NEC Electronics Introduces 19 New 78K0R/Ix3 16-bit All Flash^TM Microcontrollers for Inverter Control

Advanced Control Features Enable Low Power and Eco-Friendly Appliances

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NEC Electronics today announced a new line of 16-bit All Flash^TM microcontrollers (MCUs) for inverter control applications. Built around the fast and efficient 78K0R CPU core, the 19 MCUs in the 78K0R/Ix3 line-up are designed to enable a new generation of intelligent and eco-friendly appliances and motor drives. All devices in the line-up feature integrated inverter control circuits and deliver best-of-class power performance.

Inverter control systems are found in an ever-wider range of products, in response to consumer demand for more energy-efficient appliances. Fine-tuned control of motors and heating elements can deliver significant energy savings in products ranging from refrigerators and air conditioners to dishwashers and magnetic induction cooking appliances. The 78K0R/Ix3 MCUs, with 16-bit performance and 8-bit power consumption levels, are ideal for such applications.

All devices in the line-up share the following features: (1) CPU power consumption of only 1.8 milliwatts (mW) per MIPS (*1), the highest performance-to-power-consumption ratio in the industry; (2) on-chip oscillators capable of driving timers at rates up to 40 megahertz (MHz) for fine-tuned inverter control; (3) integrated hardware multiply and divide functionality for fast processing of mathematical algorithms; (4) NEC Electronics' first 16-bit MCUs with integration of all analog circuits required for inverter control, including comparators and an integrated operational amplifier (op amp).

This combination of features responds to strong demand from appliance manufacturers for flexible, low-cost, high-performance MCUs to help shorten time to market. Under pressure to differentiate their products from competitor offerings, manufacturers stress innovative features, stylish design and lower power consumption, but this results in mounting development costs and longer development schedules. NEC Electronics' new MCUs allow fine-grained control of multiple types of 3-phase motors, making it easy to develop eco-friendly appliances. In addition, an all-flash memory configuration means that programs can be updated even after an MCU is mounted on a system board, allowing manufacturers to accelerate development schedules by developing software in parallel with hardware.

The principal features of the 78K0R/Ix3 MCUs are:

(1) Industry-leading performance to power consumption ratio
The new MCUs are built around a 78K0R CPU core that executes 13 MIPS at a clock speed of 20 MHz. Advances in process technology enable power consumption of only 1.8 mW per MIPS.

(2) Fine-tuned inverter control via integrated multifunction timers
Multifunction timers function as interval timers to generate periodic interrupts, as dividers to generate clock signals by dividing an input frequency, and as event counters to count external signals. The number of timer units has been increased from 8 channels to 12. This allows one channel of 6-phase pulse-width modulation (PWM) (*2) output for the 3-phase motors generally used in inverter control applications, as well as two channels of the half-bridge PWM (*3) output commonly used in magnetic induction cooking systems.

(3) First 16-bit MCUs with integrated inverter control circuits
In another industry first, the 78K0R/Ix3 MCUs integrate all of the basic analog circuits needed for inverter control, including an op amp, comparators, and high-speed A/D converters. By replacing discrete components with an integrated solution, manufacturers can dramatically reduce their bill of materials costs and save space on system boards.

(4) Wide selection of memory and packaging options
Available on-chip memory configurations include 16, 32, 48 or 64 kilobytes (KB) of internal flash memory and 1, 1.5, 2 or 3 KB of internal RAM. Packaging options include SSOP and LQFP packages in pin counts ranging from 30 to 64 pins. With a total of 19 MCUs in the lineup, designers can choose the optimum configuration for their applications.

Offering 16-bit performance at 8-bit power consumption levels, these new MCUs will enable appliance manufacturers to reduce bill of materials and development costs, and be faster to market with the eco-friendly products that consumers demand. The principal specifications of the new MCUs can be found in the attachment at the end of this release.

Pricing and Availability
The 78K0R/Ix3 MCUs are expected to be available in sample quantities in May 2008. Pricing varies according to on-chip memory specifications. For example, the 78K0R/IE3 product with 64 KB of flash memory and 3 KB of RAM is priced at US$5 per unit. Volume production is scheduled to start in December 2008. Total monthly production of the 19 new devices is expected to reach approximately 3 million units by 2010. Pricing and availability are subject to change without notice.

(*1) MIPS
Abbreviation of million instructions per second. The cited value of 13 MIPS is based on the microcontroller Dhrystone benchmark (version 1.1) score.

(*2) 6-phase PWM
6-phase pulse-width modulation. A motor with U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase coils rotates when AC currents of different phase are supplied to each of the coils. The AC currents are generated by supplying 6-phase PWM output to six transistor channels, consisting of three upper-arm phases and threee lower-arm phases.

(*3) Half-bridge PWM
Pulse-width modulation (PWM) output consisting of an upper-arm phase and a lower-arm phase. Half-bridge PWM is commonly used by magnetic induction cooking heaters instead of 6-phase PWM.

More information about NEC Electronics' extensive MCU product offerings can be found at http://www.necel.com/micro/en/.

Please refer to the attachment for Main Specifications for NEC Electronics' 78K0R/Ix3 Microcontrollers.

About NEC Electronics

NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) specializes in semiconductor products encompassing advanced technology solutions for the high-end computing and broadband networking markets, system solutions for the mobile handset, PC peripherals, automotive and digital consumer markets, and platform solutions for a wide range of customer applications. NEC Electronics Corporation has 25 subsidiaries worldwide including NEC Electronics America, Inc. (www.am.necel.com) and NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH (www.eu.necel.com). For additional information about NEC Electronics worldwide, visit www.necel.com.

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