Motorola takes two more steps to tap embedded MCU markets

Electronic News, March 6, 1995 by Jim DeTar

AUSTIN, Tex.--Motorola will today attack the embedded systems market on two fronts as it introduces its lowest-cost version to date of its 68HC05 family of customer-specific integrated circuit (CSIC) micro-controllers (MCUs)--the one-time programmable (OTP) 68HC705J1A is designed for extremely cost-sensitive, high-volume control applications--and announces shipment of its ColdFire MCF5102 embedded microprocessor unveiled last fall (EN, Oct. 24, 1994) with an initial design win at Hewlett-Packard for LaserJet printers.

The new 68HC705J1A MCU offers nearly 20 features and seven mask options. Some of the features include the 68HC05 CPU, memory-mapped I/O registers, 1,240 bytes of OTP user EpROM (including eight user vector locations), 64 bytes of user RAM, 14 bidirectional I/O pins featuring software programmable pulldown, four I/O pins with 8mA current sinking capability, and four I/O pins with maskable external interrupt capability.

Tom Marischen, worldwide marketing manager for Motorola's CSIC Microcontroller division, commented that "The 68HC705J1A plays a key part in the Motorola microcontroller line. It is designed to initiate new MCU designs in systems that currently use discrete logic, designs in systems that currently have less than optimum microcontroller solutions, and designs that have in the past been prevented due to high production cost. This price-aggressive focus on the low-to mid-range market complements our overall strategy of providing a broad portfolio of quality standard products and giving our customers alternative means of getting to the market quicker."

Part of a broad Motorola thrust to add OTP capabilities to many parts, the 68HC705J1A completes a triad of low-cost OTP parts, including the 68HC705J4A, which offers the largest memory capacity of the three--with 4K of EpRom--and was introduced earlier this year (EN, Jan. 23); and the 68HC705JP9, which is intended to meet medium-range memory needs with 2K of EpROM. At the time of introduction of the 705J4A in January, Motorola also lowered the price of the previously introduced 705JP9 by more than 45 percent to $2.40 each in volume quantities. The price decrease prompted an unusual response from competitor Microchip, which issued a statement saying the price cut would not hurt Microchip and that Microchip does not even offer a competing product.

The 68HC705J1A in a 20-pin package is slated to be available in 2Q95, priced less than $1 each to OEMS in 50K quantities and $1.60 for quantities up to 50K. The 68HC705J4A will also be available 2Q95, the company said, priced at just over $4 in quantity.

The CISC Microcontroller division also recently added a new version of its 68HC05 family which can address up to 64K bytes of external memory. The new 68HC050C0 is available in 2Q to OEMS at $2.00 in 100K quantities. In 40-pin DIP, 42-pin DIP and 44-pin PLCC packages, it includes an on-chip oscillator, 2MHz and 4MHz CPU bus rates for multiplexed and non-multiplexed modes, 512 bytes of on-chip RAM and 16-bit timer.

Meanwhile, Motorola's ColdFire MCF5102 embedded MPU is the first member of a product family based on a new architecture optimized for embedded processing applications. HP is the first OEM to use the MCF5102 in its HP LaserJet 5P and 5MP printers.

In an interview with Electronic News, Mike Frawley, manager of office products and peripherals system solutions for Motorola's High Performance Embedded Systems division, said one key ColdFire feature is variable length architecture. "One of the most notable things is that variable length architecture not only reduces the cost of the part but also helps to reduce system costs."

Another plus for Motorola's new architecture, according to Mr. Frawley, is a set of accompanying software tools. "Multiple products are coming out with very nice architectures at attractive prices, but one thing that sets ColdFire apart is 15 years of software development tools experience. We are competitive with anyone, including Intel with the i960 and Advanced Micro Devices' 29000."

The MCF5102 features variable-length instructions averaging around 22 bits, compared to 32-bit RISC architectures and enabling ColdFire to address systems that require less memory space. ColdFire is a subset of the Motorola 68000 instruction set. The device also offers a 3.3-Volt, fully-static design which will enable lower-power consumption for portable and Green PC systems.

The 5102 is positioned by the company as an entry product into the embedded market, and a bridge to future developments. "The 5102 is basically a bridge between ColdFire and the 68000 family. It can run both ColdFire and 68000 code. This is analogous to the (IBM/Motorola) PowerPC 601 being able to support both Power architecture and PowerPC architecture," Mr. Frawley said. He added that future versions of ColdFire will not be 68000 compatible--only the bridge 5102 will have dual-architecture capability. "In the future, price/performance will be the only thing we are concerned with."