Networked industrial MPU targets small-footprint SoCs

AMCC announced the first of its family of networked industrial MPUs—the PowerPC 405EZ processor, with speeds ranging from 100MHz to 400MHz to provide high-performance, low-power solutions for small-footprint SoC designs.

The PPC405EZ's connectivity package consists of one Ethernet port with an integrated IEEE1588 controller, three USB 1.1/2.0 full speed compatible ports with integrated PHYs, and two CAN 2.0b ports. Its industrial package consists of an 8-input 10-bit ADC, a 10-bit DAC, and a 15-channel Chameleon Timer/PWM controller.

Brian Wilkie, vice president and assistant general manager of the integrated communications processing business unit of AMCC, noted, "Newer networked systems are requiring faster speeds, greater flexibility utilizing buses, optimized external memories, and more configurability in their timers. The PPC405EZ addresses these challenges at a very effective price."

According to the press release, the IEEE1588 time base function is integrated directly into the key analog and timer functions to optimize performance and eliminate CPU involvement in capturing, triggering and time-stamping real-time events in devices deployed across entire networks. The configurable Chameleon Timer enables designers to mimic or construct virtually any type of timer architecture and produce complex deterministic timing functions without resorting to specialized complex scripting or DSP programming language. It offloads the CPU and software from involvement in even the most complex timing and waveform generation algorithms, thereby freeing the CPU and bus bandwidth for other uses, explained AMCC.

The company added that the PPC405EZ offers high-level compute processing, analog I/O and networking diversity in a single SoC device. Shifting from traditional on-chip Flash and external DRAM in favor of an on-chip 32Kbyte SRAM and external Flash PSRAMs and CellularRAMs, the PPC405EZ enables system designers to break through the 80MHz "barrier" of Flash MCUs.

The PPC405EZ is packaged in 324-pin 23-by-23mm EPGA and is available in industrial (-40°C to 85°C) and extended (-40°C to 105°C) temperature ranges. Its 1mm ball pitch, according to AMCC, results in inexpensive and reliable PCB layouts that avoid blind vias.

The PPC405EZ networked industrial processor is expected to be available in sample quantities in Q4 2006, with a suggested resale price of $15 in quantities of 10,000 for the 133MHz industrial temperature version. A low-cost, easy-to-use evaluation kit for the PPC405EZ will also be available to facilitate product evaluation and project development.