NXP's low-cost Cortex-M0 MCU targets 8/16-bit apps

EINDHOVEN, THE NETHERLANDS: NXP announced the availability of its ARM Cortex-M0 based LPC1100 microcontroller family from distributors in December.

NXP’s LPC1100 is the lowest-priced 32-bit MCU solution in the market, bringing higher value and ease of use than existing 8/16-bit microcontroller through unprecedented performance, simplicity, low power, and more importantly, dramatic reductions in code size for all 8/16-bit applications.

With 15 members initially, the LPC1100 family offers a seamless entry point for any 8/16-bit customers looking to start with the scalable ARM architecture throughout their entire range of product development.

“Existing 8-bit architectures have their origins in the early era of the semiconductor industry, resulting in limitations of address range, register restrictions, limited functionality, unsuitability for high-level languages, and little attention to power and scaling issues,” said Geoff Lees, vice president and general manager, microcontroller product line, NXP Semiconductors.

“The Cortex-M0 processor core and system architecture take full advantage of today’s optimized low-power design tools, techniques, and the latest low-power, high-density silicon Flash process.”

Superior performance
With over 45 DMIPS of performance compared to the sub-DMIP performance typical of 8-bit MCUs and 3-5 DMIPS for 16-bit MCUs, the LPC1100 can not only execute basic control tasks but also sophisticated algorithms, making even the most complex tasks within reach.

Shorter time to do more tasks translates directly into lower energy consumption. This level of performance is delivered at 50 MHz, with extensive power optimization, at less than 10 mA.

Smaller code size
Completely shattering the myth that 8/16 bit microcontrollers use less code, industry standard Coremark benchmarks dramatically illustrate that the LPC1100 requires 40-50 percent smaller code for most common microcontroller tasks.

Markus Levy, EEMBC President, said: “It may be a big surprise to embedded users how much the LPC1100, a 32-bit microcontroller, outperforms in efficiency compared to 8- and 16-bit microcontrollers.

"If performance and energy consumption are important criteria for selecting a microcontroller, based on the results generated from EEMBC's CoreMark benchmark, embedded designers should check out the LPC1100 (especially with its $0.65 price tag) before committing to any 8- or 16-bit options with comparable features and pricing. The scores for the LPC1100 are already posted on CoreMark.org.”