Microcontroller Solutions TechZone Magazine, April 2011 - Digikey

While MCU suppliers continue to innovate and integrate powerand
battery-saving features, the trend toward energy effi ciency
would not be fully advantageous if the cost and footprint of
the MCU grew substantially. The goal is to help the embedded
developer deliver a lower cost, smaller end product as well as
reduce power consumption. Such solutions must reduce the bill
of materials and device size. The best MCUs will deliver plenty
of performance, integrated connectivity, memory and superior
analog peripherals in the smallest form factors. In other words,
semiconductor suppliers must provide increased functional
density without compromise.
Note the ultra-low-power MCU example in Figure 4 – 64 kB of fl ash
code storage, 4 kB of data RAM, an ADC, and two voltage regulators
(LDO and DC-DC boost convertor) within a 4 mm x 4 mm footprint
(in some cases even smaller). This compact mixed-signal MCU
design allows a complete measurement and interface system on a
single chip without sacrifi cing performance or battery life. Product
designers will be careful to choose MCUs like this with the right set
of peripherals to obtain the optimal cost/performance benefi t.
Embedded developers and product managers are under
continuous pressure to push the envelope of reduced cost, size,
power consumption, and increased performance in their portable
medical device designs. The answer is to use highly integrated
mixed-signal MCUs to deliver products to a market that demands
the very best in performance and affordability in the smallest form
factors. Functionally dense mixed-signal MCUs will provide the
heartbeat for the next generation of portable medical devices, and
health care equipment makers that deliver optimized products that
meet consumer needs will enjoy the benefits of this fast-growing
market segment.
Figure 4: F9xx ultra-low-power MCU architecture.
megaAVR: The Next Step in Capacity and Performance
When your designs need some extra muscle, you need the megaAVR. Ideal for
applications requiring large amounts of code, the megaAVR offers substantial
program and data memories with performance up to 20 MIPS. Innovative
picoPower technology minimizes power consumption. All megaAVRs offer
self-programmability for fast, secure, cost-effective in-circuit upgrades. You
can even upgrade the fl ash while running your application.
Based on industry-leading, proven technology, the megaAVR family offers our
widest selection of devices in terms of memories, pin counts and peripherals.
Choose from general-purpose devices to models with specialized peripherals
like USB, or LCD controllers, or CAN, LIN and Power Stage Controllers. It’s
easy to fi nd the perfect fi t for your project in the megaAVR product family.
Key Features
• Broad family — megaAVR offers our widest selection of devices in
terms of memories, pin counts and peripherals, enabling reuse of code
and knowledge across projects.
• picoPower technology — Selected megaAVR features ultra-lowpower
consumption and individually selectable low-power sleep modes
that make it ideal for battery-powered applications.
• High integration — The megaAVR features on-chip fl ash, SRAM,
internal EEPROM, SPI, TWI, and USART, USB, CAN, and LIN, watchdog
timer, a choice of internal or external precision oscillator, and general
purpose I/O pins, simplifying your design and reducing bill-of-materials.
• Analog functions — Advanced analog capabilities, such as ADC, DAC,
built-in temperature sensor and internal voltage reference, brown
out detector, a fast analog comparator and a programmable analog
gain amplifi er. The high level of integration allows designs with fewer
external analog components.
• Rapid development — megaAVR microcontrollers speed development
with powerful in-system programming and on-chip debug. In addition,
in-system programming simplifi es production line programming and
fi eld upgrades
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