications, and energy-saving modules.

The new Freescale MC56F8006 DSC family boasts a standby current of less than 1µA. Also, with the core operating at 32MHz and the peripheral clock at maximum (96MHz) with all peripherals running, the Freescale MC56F8006 draws just 50mA, which is very competitive compared to other devices with similar math processing ability.

Freescale MC56F8006 DSCs are intended to reduce the cost and complexity of digital power conversion applications, such as board-mounted digital power supplies in servers, industrial and telecom power supplies, and smart power metering. The MC56F8006 has powerful signal processing capabilities which can be applied to advanced lighting control in commercial buildings and factories.

Features
Features of the new Freescale MC56F8006 devices include:

• 32MHz 16-bit core
• Single-cycle 16 × 16-bit parallel multiplier-accumulator (MAC)
• Four 36-bit accumulators, including extension bits
• 32-bit instructions
• Logical 32-bit shifter
• 16K Flash
• 2K SRAM
• Peripherals run at 96MHz
• Standby current of less than 1µA @ 3.3V
• 50mA draw @ 32MHz with everything running
• On-chip voltage regulator and power supervisor
• Synchronized six-output PWM and comparator w/ zero-crossing detect
• three high-speed comparators
• Two 12-bit analog-to-digital converters with 3.03µsec conversion time (10 or 12-bit)
  - 8-bit conversion in 2.65µsec
• Two programmable gain amplifiers (PGAs)
• I2C
• SPI
• USART
• JTAG and EOnCE debug ports
• 48-pin LQFP, 32-pin LQFP and 28-pin SOIC packages

Marketplace
"From home appliances to factory-floor equipment, motor control is one of the embedded world’s most important and challenging applications," said Aiden Mitchell, director of industrial and multi-market microcontrollers at Freescale. "Developers are looking for technologies that help them enhance the cost effectiveness and energy efficiency of motor control applications. Our MC56F8006 DSC family offers optimal performance, peripheral integration and low-power operation to enable sophisticated yet cost-effective motor control that can have a positive impact on energy consumption."

Editor's note: 16-bit core growth is skyrocketing, faster than either 8-bit or 16-bit! -Bill Giovino

The Freescale MC56F8006 is manufactured in Freescale's 0.25µ 1.8V proprietary process. This 0.25µ CMOS process was specifically designed for low leakage current, enabling these devices to have low current draw.

Development Tools
Freescale offers demonstration boards, reference designs, application notes, and example code. The Freescale CodeWarrior® Development Studio for MC56800/E DSCs includes an IDE with C Compiler, assembler, and debugger. The Freescale Processor Expert allows quick generation of device drivers.

Pricing and Availability
MC56F8006 product samples are available today. Freescale's suggested resale pricing for the MC56F8006 family starts at $1.50 (USD) in 10,000-unit quantities.

Demonstration systems for the MC56F8006 family are available today. The MC56F8006DEMO-T development kit includes a demonstration board and USB interface has a suggested resale price of $99. The MC56F8006DEMO demonstration board is available for a suggested $49 resale, and the CWH-UTP-ONCE-HE USB TAP host target interface (a cost-effective debugger tool) is available for a suggested $99 resale. (All prices USD.)

About Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor is a global leader in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for the automotive, consumer, industrial, networking and wireless markets. The privately held company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development, manufacturing or sales operations around the world.

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