NXP Interface Technology: Meeting the Needs of High Speed ComputingCONTENTS FEATURED ENGINEER 4 DANIELA HALL - ALGORITHMS GROUP LEADER, MOVEA onsumers’ growing demand for high definition One is a three-to-one mux and the video, multimedia and fast data transfers with other is a two-to-one mux. The Thun- C derbolt MUX is a three-to-one switch global access is driving the evolution in computing and communciations technology . As video and data transfer thatNXP selects INTERFACE between Thunderbolt TECHNOLOGY data protocols continue to advance to meet this demand,6 inter- pathMEETING and THEDisplayPort NEEDS OF HIGH v1.2 SPEED control COMPUTING sig- face technology must support higher speeds, deliver excel- nals — either DDC or AUX. The port lent signal integrity and provide a bridge to legacy is backwards compatible and the Dis- standards. NXP Semiconductors addresses these challenges playPort data canFEATURED be sent out ARTICLE when with the fastest multiplexer/demultiplexer switches includ- WHATDisplayPort DOES THE ARM is connected CORTEX-A9 REALLYor Thunderbolt PROVIDE? data sent out when TM 8 Thunderbolt signals or peripherals are connected. ing mux switches supporting Thunderbolt I/O technology, level shifters and a broad selection of I2C peripherals and bus enablers. CBTL05024 also delivers advanced characteristics that en- hance signal integrityLEAD and INTERVIEW power efficiency. It is powered World’s lowest power capacitive Thunderbolt16 is a hard ROSS BENNATYNEby a 3.3 -V GENERAL supply MANAGER and available OF MCU LINE in AT a NXPsmall 3 × 3 mm sensors with auto-calibration ware interface developed HVQFN24 package with 0.4 mm pitch. by Intel. The Thunderbolt interface consists of two The Thunderbolt controller acts as a junction in the daisy chain of Thunderbolt products. Current Intel “Ivy Bridge” NXP is a leader in low power capacitance touch sensors, which work based 10.3 Gbps full-duplexTECH ARTICLE data 12 FEATURED ARTICLE 26 on the fact that the human body can serve as one of the capacitivepaths plates that in enables fast transfers between PCs,RASPBERRY laptops or PI PRIMERplatforms use “Cactus NXP’SRidge” NEW Thunderbolt AXP controllers, parallel to the second plate, connected to the input of the NXP capacitive sensor device. tablets and peripheral and display devices. ThunderboltPART 1 while newly launched LOGIC“Haswell” FAMILY platforms use “Redwood multiplexes data (PCI Express®) and video (DisplayPort) Ridge” Thunderbolt controllers. Both devices, CBTL05023 Thanks to a patented auto-calibration technology, the capacitive sensors EMBEDDED WORKBENCH HOT VIDEOS can detect changes in capacitance and continually adjust toonto the environment. one cable. Hot-plugging and unplugging of cables is and CBTL05024,15 can be used on Cactus Ridge30 and Red- Things such as dirt, humidity, freezing temperatures, or damagesupported to the by the protocol. The two lanes can be running wood Ridge platforms. For higher integration and a more electrode do not affect the device function. PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT MCU WARS completely independent at different data rates in a Thunder- simplified22 solution, the CBTL05024 is the better34 solution WANDBOARD OVERVIEW 32-BIT MCU The rise of touch sensors in modern electronics has becomebolt a worldwide cable. Users can also add peripheral devices via simple as it features integrated pull-up/pull-down resistors and a phenomenon, and with NXP’s low power capacitive sensors it’s never been COMPARISON easier to create the future. daisy chaining; up to six different Thunderbolt peripherals LSRX (control signal for Thunderbolt channel) buffer to can be connected on a daisy chain. Devices on this chain optimize the BOM and improve signal integrity.

Learn more at: touch.interfacechips.com also can be bus-powered. The Thunderbolt cable can pro- vide up to ten watts of power. At Computex 2013 in Taipei, Intel officially branded its next-generation Thunderbolt as Thunderbolt 2, which will This kind of architecture leads to a design that needs some run at 20 Gbps and support 4K video (Ultra HD). The3 ini- sort of muxing or splitting to enable both DisplayPort and tial production is expected before the end of 2013 with PCIe® information to go through the same connector. NXP ramp up in 2014. As we’ve seen, NXP has a sharp focus on offers two high-speed solutions that enable the necessary this market, offering high-speed switches that meet all switching: CBTL05023 and CBTL05024. Thunderbolt requirements, so without jumping the gun on future announcements it is safe to say that designers would The CBTL05023 is a multiplexer/demultiplexer switch de- do well to look to NXP for their high-speed interface com- vice for DisplayPort v1.2 signals and the control signals of puting needs both today and going forward. NXP has a a 10 Gbit/s channel. The 10 Gbit/s channel does not pass sharp focus on this market offering high speed switch solu- through this switch. This device also provides a BIASOUT tions that meet all Thunderbolt system requirements and output control signal and DC-biasing pull-down resistors to will continue to offer high-speed interface computing solu- facilitate the external 10 Gbit/s channel. tions going forward.

Featuring an integrated 10Gb/s Thunderbolt signal with no For more information on Thunderbolt, visit: external PIN diodes, NXP’s next generation switch http://www.nxp.com/campaigns/high-speed-computing/ CBTL05024 integrates two different muxes inside. ENGINEER SPOTLIGHT

the phone in the direction we were going to but this was not viable for customer deployment so we had to find a way In the Spotlight: to determine the walking direction with “I do believe we will move unknown phone position or even a phone position that is changing. Putting experts toward more merging between from different fields in one room paved Daniela Hall the way toward a solution. The team’s the human body and the virtual Algorithms Group Leader, Movea collective ideas were criticized, defended, modified and finally implemented, tested world, as we see the move and patented. In the end, we’re proud to have demonstrated a pedestrian toward wearable devices.” PhD. My task is to be the interface between the navigation that works for unknown phone other departments such as sales and marketing. position at the demonstration we held in Together we define the requirement specifications Paris and Seoul in May 2013. for new functionalities or improvements of existing functionalities. Once we have defined the What are your favorite tools? requirements, I define with the team the work to How is data fusion going to change how be done. This can be an algorithm optimization, As a computer scientist, I like to program we interact with our electronic devices? a proof of concept study of a new functionality, in C++. We have developed a very Data fusion techniques, such as the ability to How did you get into engineering? incremental improvements of existing modules, powerful signal processing design tool enable position (whether indoors or outdoors), industrialization of code. My role is also to establish called MoveaStudio that is similar to activity and environment detection by the I was always interested in technology, proposing links inside and outside the team in order to Simulink. This tool enables us, through merging of data from multiple sensors, devices, solutions for things that don’t exist yet. As a child I grow the team competency and establish links a simple graphical user interface, to and the cloud, will make the dream of intelligent wanted to be an inventor, and during high school, between projects. My team also generates most drag and drop technology bricks to mobile apps and services a reality. We are getting the easiest subject for me was mathematics. of Movea’s IP. quickly create robust and extendable close to the ideal user interface where the user I continued with an MSc degree in computer algorithms that can easily be deployed forgets that he/she is interacting with a device and science and specialized in image processing for Can you tell us about your favorite project? into customers’ products. We also use interacts in the most natural way— with simple, my PhD. For a while I worked in public research. I it as an implementation validation and natural motion. never regretted my choice to move to a private One of the most useful applications I worked on debugging tool, simplifying our customers’ company. I enjoy the dynamics of a startup is navigation in unknown areas. Unfortunately, verification process, enabling them to company, stimulated by the short time to bring using GPS on a mobile device drains the battery, bring their products to market faster. I What are you currently working on? products to the market. Our efforts as engineers putting people at risk to really get lost. In addition, think this is a nice platform for playing go very quickly to the clients, and the interactions we spend most of our time inside buildings with no and extending existing algorithms. For Key projects include indoor pedestrian navigation, between departments are reactive. All this is very GPS reception so indoor pedestrian navigation rapid prototyping and new algorithm activity monitoring and sports performance rewarding to engineers. offers a multitude of location-based services, conceptions, matlab is my favorite. tracking, robust and accurate inertial orientation. enhancing users’ experience on mobile. We are Why did you choose to focus on data currently working on an alternative navigation Do you have any note-worthy What do you do when you’re not working on fusion and motion sensing? method without GPS that allows accurate and engineering experiences? electronics? robust pedestrian location and trajectory, while Everybody needs to interact daily with consumer maintaining ultra low power consumption. It is very In my previous company, the engineering Grenoble is a great place for mountaineering and electronics devices, whether it is a computer, exciting to see how much progress we have made team built an optical inspection system I play saxophone in a jazz band. As a German a smartphone, a tablet or a smartwatch. Up to and how Movea is enabling the industry with this that detects 3micron dust particles on national, I also appreciate the French lifestyle and now, most user interfaces are designed to have solution. The first prototypes we demonstrated few MEMS sensors. This machine coupled to in particular, French cuisine. good interaction from the computer/machine months ago required that the phone be pointed a robot arm automatically rejects bad side, but are not especially user friendly. Using in the walking direction; today, the phone can MEMS parts before sealing. This system What do you think the next thing will be in motion allows a computer to understand the user be placed anywhere, whether in hand, in the shirt increases the quality of the MEMS electronics? in a more natural, less intrusive way. The goal is pocket, the backpack – as long as it is carried – production. This system had challenges that the computer delivers a service to the user and can still accurately track the user’s location. in optics, mechanics, algorithm and I do believe we will move toward more merging and the user forgets about the computer. Motion system engineering. The team was between the human body and the virtual world, sensing and data fusion enable this kind of magic. What was the trickiest bug you ever fixed? rather small (8 engineers), and members as we see the move toward wearable devices transverse in engineering specialties. such as activity monitoring devices like Fitbit What exactly do you do for Movea? At Movea I don’t fix the bugs myself but work with Collaboration was excellent and reactive, and Google Glass enhancing the human body our whole team to find the solution together to since every team member was aware and mind with technology. Placing electronics I lead the algorithms team, which one of five solve a problem that looked impossible before. that he needed the competency of his in clothing that connect to your smartphone in teams that form Movea’s R&D. The team is I’ll take the example of our demonstration for CES other teammates in order to make the order to make life easier and more fun sounds composed of 10 engineers, several holding a 2013 last January. At that time, we had to hold system work. promising to me. ■

4 5 NXP Interface Technology: TECH ARTICLES Meeting the Needs of High Speed Computing Portability & Power All In One... Debug digital designs on an iPad, iPhone, iPod. NXP Interface Technology: Can a logic analyzer be sexy? Watch the video and weigh in... onsumers’ growing demand for high definition One is a three-to-one mux and the video, multimedia and fast dataMeeting transfers with theother Needsis a two-to-one mux.of The Thun- C derbolt MUX is a three-to-one switch global access is driving the evolution in computing and communciations technology . As videoHigh and data transfer Speedthat Computingselects between Thunderbolt data protocols continue to advance to meet this demand, inter- path and DisplayPort v1.2 control sig- face technology must support higheronsumers’ speeds, growing deliver demand excel- for high nalsdefinition — either DDC or AUX. The port lent signal integrity and providevideo, a bridge multimedia to legacy and fast data transfersis backwards with compatible and the Dis- standards. NXP SemiconductorsCglobal addresses access isthese driving challenges the evolution in computingplayPort data can be sent out when and communications technology. As video and data with the fastest multiplexer/demultiplexertransfer protocols continue switches to includ-advance to DisplayPortmeet this One is connected is a three-to-one or Thunderbolt mux and the otherdata issent a two-to-one out when ing mux switches supportingdemand, Thunderbolt interfaceTM technologyI/O technology, must supportThunderbolt higher mux. signals The Thunderbolt or peripherals MUX isare a three-to-one connected. switch that speeds, deliver excellent signal integrity and provide selects between Thunderbolt data path and DisplayPort level shifters and a broad selectiona bridge to of legacy I2C peripherals standards. NXP and Semiconductors v1.2 control signals — either DDC or AUX. The port is bus enablers. addresses these challenges with the fastest multiplexer/CBTL05024backwards also delivers compatible advanced and characteristicsthe DisplayPort data that can en- demultiplexer switches including mux switches supporting be sent out when DisplayPort is connected or Thunderbolt ThunderboltTM I/O technology, level shifters andhance a broad signal data integrity sent out and when power Thunderbolt efficiency. signals or It peripherals is powered are selectionThunderbolt of I2C peripherals is a and hard bus enablers.by a 3.3 V supplyconnected. and available in a small 3 × 3 mm Thunderboltware is a interface hardware interfacedeveloped developedHVQFN24 by Intel. packageCBTL05024 with also delivers0.4 mm advanced pitch. characteristics that The Thunderboltby Intel. interface The Thunderbolt consists of two 10.3 Gbps full- enhance signal integrity and power efficiency. It is powered duplex data paths that enables fast transfers between by a 3.3 V supply and available in a small 3 × 3 mm HVQFN24 PCs, laptopsinterface or tablets consists and ofperipheral two andThe display Thunderbolt package controller with 0.4 mm acts pitch. as a junction in the daisy devices.10.3 Thunderbolt Gbps full-duplex multiplexes data data (PCI chainExpress®) of Thunderbolt products. Current Intel “Ivy Bridge” and video (DisplayPort) onto one cable. Hot-plugging The Thunderbolt controller acts as a junction in the daisy paths that enables fast transfersand unplugging between of PCs, cables laptops is supported or by theplatforms protocol. usechain “Cactus of Thunderbolt Ridge” products. Thunderbolt Current controllers, Intel “Ivy Bridge” tablets and peripheral and Thedisplay two lanes devices. can be Thunderbolt running completely independentwhile newly platforms launched use “Haswell” “Cactus Ridge” platforms Thunderbolt use “Redwood controllers, at different® data rates in a Thunderbolt cable.Ridge” Users can Thunderbolt while newly controllers. launched “Haswell” Both devices,platforms use CBTL05023 “Redwood multiplexes data (PCI Expressalso add) andperipheral video devices (DisplayPort) via simple daisy chaining; up Ridge” Thunderbolt controllers. Both devices, CBTL05023 onto one cable. Hot-pluggingto six anddifferent unplugging Thunderbolt of peripherals cables iscan be connectedand CBTL05024, and CBTL05024, can be used can onbe Cactusused on Ridge Cactus and Ridge Red- and supported by the protocol.on The a daisy two chain. lanes Devices can be on running this chain also canwood be bus- RidgeRedwood platforms. Ridge For platforms. higher Forintegration higher integration and a more and a powered. The Thunderbolt cable can provide up to ten more simplified solution, the CBTL05024 is the better solution completely independent atwatts different of power. data rates in a Thunder- simplified solution,as it features the integratedCBTL05024 pull-up/pull-down is the better resistors solution and bolt cable. Users can also add peripheral devices via simple as it featuresa integratedLSRX (control pull-up/pull-down signal for Thunderbolt resistorschannel) bufferand a to This kind of architecture leads to a design that needs some optimize the BOM and improve signal integrity. Logiscope transforms an iPhone, iPad or iPod into a 100MHz, 16 channel logic analyzer. daisy chaining; up to six differentsort of muxing Thunderbolt or splitting to peripherals enable both DisplayPortLSRX and (control signal for Thunderbolt channel) buffer to can be connected on a daisyPCIe® chain. information Devices to goon throughthis chain the same connector.optimize theAt BOM Computex and improve2013 in Taipei, signal Intel integrity. officially branded its NXP offers two high-speed solutions that enable the next-generation Thunderbolt as Thunderbolt 2, which will Not only is it the most intuitive logic analyzer available, the triggering is so powerful also can be bus-powered. Thenecessary Thunderbolt switching: CBTL05023cable can and pro- CBTL05024. run at 20 Gbps and support 4K video (Ultra HD). The initial you’ll be able to count the hair on your bug. vide up to ten watts of power. At Computexproduction 2013 in is Taipei, expected Intel before officially the end of branded 2013 with itsramp The CBTL05023 is a multiplexer/demultiplexer switch device up in 2014. As we’ve seen, NXP has a sharp focus on for DisplayPort v1.2 signals and the control signalsnext-generation of a this market, Thunderbolt offering ashigh-speed Thunderbolt switches 2, thatwhich meet will all This kind of architecture leads10 Gbit/s to achannel. design The that 10 needsGbit/s channel some doesrun not at pass 20 GbpsThunderbolt and support requirements, 4K video so without(Ultra jumpingHD). The the ini-gun through this switch. This device also provides a BIASOUT on future announcements it is safe to say that designers sort of muxing or splittingoutput to enable control both signal DisplayPort and DC-biasing and pull-downtial resistors production would is doexpected well to look before to NXP the for theirend high-speed of 2013 with interface PCIe® information to go throughto facilitate the the same external connector. 10 Gbit/s channel.NXP ramp up in 2014.computing As we’veneeds both seen, today NXP and has going a forward.sharp focus NXP has on a sharp focus on this market offering high speed switch offers two high-speed solutionsFeaturing that an enableintegrated the 10Gb/s necessary Thunderbolt signalthis market, with solutionsoffering that high-speed meet all Thunderbolt switches systemthat meet requirements all switching: CBTL05023 andno CBTL05024.external PIN diodes, NXP’s next generationThunderbolt switch and requirements, will continue to so offer without high-speed jumping interface the computing gun on CBTL05024 integrates two different muxes inside.future announcementssolutions going it forward.is safe to■ say that designers would The CBTL05023 is a multiplexer/demultiplexer switch de- do well to look to NXP for their high-speed interface com- See why our innovation keeps getting recognized. vice for DisplayPort v1.2 signals and the control signals of puting needs both today and going forward. NXP has a a 10 Gbit/s channel. The 10 6Gbit/s channel does not pass sharp focus on this market offering high speed switch solu- 7 through this switch. This device also provides a BIASOUT tions that meet all Thunderbolt system requirements and output control signal and DC-biasing pull-down resistors to will continue to offer high-speed interface computing solu- facilitate the external 10 Gbit/s channel. tions going forward.

Featuring an integrated 10Gb/s Thunderbolt signal with no For more information on Thunderbolt, visit: external PIN diodes, NXP’s next generation switch http://www.nxp.com/campaigns/high-speed-computing/ CBTL05024 integrates two different muxes inside. TECH ARTICLES

Here, the requirements made for the specifications and functions need to be clearly delineated. CompactPCI, AdvancedTCA and MicroTCA for the telephony market, and Seductive Parallel Worlds: PC/104 and COM Express for the industrial PC sector, are without a doubt a few of the What advantages do modules for ARM Cortex-A9 established standards. Standards promise the user reliable access processors really provide? to the technology regardless of the success or failure of an individual supplier. If a By Wolfgang Heinz-Fischer, Head of Marketing and PR, TQ-Group particular processor technology is no longer available, scalability promises to ensure the continued supply with corresponding modules characterized by a superior technology.

Standardized processor modules promise their users that they will Look Before You Leap … be able to change over from one manufacturer to the next. In order to ensure that compliant products really are interchangeable with one another, there are comprehensive compatibility tests But the devil is in the details--no module can supply signals to the for genuine standards, which are conducted outside world that are not processed by the CPU. As TQ points out, by leading non-profit organizations such as the PICMG and the PC/104 consortium. what is important here is to differentiate clearly between mere However, this also means higher costs and marketing and technical facts. thus higher prices for genuine standards due to the increased work involved.

Successful standards are With the Cortex-A9® processor, ARM and However, the term standard here is excessive usually found in the electronics its licensees initially have a CPU that visibly and awakens false expectations amongst Sometimes the chip fails to recognize a signal; sometimes the industry wherever special signal is not envisaged under the standard; standards, in view of encroaches upon the area of application of users. Therefore, this article sets out to clarify the large variety of ARM processors, have their limits. an x86 processor. Almost all module suppliers what is actually meant by a standard and applications are involved. have reacted to this and have included what benefits the user derives. This is because corresponding modules amongst the products ARM module standards do not meet all All standards define the mechanical offered by them – even those suppliers that expectations and are fraught with pitfalls. dimensions and the corresponding connector This example shows that in the case of a genuine standard have hitherto concentrated exclusively on system. Genuine, successful standards are such as COM Express, 100% compatibility and thus guaranteed x86 modules. As is usually the case in the x86 In any case, it is worth taking a detailed look usually limited to a small number of interface interchangeability can only be guaranteed to a certain extent. If world, the first standards for ARM modules at the systems offered in order to be prepared specifications and are thus capable of the design has been based on and optimized for the low-end Atom have already arisen. for unpleasant surprises. As so often occurs assuring real compatibility. So, for example, processor this means that the main board will have to be modified at the time of new product presentations, only ISA, PCI and/or PCIe are defined as and a new design and layout will be needed if higher performance marketing slogans stand out – during which busses for the PC/104. In contrast, the COM is required and the intention is to use a more powerful module. many statements tend to over-embellish the Express alone has ten different configurations technical facts. for interface connectors. Here, caution should Almost certainly, it will be possible to carry over some parts of be exercised when selecting the right version the circuit during this step and a software adaptation will also be Standards and Their Limitations and examining the right configuration. For relatively easy. Standards arise wherever it seems useful to example, 24 express lanes have been specified set down all specifications on paper, for one for Version 2 of the COM Express spec. 2.0. Two standards for ARM: Q7 and SMARC reason, to guarantee compatibility between However, the module manufactured by one There are two competing standards on the market in the world of different suppliers. supplier, fitted with an Intel® Atom N2600/ ARM modules: the Q7 Group on the one hand and the ULP-COM N2800/ D2550 and NM10 chipset, provides Group on the other hand. Note: The working name of the ULP-COM In addition, embedded modules are also two PCIe x1 slots whereas another module standard was recently redefined and presented as SMARC (“Smart Whether standard or proprietary: each has its characterized by scalability, i.e. compatibility by the same supplier, equipped with an Mobility ARChitecture”) own specific advantages and disadvantages. between different performance classes. embedded Intel® Core i7/i5/i3 and QM67 Therefore customers must closely examine which is best suited to their particular use. Successful standards are usually found in chipset, provides five PCIe x1 slots. In addition, It is clear that there is no universal, generally valid solution in the the electronics industry wherever special the module is equipped with a second LVDV ARM area otherwise there would not be two strong groups on the applications are involved. interface and two SATA III interfaces. market, each with its own particular solution, and its own standard.

8 9 TECH ARTICLES

A Closer Look at Specs & Definitions Here, it is also worth taking a closer look from the aforementioned points of view. What does the specification actually define and which functions, if any, are supported by the fully-equipped processor? And which functions are provided by the processor that are not connected, (i.e. not available in the application)?

It is also worth taking a look behind the scenes: one module supplied by one manufacturer and equipped with a Freescale i.MX6 processor offers two CAN interfaces and a PCIe interface (among other things), while another supposedly compatible module supplied by the same manufacturer, equipped with a Nvidia Tegra 3, does not offer any CAN interface, although it does have two PCIe In the TQMa28, TQ relies on proprietary technology in order to interfaces. ensure that all the features of the Freescale i.MX28 can be used on the smallest possible space. The standard with three defined PCIe interfaces does not fulfill either of the two make use of the full range of capabilities offered by the currently most processors. Only a detailed comparison powerful ARM processor on the module, the Cortex-A9, must fall back will reveal where the differences lie and on the ‘special cut’ provided by the module supplier. that interchangeability isn’t possible. Similar considerations and comparisons may be All of this means that it is a proprietary system that, nevertheless, performed for the solution offered by the Q7 continues to be bound to the standard as regards board size, memory Group – all with the same result. system, connector system and other aspects. Even more limitations become evident if various manufacturer standards are scrutinized. The conclusion is-- Join Today You’re better off planning for a proprietary system interchangeability is only right from the start. possible in the case of ARM In contrast, the freedom and advantage offered by a proprietary modules if an extremely limited system is that the supplier can tailor it to a particular processor or processor family. In so doing, the board size can usually be significantly number of signals are used. smaller than standard boards. All or the overwhelming majority of interfaces can be made available in the connector system. From the point of view of the ability to use a processor platform for as long as Standards Limitations in the ARM Market possible, such a module offers the greatest possible freedom to the user. The obvious conclusion is that a real standard with guaranteed compatibility and thus The TQ modules were and continue to be developed with this in interchangeability in the ARM market is only mind – maximum performance with the highest possible degree of possible to a certain extent. The extremely integration, availability of all signals, a robust and reliable connector differing characteristics that continue to exist system, long-term availability and all this in the smallest possible module between the processors supplied by individual size. There is no doubt that in the ARM module market, just as it occurs chip manufacturers mean that any standard, in the x86 market, different solutions will continue to exist side-byside such as the existing standard in the x86 module and find their users.■ family with the COM Express, is only applicable with severe limitations.

One of the main arguments for standards- -interchangeability--is only possible in the case of ARM modules if an extremely limited number of signals are used. A user wishing to eeweb.com/register 10 11 TECH ARTICLES

a good way to prototype a solution without adapter) so you can view the device video and audio output. You can having to go through the entire design get one at your local electronics store, or bundled with a Raspberry Pi. and development process. Rather than The Raspberry Pi Primer spending a large amount of money and time An SD Card Reader/Writer – If you’re working on a laptop, odds are into developing a custom built functioning you’ll already have an SD Card slot to work with. If you don’t, you’ll prototype, you can use a Raspberry Pi to have to get your hands on an SD Card Read/Write device that you greatly reduce initial prototyping costs and can plug into your computer. You’ll need it to flash the SD Card with Part 1: Introduction get a feel for a potential idea. whatever operating system you’re going to be using. If you don’t plan on ever needing to reflash your Raspberry Pi, you can buy a pre- If you’re going to do development with a formatted SD Card from one of the vendors listed above. Otherwise, and Required Hardware Raspberry Pi, you’re going to need some you can usually pick up an SD Card Reader at your local electronics hardware. Below is a discussion of various store. by Kyle Olive, EEWeb Contributing Author pieces of hardware that you’ll need to get started using a Raspberry Pi, and a brief note A Micro-usb Power Supply – The Raspberry Pi is powered by 5V Micro- on its purpose. Most of the parts are easy usb, so you’ll need to get a power supply. The manual recommends to acquire at your local electronics store, against powering your Raspberry Pi directly from the USB port of your but the Raspberry Pi vendors listed below will computer, but unless you’re working with a lot of high power peripherals also often sell you this equipment with your or USB hubs you’ll probably be OK doing so. In either case, the safest Raspberry Pi. bet is to buy a power supply either at one of the retailers above or ecently, interest in hobby electronics has grown dramatically. The Pi is capable of running various distributions get a micro-usb power supply (the one used for your cellphone or With platforms like the Arduino gaining popularity and of Linux, and using it is very straightforward and tablet might be able to power the Raspberry Pi). Rachieving wide success in various retail markets, it’s no easy. In fact, the idea behind the Raspberry Pi Raspberry Pi’s low price point, wonder that these kinds of hobby electronics have become more was to provide a cheap computer platform Ethernet Cable – You’ll want an Ethernet cable for your Pi so you can prevalent. While the Arduino is designed around a microcontroller for schoolchildren to use as an educational small size, relative power, give it an Internet connection; you’ll at least need to set it up on a like the Atmel AVR and allows hobbyists to acquire and build tool. It was to be a tool that students with and ease of use makes it local network for remote access. The cables are pretty cheap, and various shields and add-ons for more functionality however, the little to no experience using computers could you probably have an extra one lying around somewhere. If you don’t Raspberry Pi (though a similar piece of hobbyist electronics) takes use to learn more about programming, an interesting and flexible you can pick one up online with your Raspberry Pi or at a local retail a different approach. computers, and really any other topic that development platform. store. USB Keyboard/Mouse – This is fairly straightforward. You’ll need lends itself well to electronic education. a keyboard and mouse to develop on the Pi. Rather than a microcontroller board, the Raspberry Pi is a complete The platform quickly took off however with computer about the size of a playing card. At its core is an ARM11 hobbyists, and it even began to be used in microprocessor, and it contains HDMI and audio output, 8 GPIO some commercial applications. The device’s The Raspberry Pi – You can’t have a Raspberry Pins, 2 USB Ports, Ethernet, a dedicated GPU, and more. It’s low price point, small size, relative power, and Pi project without a Raspberry Pi. As discussed basically a standalone platform that you can fit in your pocket. ease of use makes it an interesting and flexible above, the Raspberry Pi is a playing-card sized The introductory model costs only $25 (the higher end model with development platform. computer that starts at $25. You can get these more memory runs for $35). from various locations, but some vendors that Because the Raspberry Pi runs Linux, are listed on the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s developers who are used to working in a website (www.raspberrypi.org) are: Linux environment can easily get up to speed on the Pi, and they quickly come up with • Element14 ideas and applications for the device. Many • Allied Electronics of the popular software packages available for traditional Linux desktops are available on An SD Card – You’ll need a regular old SD ARM versions of Linux meant for use on the card to store the operating system and any Raspberry Pi, and with the incorporation of a other files you’ll want to use on your Raspberry dedicated GPU, multimedia applications that Pi. 2GB is the minimum size of SD card you’ll The default desktop of the Raspbian Wheezy were often limited to desktop environments need to run the default operating system, Operating System running on a Raspberry Pi or specialized embedded platforms are Rhaspbian, but if you are going to be using completely viable, and cheap. Finally, the the Pi heavily, you’ll probably want a bigger large network of developers provides a good SD card to suit your needs. In that case, I The parts listed are what you’ll need to get started doing anything with support network for those who are stuck on would probably recommend at least an your Raspberry Pi. Once you’ve gotten a hold of these items, you can a problem, or looking for advice — a benefit 8GB SD card. You can get one at your local start looking into developing the next cool Pi Project. Intrepid developers that some hobbyist platforms and specialized electronics store, or bundled with a Raspberry have created everything from robots to low-powered FM transmitters platforms lack. Pi at the above listed vendors. and webservers; they’ve even creating mini-supercomputers by parallelizing many Raspberry Pis. ■ Front view of the Raspberry Pi board. Even if you’re not a hobbyist, and looking An HDMI Cable – If you plan on doing more to develop a new embedded solution for a than SSH’ing into your Raspberry Pi, you’ll want particular problem, the Raspberry Pi can be an HDMI cable (or an HDMI-to-something

12 13 EMBEDDED WORKBENCH

BeagleBoard-xM

BeagleBoard-xM delivers extra MIPS with 1-GHz ARM® Cortex™-A8 performance and extra memory with 512MB of low- power DDR RAM, enabling hobbyists, innovators and engineers to go beyond their current imagination and be inspired by the BeagleBoard.org community. Designed with the community inputs in mind, this open hard- INDUSTRIAL AEROSPACE SYSTEM ON A CHIP ware design improves upon the laptop-like performance and expandability, while keeping at hand-held power levels. Direct connectivity is supported by the on-board four-port hub with 10/100 Ethernet, while maintaining a tiny 3.25” × 3.25” footprint.

As with previous BeagleBoard.org offerings, the BeagleBoard-xM is not intend- ed to be a complete development environment, but rather a community-supported platform that can be used as the basis for building more complete development systems and as a target for community software baselines. For a complete development system, please consider the Sitara™ AM37x Evaluation Module from Texas Instruments.

MEDICAL AVIATION CONSUMER Tiva C Series Evaluation Kit THREADX: WHEN IT The Tiva C Series TM4C123G LaunchPad Evaluation Kit is a low- cost evaluation platform for ARM® Cortex™-M4F-based microcon- trollers from Texas Instruments. The design of the TM4C123G LaunchPad highlights the TM4C123GH6PM microcontroller with a USB 2.0 device inter- REALLY COUNTS face and hibernation module. The EK-TM4C123GXL also features programmable user buttons and an RGB When Your Company’s Success, And Your Job, Are On The Line - LED for custom applications. The stackable headers of the Tiva C Series You Can Count On Express Logic’s ThreadX® RTOS TM4C123G LaunchPad BoosterPack XL Interface make it easy and simple to expand the functionality of the TM4C123G LaunchPad when interfacing to other Express Logic has completed 14 years simply must succeed. Its royalty-free peripherals with Texas Instruments´ MCU BoosterPacks. of successful business operation, licensing model helps keep your BOM low, and our fl agship product, ThreadX, THREAD and its proven dependability helps keep has been used in over 1 billion your support costs down as well. ThreadX electronic devices and systems, repeatedly tops the time-to-market results ranging from printers to smartphones, from single-chip reported by embedded developers like you. All the while, SoCs to multiprocessors. Time and time again, when Express Logic is there to assist you with enhancements, leading manufacturers put their company on the line, training, and responsive telephone support. LPC812-LPCXpresso Board when their engineering team chooses an RTOS for their next critical product, they choose ThreadX. Join leading organizations like HP, Apple, Marvell, Philips, NASA, and many more who have chosen ThreadX for use in The LPC812-LPCXpresso board with NXP´s LPC812 Cortex-M0+ Our ThreadX RTOS is rock-solid, thoroughly fi eld-proven, over 1 billion of their products – because their products are microcontroller is designed to make it as easy as possible to get and represents not only the safe choice, but the most too important to rely on anything but the best. Rely on started with your project. Combined with the the full-featured, easy-to-use cost-effective choice when your company’s product ThreadX, when it really counts! Eclipse-based LPCXpresso IDE, the entire product design cycle for the LPC800 is supported. Contact Express Logic to fi nd out more about our ThreadX RTOS, FileX® fi le system, NetX™ Dual IPv4/IPv6 TCP/IP stack, USBX™ USB Host/Device/OTG stack, and PegX™ graphics toolkit for embedded GUI development. Also ask about our TraceX® real-time event trace and analysis tool, and StackX™, our stackpatent-pending size analysis stack tool size that analysis makes tool stack that overflows makes stacka thing overfl of the ows a The LPCXpresso development platform is jointly developed by NXP, Code past. And if you’re developing safety-critical products for aviation, industrial or medical applications, ask Red, and Embedded Artists. Newnes about our new Certification Pack™ for ThreadX.

Second Edition REAL-TIME Features: EMBEDDED MULTITHREADING With ThreadX dfi re, Now with appendices for ARM, esCol MIPS and PowerPC architectur • NXP´s LPC812 Cortex-M0+ microcontroller in TSSOP20 package

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Copyright © 2012, Express Logic, Inc. Edward L. Lamie • 12.000 MHz crystal for CPU ThreadX,ThreadX, FileX, FileX, and and TraceX TraceX are are registered registered trademarks, trademarks, and and NetX, NetX, USBX, USBX, PrismX, PegX, StackX, StackX, and and Certification Certifi cation Pack Pack are are trademarks trademarks of of Express Express Logic, Logic, Inc. Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

15 COVER INTERVIEW

FULL MCU ECOSYSTEM Ross Bannatyne

As one of the top 20 leading semiconductor companies in the world, NXP continues to in- novate and differentiate to maintain this status. Their expansive product offerings range from analog and power management to logic devices and MCUs. In 2011, NXP hit a significant milestone in that it had shipped over one billion ARM processor- based chips, making them the only company to provide a microcontroller roadmap based on the 32-bit ARM processor.

To find out more about this portion of NXP’s business, we spoke with Ross Bannatyne, General Manager of the Mass Market MCU Products at NXP, about the LPC Cortex-based MCU family and how these products provide an all-in- one solution for their customers.

16 17 COVER INTERVIEW

Could you tell me about the products you offer?

I mentioned that we were the original adop- ters of the ARM architecture, so over the last “It’s always a challenge for a 10 years we’ve developed product families for ARM7, ARM9, ARM Cortex-M0, M0+, customer to learn a new MCU M3, and M4, resulting in over 3different ARM products covering the entire ARM micro- architecture, so a big part of what controller spectrum. we do is to provide the tools to We are very strong in applications that require driving displays as there are highly make it as easy as possible.” integrated peripherals for controlling displays Have you always worked in the get them into production quickly and smoothly. on the MCUs. We take a systems approach to MCU business? Ultimately it is about growing the revenue of solving such problems with a set of integrated the product line profitably – there are a lot of peripherals that work together to optimize I started in the MCU business in 1991. Since then, aspects to that job. It’s always a challenge for the solution.USB connectivity is another area but have an interest in migrating into the ARM I’ve worked in a variety of roles in engineering, a customer to learn a new MCU architecture, where we are particularly strong and can ecosystem - because the ARM ecosystem marketing, and management. The thing I have so a big part of what we do is to provide the provide differentiation from others in the has a lot of obvious benefits in terms of the always found very appealing about the MCU tools to make it as easy as possible. One of the industry with a range of solutions – including support and range of tools. We packed a lot business is the diversity of the applications— advantages we have at NXP, because we were software – that support high speed, full speed, of innovative features in the product that really it’s always great to see the many interesting the first MCU adopters of the ARM platform, is host, device, on-the-go, dual USB controllers makes it easy to use and versatile for those applications that use MCUs, from anti-lock that we’ve got a fantastic set of tools, reference and so on. types of customers. This product family even brakes to zoom lens controllers. An interesting designs, solutions, software and infrastructure includes an 8-pin DIP package to make it simple thing about MCUs is that they start off as designers need to make an easy transition. NXP is also particularly strong in industrial and friendly to traditional 8-bit MCU users. It is ‘general purpose’ devices and are customized The ecosystem around the MCU has become connectivity solutions like Ethernet and CAN a simple migration because a lot of customers to a unique application through the addition a huge part of the total product. (controller area network). We have the fastest who haven’t used a 32-bit product before see of software, so the challenge for our customers Cortex-M4-based MCU available on the as the transition from 8-bit as quite a daunting is writing the software to customize their own This easy transition really relates to the hardware market, which runs at over 200 MHz. These high step. We’ve added things like the switch matrix particular system. MCUs are at the heart of and the software tools because if you spend a processing speeds are useful because they peripheral that allows any peripheral function on the system, so it’s always the first and most long time writing code, and you know it works can simplify the problem where you’ve got to the chip to be routed to any pin. It is a powerful important design-in decision that engineers and it’s fully tested, you want to reuse it as often respond to lots of real-time interrupts or transfer feature and we’ve created a tool that basically make, so it’s a special place to be on the bill as possible. The software development cycle lots of data in or out of an MCU at a high speed, generates the code automatically to do that, of materials. is longer than that of the hardware. If software or you’ve got significant real-time algorithm which makes it easy to deploy. can be reused easily, then it helps reduce time control like digital filtering. There How long have you been at NXP? to market, risk and development costs. We also are a lot of peripherals on these Bannatyne and team extend our “ease of use” to the hardware as chips that are autonomous so that Although I have been at NXP for a relatively well because we know that inevitably, a lot of they can operate independently short time, I have been familiar with the our customers run out of memory space and of the CPU. That gives us additional MCU product lines for many years and have will want to add some new software features. performance because it means watched it grow (and competed with it) from Ideally, they’d like to drop another chip in to your CPU can be dealing with one the 8051 based products through the new use all of their existing software without having thing while your peripherals are Cortex-M based products. I have seen NXP to re-layout the board and make other system dealing with data that’s coming in products compete strongly in every region changes to accommodate a different chip.. from the serial ports. of the world. I was based in Europe until 1995 In many product ranges, we provide a whole and have been based in the USA since then. family of chips that are pin-to-pin compatible Have there been any new NXP MCUs are ubiquitous and I look forward and have the registers in the same locations, so products from NXP over the to contributing to that growth. that it is possible to re-use software across many last year? different microcontroller products. What is your role at NXP? Recently, one of the most interesting Many of our customers want to remain in products that has been getting a lot I’m responsible for our mass market MCU production for a long time—often over ten years. of customer interest is our LPC800 business. That involves product management of This is because they spend a lot of time creating family, which is our entry-level a portfolio of MCUs, definition of new products and testing the software. For this reason, we family, based on the Cortex-M0+. and solutions, managing the introduction and support a ‘longevity’ program that guarantees This is aimed at customers who have their lifecycle, and working with customers to the supply of our products for many years. been using 8- and 16-bit products,

18 19 COVER INTERVIEW

Let me give you an example of how customers need solutions rather than just chips and datasheets. Recently, I worked with a customer who develops weigh scales. The “At the end of the day, our customer wanted to add a USB port to their weigh scale so that it could record data and objective is to allow customers to send it to a PC to allow the user to keep track At Embedded Developer of their weight. The weigh scale could then solve problems as painlessly as become a piece of personal equipment for possible. We’ve really got a big health and fitness. In that particular case, their core competence is how to measure you can compare focus on creating full solutions analog data from load cells with a wide dynamic range. In this case, there is no need for our customer rather than just to reinvent the wheel by developing detailed USB knowledge in-house (writing USB driver offering chips.” code was not and would never be their focus), they simply want to add a USB port as painlessly as possible. By offering tools, driver code, and application notes, we let and . them focus on their core competency and These chips also have ROM on board, so that we can develop and we take care of the USB solution for them. ® test drivers, burn them into ROM and give customers the ability to use NXP developed software drivers. This simplifies code development for Another example is some work that we have the customer, but it also means they need less code to implement done with a metering customer who was You can also compare ARM their overall function, so they can keep their development time down. developing a metering communications hub. They were taking on a big project and their Have you had any success in getting those legacy biggest issue was that they didn’t know how engineers and bring them up into your new chip families? much memory they were going to need. This was because by the time this project Absolutely. We still have a lot of 8051customers, so when we were reaches fruition, the spec was probably going developing the new LPC800 family, we spent a lot of time talking to to change a few times and more software s those customers and asking them how they see their own products would be required. Their key design objective migrating and how to make it easy for them to migrate to a 32-bit was the flexibility to be able to add more architecture. We got a great many ideas for the LPC800 by speaking memory at a later date. to those existing 8-bit customers. On a number of our LPC microcontroller What resources are available for your customers? products, there’s a quad-spi interface that can interface to large external memories and development tools. At the end of the day, our objective is to allow customers to solve very efficiently. That means with a small problems as painlessly as possible. We’ve really got a big focus on microcontroller and a 4-pin interface, we creating full solutions for our customer rather than just offering chips. can access many megabytes of memory. This allows the customer to come up with a design The objective of our mass-market business is to make our microcontroller that is based on our processor that they knew Then you can buy them. solutions scalable – to make it as simple as possible for thousands would have enough horsepower, but it would of customers to use NXP microcontroller-based solutions. We’ve allow them to simply drop in different sizes created a growing number of ‘solutions-in-a-box’ for many different of memory chips without having to change applications including communications systems, lighting interfaces, anything on the board when more software digital audio streaming, and near-field communications, to name a is required. few. There are many software and tools solutions available on our website as well as applications notes, forums and online support. I think that every customer that we deal with This ease-of-use and support infrastructure enables the scalability has a particular set of priorities for the problems www.embeddeddeveloper.com and allows us to address thousands of customers. that they see as being the biggest ones to solve—whether it’s designing for flexibility Everything you're looking for in one place. Are these kits available on NXP’s website? or focusing on their core competency. Our objective is to make it as easy as possible to Yes, they’re available on our site. In addition, there are lots of solve our customer’s problems. ■ resources to solve problems available on the NXP website including tools ecosystems, design resources and training.

20 21 PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

Overview of the Wandboard featuring the Freescale i-MX6 processor

The Wandboard is a non-for-profit modular development board that is created by Wandboard.org, whose goal was to create a low-cost, flexible, and accessible development board. The development board features the Freescale i.MX6 family of processors, and it comes in solo, dual, and quad core versions. As a modular board it includes both a processor board and an interface board, and comes with a custom enclosure for protecting the unit and for taking it outside the lab.

22 23 PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

Included Hardware Setup

The Freescale i.MX6 series processors are pin-for-pin and software compatible, To set up your board, begin by downloading the Ubuntu 11.10 Version from the which means that if you need to go from the solo to the dual processor (or the website and burn it onto a Micro SD card on the back. You should then be able to dual to the quad processor) you won’t have to recode everything, or re-layout see Ubuntu Version 11.10 running on the Wandboard. At that point, you will want to your board. You will probably have to do some coding to take advantage of the make sure the HDMI output is plugged into the HDMI input on the laptop. Note that additional costs, but other than that, you’ll be ready to go. besides the Ubuntu Version 11.10, you can also download Android Jelly Bean.

Besides the Freescale i.MX6 series processors, the Wandboard also comes with 4 Make sure your WiFi antenna is hooked up. On mouser.com you can get the WiFi DDR3DRM ICs, a Micro SD Connector, WiFi and Bluetooth integrated modules, and antenna kit that includes the appropriate cable (as well as a custom enclosure) if a 315 Pin Edge Connector (in compliance with the EDM standard). It also includes a you do a keyword search for “Wandboard” or pull up the Wandboard product page, reset button and expansion headers, which have your GPIOs, LBDS signals, which should be listed in accessories. I2C Busses, SPI Busses, and a connector for your stereoscopic camera interface.

On the front side of the board you can find your 5V in, RJ45, HDMI, Digital Audio, Microphone In, Line In, Line Typical Uses and Setup Out, Serial, SATA, High Speed USB 2.0, a MicroSD slot for storage and applications, and USB A typical use for the Wandboard is something like a streaming music or media On-the-Go connector ICs. Included in the player. For these, or a similar uses, you’d want to put the board in the custom development board you will also find enclosure, hook it up to your TV via HDMI, and start streaming media from your ADM 3202 2-Channel, your USB drive or across your network. The advantage of this is, wherever you low power high speed store your media, you should be able to access it. RS232 interface, the Freescale SGTL 5000 Ultra Low Audio CODEC, the Watch Video AME 8816 LDO (which converts your 5V In to the 3.3V supply you need for the board) and the Conclusion TPS 2061, a power switch for the On-the-Go USB. the AC+ and AC- The Wandboard is a new take on development kits. By making the processor board test points, depending on what type of and the essential functions of the unit more modular and the interface board a voltage you have. second board, the Wandboard allows you to customize your interface to your needs. It has basically everything you would need to design a system integrated into a single chip.

24 25 PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

Introduces AXP Logic Family to

Address the Need We talked with NXP’s International Product for Lower Power Manager, Cliff Lloyd, about the new AXP Logic family released in July, and how it takes Consumption on the power-consumption problem.

26 27 PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT

“We felt we had to address the need for faster performance... and also maintain or improve power savings performance.” [ - Cliff Lloyd, NXP]

“The mobility markets have been exploding There are two very important parts to power Although many people believe that the in recent years,” NXP’s International Product savings performance, explained Lloyd. The devices are programmable, Lloyd explained Manager, Cliff Lloyd told us. “That market is first is static power consumption, which is the that that is a misconception. The devices are driven by two primary factors: one is the size of amount of power a device uses when it is strictly hardwire configurable on the PCB. For a device, and the other is battery life.” In the simply connected to a battery. The other example, if you hooked up pin 5 and pin 3, Features of AXP Devices past, he explained, NXP focused on making important part of power consumption is the as in the figure below, you would get a two- smaller and smaller packages. NXP made power that’s consumed when the device input AND gate. If you connected pin 2 and • Very low dynamic power dissipation (CPD) a breakthrough last year in small package is actually being used, which is called the pin 1 to ground, you would get a two-input • tpd of 2.9 ns at Vcc of 1.8 V size when it released its Diamond package Dynamic Power Consumption. NOR gate. It all depends on how the board • Wide supply voltage range (0.7 V to 2.75 V) -- 0.8 by 0.8 in size with a 0.5mm pad pitch is laid out -- an inverter, or an exclusive NOR between pads -- which made it easier to Keeping these two parts of power (XNOR) can also be achieved. Because of • Fully specified at 0.8 V mount in PCBs. After the Diamond package consumption low was what NXP has this flexibility, NXP decided to first release the • Schmitt-trigger action on all inputs was released and package size addressed, aimed to address with the AXP family. configurable devices. • 4.5 mA balanced output drive NXP decided to focus on addressing low What they have achieved with the AXP • Over-voltage tolerant I/Os power consumption in the mobility market. family is 15% lower power consumption for • Fully specified (-40 to +85 °C) “We felt we had to address the need for unique functions, as well as a top delay of 4 faster performance... and also maintain or nanoseconds at 1.2V, which is about twice • Pb-free, RoHS compliant and Dark Green improve power savings performance,” said as fast as its previous AUP family at the same Lloyd. voltage node. For more information, visit the NXP Tech Community.

One of the advantages of the AXP family of devices is its configurable logic, which gives One of the advantages of customers a lot of flexibility when selecting parts. For instance, when a customer buys a the AXP family of devices device -- depending on how he hardwires it on the PCB -- the device could operate as With low static and dynamic power dissipation, is its configurable logic, a NAND Gate, an OR Gate, a NOR Gate, a wide voltage range, true Schmitt-Trigger which gives customers a buffer, or an inverter, and the customer inputs, and configurable logic, NXP has doesn’t have to buy a different device to aimed to address the need for low power a lot of flexibility when program these individual functions. The consumption and reliable logic level switching selecting parts. customer can get different functions from with the AXP Logic family, and position itself one device, and use a single qualification for a mobile market where battery critical to cover multiple functions, which offers applications and battery life conservation tremendous flexibility. is key. ■

28 29 HOT VIDEOS

GET TO KNOW FREERTOS FROM THE CREATOR LPC-LINK 2 DEBUG ADAPTER

USB - WHAT WOULD THE GURU DO? LPC800: PACKING A 32-BIT PUNCH

LPC800 CHALLENGE - GETTING STARTED CAPACITIVE TOUCH & PROXIMITY SENSORS SOLVING EMBEDDED GRAPHICS CONUNDRUMS LPC: RAPID PROTOTYPING WITH MBED

WHAT IS THE I2C BUS? NXP USB 3.0 SIGNAL INTEGRITY SOLUTION KICKSTARTING NXP EMBEDDED DEVELOPMENT NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION MADE EASY

30 31 HOT VIDEOS

RX210 PROMOTIONAL BOARD RENESAS’ SMART SOCIETY

RX PERIPHERAL OVERVIEW RX62T: IDEAL SOLUTION FOR MOTOR CONTROL

ALI SEBT - DEVCON 2012 KEYNOTE 7C031: POWER FACTOR CORRECTION RENESAS CAPACITIVE TOUCH-KEY SOLUTIONS RL78 SENSOR DEMO

RL78 FAMILY INTRODUCTION RX200 FAMILY INTRODUCTION RX SYSTEM INTERFACES RX RDK NEW DEMOS

32 33 TECH ARTICLES

In this episode of MCU Wars, Ritesh Tyagi Episode 3: and Chris Anderson compare two 32-bit microcontrollers—the RX100 from Renesas, and the STM32 from STMicroelectronics. We chose these two devices because of 32-Bit Microcontroller the increasing demand for 32-bit micro- controllers in a variety of industries. Comparison Which one reigns supreme?

34 35 TECH ARTICLES

Featured in this episode:

Ritesh Tyagi Chris Anderson

Sr. Director of Electrical Product Marketing Engineering at Renesas Consultant and VS. Electronics America Developer RX100 by Renesas STM32 by STMicroelectronics

The RX100 series is part of Renesas’ RX The STM32 L1 series from family that was launched in 2007. In the STMicroelectronics is based on a 32-bit Optimized for Low-Power The STM32 L1 Toolchain same family, there is the RX600, which ARM Cortex-M3. The device has multiple According to Tyagi, Renesas has been When asked about the STM32 toolchain, Chris Anderson is a high-performance series, and the low-power modes and is available in 4 “using a lot of proprietary technology to offered his preferences for ST products. Anderson RX200, which is the low-cost version of different lines: the STM32L100 Value optimize the RX100 power consumption.” explained, “ST offered a number of choices with In order to do this, Renesas implemented quickstart guides for Embedded Workbench, but I settled the RX600. The recently launched RX100 line, STM32L151, STM32L152 (LCD), and a 130mm, low-leakage, low-power on the Kiel Microvision 4.” Anderson stated that the has the same CPU core as the 200 and the STM32L162 (LCD and AES-128). The transistor flash process. “Compared Microvision had a number of example files that had 600, but was developed with low-power device can get up to 384K of flash and to the RX600 or RX200 where we used all the source code needed to start tweaking in order their proprietary MONOS technology,” to find something close to what he was trying to do. It battery operated applications in mind. up to 48K of SRAM as well as up to 12K Tyagi explained, “we decided to use also has a project manager compiler, an integrated The RX100 has 1.56 megahertz of CPU of EEPROM. Like the RX100, the STM32 a completely different technology for debugger, and an abundance of example projects for performance and runs at very low power, comes in multiple different packages the RX100.” dev kits of all the other major ARM vendors. both in active mode as well as in standby as small as a wafer-level chip scale Another differentiating factor is the mode. The device comes in a variety of package. It can get up to 114 I/Os with all redesign of the clock circuitry to offer a much faster wake-up. This allows the packages—from 40-pin to 64-pin—and of the standard communication interfaces, device to remain low-power in active “Overall, the RX100 comes all the peripherals are included within. In up to 40 12-bit ADCs, and up to two and standby modes. The voltage with a pretty packed kit with terms of memory, the RX100 ranges from 12-bit DACs. There is also an integrated regulator was built specifically for this device, offering very low power an entire toolchain inside.” as low as 8 kilobytes to 128 kilobytes DMA controller as well as an integrated consumption. “Overall, there are a lot in on-board flash, with additional data LCD driver. of different techniques and tricks that – Ritesh Tyagi flash available. we employed to achieve a very low power standby current and active mode current,” Tyagi stated.

36 37 TECH ARTICLES

Renesas’ RX RDK Development Kit ST’s Discovery Development Kit

Analog Devices Temperature Segger J-Link ST-Link/V2 Debugger Sensors and Accelerometer Analog Devices Audio Amp and Programmer OKAYA LCD STAR Speaker

LED Display

Based on the STM32L152 (ARM Cortex-M3)

User Push Button Reset Push Button

National Total Phase Debug NDK Crystals Micron PCM Memory Semiconductor Connector Capacitive Sensor Ethernet PHY

38 39 TECH ARTICLES

RX100 STM32

Click below to watch Episode 3:

Renesas' Eclipse-based IDE, e2studio • CPU: 32-bit (RX) • CPU: 32-bit (Cortex-M3) Getting Started the RX100 • Max. Frequency: 32MHz • Max. Frequency: 32MHz • Performance • Performance For the RX family, Renesas made a big - DMIPS/MHz: 1.56 - DMIPS/MHz: 1.03 company-wide push to launch the Eclipse- based IDE, called the e2studio. The RX100 - MAC/DIV: Yes - MAC/DIV: Yes will have the same toolchain based on the - DSP Instructions: Yes - DSP Instructions: No e2studio. Underneath that, Renesas offers - Coremarks/MHz: 3.08 - Coremarks/MHz: 2.17 a compiler as well as a compiler from IR - Max. DMIPS: 50 - Max. DMIPS: 33 and other third parties. “In fact,” Tyagi explained, “we are doing a pretty big - Interrupt Latency: 5 cycles - Interrupt Latency: 12 cycles joint promotion with International Rectifier - Run μA/MHz: 100 - Run μA/MHz: 290 where they start offering a 64K version - Lowest Power Mode with - Lowest Power Mode with of an IR workbench absolutely free.” RTC on (μA): 0.6 RTC on (μA): 0.9 The kit also comes with multiple sample - Wake-up Time from - Wake-up Time from projects and application examples. The Previous Mode: 5μs Previous Mode: 2.6ms board comes with a CD with a compiler and a debugger all within the kit. “I can • Voltage Range: 1.8-3.6 • Voltage Range: 1.65-3.6 guarantee,” Tyagi said, “that with the • Lineup • Lineup RX kit, you can be up and running within an hour.” - Pin: 36-64 - Pin: 48-100 Click below to watch Episode 2: Click below to watch Episode 1: - Flash Size: 16KB-128KB - Flash Size: 32KB-384KB Editor’s Pick • Peripherals • Peripherals Overall, the RX100 by Renesas offered - USB Device: Yes - USB Device: Yes significant low-power advantages over - USB Host: Yes - USB Host: No the STM32. The RX RDK Development - UART/USART: 3 - UART/USART: 3 Kit also offered significant features over - I2C: 4 (1+3UART) - I2C: 2 the ST Discovery Kit, made possible by - SPI: 4 (1+3UART) - SPI: 3 Renesas’ many partnerships in on-board components. ■ - ADC: 8 x 12-bit - ADC: 24 x 12-bit - DAC: 2 x 8-bit - DAC: 2 x 12-bit - RTC: Yes - RTC: Yes

40 41