1999-10-04 , S/IC-2086/27
Product News From Philips Semiconductors

On-chip communications peripherals and memory support offer solution for high-speed applications

Philips Semiconductors today announced two new additions to its popular 16-bit XA microcontroller family, coined the  XA-H3 and  XA-H4. These devices include four Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitters (UARTs) and support for up to 32 megabytes (MB) of memory. Operating at 30 MHz, with a supply voltage as low as 3.3V, the XA-H3 and XA-H4 are targeted for high-speed, memory-intensive applications where multi-tasking and data throughput are a priority. Additionally, both products are available in a 100-pin package and have a high I/O count with extensive communications features, making these devices the ideal low-cost microcontroller solution for a wide variety of applications ranging from vending machines to ADSL modems.

"Philips Semiconductors is reinforcing its commitment to the growth and continued innovation of the XA microcontroller family with the introduction of these new devices",said Geoff Lees, director of marketing, Microcontroller Business Line at Philips Semiconductors. "The XA-H3 and XA-H4 devices fill a need in the industrial control and communications market for extremely cost-effective solutions with high-performance memory and multi-tasking capabilities."

The XA-H3 and XA-H4 boast an impressive list of features including four "85C30-style" UARTs with direct memory access (DMA) and 230.4 Kilobits per second (Kbps) data transmission capability. The devices have a de-multiplexed memory interface for SRAM, Flash or EPROM. Six fully configurable chip-selects and a de-multiplexed address/data bus allow external memory to be interfaced with no external glue logic. As is the case with many other Philips Semiconductors microcontrollers, these devices support in-system programming (ISP) to enable designers to easily download and upgrade code in the field, or remotely via a modem or network connection. Additionally, these devices support the Harvard Architecture, allowing for separate code and data memory, or the option of a user-configurable Unified Memory Space, enabling the user to map the memory as code, data, or both.

The XA-H4 has all of the features of the XA-H3, plus a DRAM controller and four enhanced Universal Synchronous/Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitters (USARTs). The DRAM controller handles up to 5 banks of memory, operating at various speeds, without external glue logic. Each of the 5 banks supports from 256 bytes to 8 MB of DRAM. The USARTs support High-level Data Link Control/Synchronous Data Link Control (HDLC/SDLC) and communications at data rates up to 1 Mbps. An autobaud function eliminates the need for external baud-rate selection software, or hardware. Furthermore, each USART features up to 4 user-programmable match characters that can be used for XON/XOFF and escape sequence detection, or multi-processor communication protocol support.

Philips Semiconductors is the world's leading supplier of the most popular 8-bit architecture, the  80C51, offering more than 100 derivatives. Philips Semiconductors has extended this successful architecture into its low-power, small footprint, low-system cost 80C51 family, the  51LPC and its high-performance 16-bit XA family. Now customers can preserve their software, development tools and technology investment in the 80C51 while capitalizing on low-power, small footprint and 16-bit performance applications. Dataquest's "1998 Microcontroller Market Share and Unit Shipments" July 1999 report stated, "Philips Semiconductors' 80C51 sales of US$ 445 million in 1998, a 38 percent share of the total 80C51 microcontroller market." ^*1)

Philips Semiconductors, a division of Royal Philips Electronics, headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is the eighth largest semiconductor supplier based on Dataquest's 1998 report^*2). Philips Semiconductors' innovations in digital audio, video, and mobile technology position the company as a leader in the consumer, multimedia and wireless communications markets. Sales offices are located in all major markets around the world and are supported by systems labs. Additional information on Philips Semiconductors can be obtained by accessing its home page at http://www.semiconductors.philips.com

*1) Source: Dataquest. Based on Vendor Revenue by Architecture of Microcontroller Market Share and Unit Shipments. Reprinted with permission.

*2) Based on Vendor Revenue from Shipments of Total Semiconductors Worldwide according to Dataquest's 1998 Worldwide Semiconductor Market Share report published in May, 1999.