BANGALORE, INDIA: Breaking new ground in 8- and 32-bit compatibility, Freescale Semiconductor recently introduced the first two members of its new Flexis series of microcontrollers (MCUs). The MC9S08QE128  based on the S08 core, and the MCF51QE128, the first device based on the ColdFire V1 core, are said to be the industry's first 8- and 32-bit MCUs with pin-for-pin compatibility and a common set of on-chip peripherals and development tools.

The Flexis series provides the 8- to 32-bit "connection point" on Freescale's Controller Continuum – the industry's only roadmap for compatible 8- and 32-bit architectures. The Flexis QE128 family enables developers to migrate between low-end and high-performance embedded designs with exceptional ease, speed, cost-effectiveness and ultra-low-power operating efficiency.

Speaking exclusively to CIOL on the Flexis launch, Sanjeev Keskar, Country Sales Manager-India, Freescale Semiconductor India Pvt Ltd said: "Most of our new products/ R&D focus in microcontroller technologies attempt to help designers/ developers save time to market. The TSPG group is launching Flexis architecture for its microcontroller series."

Touching on the industry scenario, Keskar said that embedded developers are increasingly tasked to design for a portfolio of products ranging in performance. Also, 8-bit users are driven to reach performance ceiling with increased demands for performance and functionality. Finally, economies of scale and process technology improvements push costs down on 32-bit MCUs making them more affordable. Migrating across continuum of performance and price options isn't easy or quick when different bit architectures require re-coding and different tools.

Freescale Semiconductor has created the Controller Continuum, which is industry's first and only roadmap for 8-bit and 32-bit compatible architectures. Freescale's revolutionary 8-bit to 32-bit compatibility story comes to life with the Flexis series of MCUs.

Seamless migration from 8- to 32-bit
How does the Flexis benefit designers? Keskar added that when designers start on 8-bit microcontrollers and are developing something for home appliances, in two to three months, let's say the feature specs change, he has to migrate to 16- or 32-bit microcontrollers. He may then need to change PCB, rewrite software completely, etc. Therefore, he has to start the development from the beginning. The disadvantages: Price dynamics change. Time to market pressure as product development takes longer.

To address this issue, Freescale's solution is the Flexis range of microcontrollers, which was launched at the Freescale Tech Forum, Orlando this year.

Keskar noted: "We offer designers the flexibility of seamless migration from 8-bit to 32-bit. We have launched two products -- the MC9S08QE128 – 8-bit controller and the MCF51QE128 – 32-bit Coldfire V1 core." These controllers are pin-to-pin compatible. All designers need to do is to change the daughter card on the development system to migrate from 8bit to 32bit.

This core is powerful -- the core operating frequency is 50MHz, and the bus frequency is 25MHz. This part has 128 Kilobytes flash memory and 8Kbytes of RAM. This is on chip. It has 24 channels of ADCs. It has two serial communication ports and has built in real-time clock. The operating voltage is 1.8-3.6V. These are both low power devices and operates from -40 to 85 degC. "These are targeted at consumer and industrial. They allow seamless connectivity and migration," he added.

Do users or designers have to pay higher to be able to use these? Keskar clarified that when migrating from 8- to 32-bit, one need not pay higher price. "The price delta is less than 10 percent. The MC9S08QE128 is available at $3.59, and the second one at $3.80. These are currently sampling and shipping," he added.

Ease of migration and low power
The Flexis series of MCUs allow ease of migration and low-power. Developers get powerful architecture in compact sizes
According to Keskar, the biggest differentiator is that pin compatibility from 8- to 32-bit for seamless migration is unique, as well as support from the Freescale local team. "The key thing is time-to-market. In tech support, we've strong field application engineers," he noted.

As for applications, customers can design home appliances – e.g. washing machine controls, industrial automation, home automation, home security, and also medical electronics. A wide range of consumer and industrial applications can be targeted by these microcontrollers.

According to him, this is first time compatibility between 8- and 32-bit – an industry first. This is exactly what designers are looking at. India has lot of design services companies doing global projects. Others are doing R&D work in India. Hence, India is more strategic and unique. Therefore, this product is of relevance to these designers/ developers.

Established in 1953, Freescale was the semiconductor division of Motorola Inc. for over 50 years. It was separated from Motorola, wihch was completed in December 2004. Freescale was acquired in 2006 for $17.6 billion by a consortium of equity firms led by Blackstone Group in the largest ever leveraged buyout in the technology sector.

Freescale is now a privately held company with 24,000 workers globally. Last year, its revenues stood at $6.4 billion, of which $1.2 billion was invested into R&D on silicon wafer technology and VLSI chip design. In India, Freescale has over 1000 employees, 750+ in Noida and 250+ in Bangalore.

Freescale's business is divided into three business groups. Keskar said, "We are the no. 1 suppliers for automotive electronics globally." Its Transportation and Standard Products Group (TSPG) has 8-, 16- and 32-bit microcontrollers and sensors. Other markets addressed are consumer and industrial.

The second group is the Networking and Computing Systems, which focuses on telecom, wired and wireless. In telecom infrastructure, Freescale holds over 70 percent share in communications processors.

The third group is the Wireless and Mobility Systems, which focuses on GSM chipsets, 3G (W-CDMA), and also HSPA. The ARM based SoCs are also part of the Wireless group.