Thursday, January 6, 2011

ZILOG releases 16-bit MCU SoC for motor control apps

MILPITAS, USA & BIEL, SWITZERLAND: Zilog, a wholly owned subsidiary of IXYS Corp. and a trusted supplier of application specific, embedded micro controller (MCU) system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for industrial, telecommunications, automotive, power management and consumer markets, introduced its powerful motor control product, the Z16FMC Series MCU.

The Z16FMC, a part of the Flash Motor Control family of devices, is a powerful 16-bit CISC MCU that outperforms most RISC microcontrollers in its class. The Z16FMC boasts a unique architecture that provides the power, punch and performance of a 32-bit micro with the efficient code, better power efficiency and lower cost of a 16-bit.

The Z16FMC features Zilog’s ZNEO CPU, which boasts a highly-optimized instruction set that achieves higher performance per clock cycle with less code space and lower overhead than competing architectures. Optimized for motor control applications and especially when utilizing IXYS power products, these devices are designed for the control of multiphase AC and DC variable-speed motors.

This powerful yet simple core with sixteen 32-bit general-purpose registers supports complex CISC addressing modes and a single-cycle instruction set that includes frame pointer support, multi-bit shift and multi-register push/pop as well as powerful 32-bit math operations.

The Z16FMC Series features a flexible pulse width modulator (PWM) module with three complementary pairs or six independent PWM outputs supporting deadband operation and fault protection trip input. These features provide multiphase control capability for a variety of motor types and ensure safe operation of the motor by providing pulse-by-pulse or latched fast shutdown of the PWM pins during fault conditions.

The Z16FMC Series also features up to twelve single-ended channels of 10-bit analog-to-digital conversion with a sample and hold circuit plus one operational amplifier for current sampling and one comparator for over-current limiting or shutdown.

A high-speed analog-to-digital converter (ADC) enables voltage, current and back-EMF sensing, while dual-edge interrupts and a 16-bit timer provide a Hall-effect sensor interface. One full-duplex 9-bit UART provides serial asynchronous communication and supports the local interconnect network (LIN) serial communications protocol. The LIN bus is a cost-efficient Single Master, Multiple Slave organization that supports speeds up to 20 Kbps.

“Globally, the motor control market is large and growing, and has been a big part of IXYS’ power semiconductor target markets. With Zilog as part of IXYS, it is natural that we will target the leading edge Zilog MCU for motor drive applications in the industrial and transportation markets,” commented Dr. Nathan Zommer, CEO of IXYS Corporation.

“Zilog’s new Z16FMC product, with its unique feature set, offers our customers a cost-effective solution in the control of AC and DC motors. When you couple the IXYS power semiconductors and driver ICs in a motor drive with the Z16FMC, we become a one-stop shop for our motor control customers,” said Steve Darrough, Zilog’s Director of Worldwide Marketing. “We can offer a complete reference design for a wide range of applications, which includes featured IXYS power semiconductors.”

The Zilog Z16FMC is currently in production and is now available to ship to customers that place orders through distributors.

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