Spansion beefs up MCUs with IoT on radar

Spansion Inc. rolled out 96 new additions to its FM4 family of MCUs based on the ARM Cortex-M4F core. The new MCUs, running at 200MHz, offer up to 2MB flash memory, 12 different types of communication interfaces, security, and 5V I/O designed for robust environment applications.

Dhiraj Handa, senior vice president and general manager of Spansion's multi-market microcontroller business, told EE Times that a combination of such upgraded features will differentiate Spansion's new MCUs from those of competitors.

The company is targeting these new MCUs for deeper and broader inroads into various markets—ranging from factory automation and machine-to-machine systems to building management systems, smart meters, and multi-function printers.

Since the acquisition of Fujitsu's MCU business was completed in August 2013, Spansion has been on a mission to beef up its MCU product portfolio.

Handa said, "We've been very actively engaged in the development of our new MCU roadmap," which, however, is being "kept under the wraps" for the time being.

Handa added, "We are expanding our offerings—including MCUs with very high-performance, lower power consumption, and new hardware acceleration engines." He also noted that Spansion has been involved in "a variety of activities" with ARM, although he offered no specifics.

Beyond traditional industrial markets such as motor controls and office automation, Spansion is eager to cultivate emerging markets, including "the Internet of Things (IoT) and sensor fusion," according to Handa.

"Industrial IoT" is undoubtedly one of the target markets for the new MCUs.

Spansion's New FM4 S6E2CC Series Microcontrollers (Source:Spansion)

The new MCUs, for example, come with large flash memory. The memory is divided into two independent sections, allowing each to be controlled separately. One bank of memory can be erased and programmed, while the other performs other functions—running code, for example. Such a feature is convenient for systems in the industrial IoT market, said Spansion's Handa. "When customers need to update software remotely, the dual-bank memory makes such an over-the-air update easy and real time," without such hassles as rebooting and reset.

Spansion is uniquely offering a 5V I/O feature across the board in its different FM families for industrial applications. Compared to MCUs with 2.5V or 1.8 I/O, the 5V I/O can protect a system from breaking down in a harsh environment where it may experience a power surge or other disturbances.

The new MCUs also offer customers a large set of interfaces—as many as 12. They include Ethernet, CAN, USB, Secure Digital Input Output (SDIO), I2S, HDMI, I2C, general purpose serial interface, and others.

The idea is to make applications for the new MCUs broad and flexible, allowing use with a variety of peripherals.

Spansion is actively sampling its new MCUs now, with customers going through the qualification processes. Volume production will begin in the first quarter of 2015. The price of the chip starts at $10 per unit for minimum volumes of 1,500.

- Junko Yoshida
??EE Times