Car MCUs integrate emissions control technology

Freescale Semiconductor has introduced a family of 32bit automotive MCUs with integrated emissions control technology. Like other Freescale powertrain MCUs, these MCUs are engineered to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions and enable cost-effective, yet sophisticated engine control designs for emerging markets.

The MPC563xM family includes three 32bit powertrain MCUs designed to help improve the efficiency and performance of small engines scaling from one to four cylinders. Built on Power Architecture technology, the MPC563xM devices not only offer enhanced powertrain functionality, such as on-chip emissions control, but they also address the cost constraints of engine and transmission suppliers. The cost-effective devices are Freescale's first automotive MCUs manufactured on 90nm technology. They also are Freescale's first automotive products resulting from a joint development program with STMicroelectronics initiated in January 2006.

Emissions control
Freescale's MPC563xM powertrain MCUs feature sophisticated emissions control technology that takes advantage of a powerful DSP engine built into the Power Architecture e200 core. This integrated DSP capability enables engine designers to maximize fuel economy and performance while minimizing engine "knocking," resulting in a 3-5 percent reduction in CO₂ emissions. Based on single-input/multiple-data (SIMD) processing techniques, the DSP functionality also can be used for patented sensor diagnostics schemes that address on-board automotive diagnostics.

"The impressive processing power of our MPC563xM MCUs enables engine designers to develop powertrain solutions that help reduce CO2 emissions, as well as to address current and future automotive emissions requirements," said Paul Grimme, senior VP and general manager of Freescale's microcontroller solutions group. "These advanced, cost-effective MCUs are the right products at a time when green automotive technology is critical to addressing the growing concern of global warming."

The world's estimated 820 million cars (source: J.D. Power and Associates) emit on average four tons of CO₂ per vehicle each year, totaling about 3.3 billion tons annually. A five percent reduction in all automotive CO₂ emissions potentially could remove as much as 165 million tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere each year. As a leading greenhouse gas, CO2 is believed to be a major contributor to the greenhouse effect behind global warming. CO₂ represents over 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States alone.

Cost-effective solution
The MPC563xM family's cost-effective pricing helps make advanced emissions control technology more affordable. Cost-sensitive engine designs of up to four cylinders are prevalent in emerging automotive markets such as China and India, where government regulations are moving in a direction of requiring automakers to manufacture more efficient engines that emit fewer harmful emissions.

For automotive developers currently using 16bit MCU solutions for powertrain control, the MPC563xM family provides a cost-effective 32bit solution that extends processing performance beyond 16bit capabilities. Offering up to 1.5Mbyte of flash memory, 81Kbyte of SRAM and a Power Architecture core that scales up to 80MHz, the MPC563xM offers exceptional price and performance for powertrain management applications.

The MPC563xM is Freescale's first powertrain device family with a quad flat package (QFP) option, offering simplified and lower cost development. A QFP has visible pins, making the package easy and affordable to install, inspect and repair, without requiring costly infrared and X-ray inspection technology. In addition, the MPC563xM devices are software compatible with Freescale's existing MPC55xx family, which enables code sharing that can help reduce automakers' development costs.

The MPC563xM product family was developed collaboratively by Freescale and STMicroelectronics. As a result, an architecturally identical dual-sourced product is also available from STMicroelectronics. This unprecedented dual source arrangement is designed to help automotive customers mitigate risk in their supply chain.

The MPC563xM family leverages a comprehensive suite of hardware and software development tools available for the MPC55xx family and Power Architecture technology. Access to this mature ecosystem reduces application development complexity and debugging/validation time during prototyping and software integration phases.

Samples of MPC563xM products are planned to be available to lead automotive customers throughout 2008. For product pricing, please contact local Freescale sales representatives.