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Philips New CAN2.0B Compliant Microcontroller
XA-C3 incorporates CAN
transport layer support in hardware to boost CAN performance and decrease
design time for industrial and automotive applications
Philips
Semiconductors, has
announced a new member of the high-performance 16-bit XA family of
microcontrollers tailored for Controller Area Network (CAN) applications
such as high-performance industrial and automotive systems. The XA-C3 is
compliant with the CAN 2.0B standard and features Philips Semiconductors'
proven PeliCAN (Philips' Extended Library CAN) functionality,
incorporating a CAN transport layer co-processor to improve performance
and decrease system cost and design time.
The high
communications reliability of CAN devices makes this standard an ideal
solution for equipment control applications such as photo copiers, medical
equipment and factory automation. CAN microcontrollers are also useful in
applications such as electronic wheelchairs and navigational systems.
According to the CAN in Automation (CiA) Group, the number of CAN
application nodes in 1998 was 60 million units and this number is expected
to have grown by nearly 50% in 1999 and more than 50% by the end of
2000.
"Philips
Semiconductors is committed to providing highly integrated microcontroller
solutions to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding CAN market," said
Geoff Lees, marketing director for Philips Semiconductors' Microcontroller
Business Line. "The XA-C3 combines Philips Semiconductors' experience in
the CAN transceiver and 16-bit microcontroller markets to provide design
engineers with a high-performance CAN 2.0B solution at a low
cost."
The XA-C3 is a member
of Philips Semiconductors' eXtended Architecture (XA) family of
microcontrollers and combines standard peripherals with a PeliCAN CAN 2.0B
engine to support the maximum CAN data rate of 1 Mbps. It features 32K of
One Time Programmable (OTP) program memory and 1K of on-chip data Static
Random Access Memory (SRAM). The chip also includes a Universal
Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) and Serial Peripheral Interface
(SPI) port to enable integration of various serial interfaces to a CAN
network.
The device provides
support for CAN transport layer protocols such as DeviceNet, CANopen and
OSEK in hardware rather than leaving the responsibility to the designer to
implement in software, resulting in reduced Central Processing Unit (CPU)
overhead and increased power to run the application. In most cases, the
XA-C3's CAN co-processor reduces CPU overhead by up to 90% in comparison
to conventional CAN microcontrollers, and typically uses less than 2% of
the CPU resources for message handling, leaving almost 100% of the 16-bit
CPU core's resources available to run the application. This is achieved
through 32 CAN transport layer message objects that can be configured to
receive or transmit and 32 separate filters/screeners each allowing a
30-bit ID match and full 29-bit mask to represent a unique group
address.
The device supports
the C operating language and runs at a 32 MHz operating frequency at 4.5
to 5.5 V. The XA-C3 also supports multi-tasking and real-time operation
with a 16-level interrupt priority system that handles the 42 vectored
interrupts with fast context switching. In addition, the device includes
power-down and idle modes to enable low-power operation.
The company's Web site address is http://www-eu2.semiconductors.com/.
[Reprinted with kind permission from Philips Semiconductors]
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