timers
are also available and include a programmable acquisition and
control timer ( PACT), which acts as a timer co-processor to offload
some of the timing tasks from the device's CPU.
HOUSTON (May 13, 1996) -- Texas Instruments has doubled the number of devices in its 8-bit family of microcontrollers, offering developers of embedded applications a wider selection of devices to more closely match the requirements of their designs. With 135 devices, TI's TMS370 microcontroller family now features higher functionality through a wide selection of memory sizes and types, multiple and more sophisticated timers, analog circuitry and other peripherals integrated on-chip.
"The market for 8-bit microcontrollers continues to expand rapidly as the microcontroller truly becomes the workhorse processor in many consumer and industrial applications," said Rod Trautman, TI's marketing manager for microcontrollers. "This major extension of the TMS370 family demonstrates TI's commitment to serving the individual needs of a broad range of consumer, telecommunications, industrial, PC peripheral and automotive applications. We recognize that every new design has a different set of requirements. Now, with one of the broadest selections of peripherals and memory integrated on-chip, we can cost-effectively match the requirements of most applications."
Because of its commitment to the microcontroller customer, TI
has added manufacturing capacity and increased the efficiencies
of these manufacturing processes to achieve eight to 12 week lead
times, one of the shortest lead times among major microcontroller
manufacturers and less than half that of several other major suppliers.
The company is dedicated to supplying the needs of both large
and small microcontroller users and is one of the few major microcontroller
supplier to provide low-cost ROM-based devices through distribution.
The TMS370 family now offers devices with 2K to 48K bytes of read
only memory (ROM) on-chip, random access memory (RAM) from 128
bytes to 3.5K bytes, and a wide selection of non-volatile EPROM
or EEPROM memory sizes. Powerful 16-bit single and multiple timers
are also available and include a programmable acquisition and
control timer ( PACT), which acts as a timer co-processor to offload
some of the timing tasks from the device's CPU.
A variety of double buffer synchronous and asynchronous serial
ports are offered as part of the TMS370 product family to reduce
CPU overhead, as well as four-, eight-and 15-channel ratiometric
analog-to-digital converters and on-chip EEPROM. I/O ranges from
22 pins to as many as 55. Packaging options include compact, space-saving
28-pin devices up through 68-pin packages for applications requiring
higher functionality.
To assist designers during prototype development, as well as for
small volume production runs, each of the 13 sub-families which
make up the TMS370 product line includes several one-time-programmable
(OTP devices. OTPs can be used until the project's software has
been fully tested or when the project moves into full production.
Then, when the project reaches higher volumes, TI provides a cost-effective
migration path to ROM-masked devices.
Designers are fully supported by a variety of development tools, beginning with a $99 PC-based starter kit which features a software simulator for debugging and break-point analysis as well as a programming board. Development tools with increasing capabilities include a design kit for full-speed emulation and symbolic debugging, a compact development tool (CDT) capable of real-time, in-circuit emulation, and an emulation workstation that provides breakpoint, trace and timing capabilities for complex system debug. All development tools support symbolic debugging in either assembly language or C source code.
Technical documentation, such as the TMS370 Application Notes
and Data Book, give microcontroller users extensive information
to simplify the development process. For example, the TMS370 Application
Notes includes sample software code for many frequently used routines.
This sample code can be easily implemented by designers to help
shorten design cycles.
The TMS370 microcontrollers are available now from TI and its
authorized distributors.
Packaged in several ceramic or plastic carriers including the
dual inline package (DIP), leaded chip carrier (LCC), and shrink
dual inline package (SDIP), suggested resale pricing in quantities
of 10,000 begins at less than $2.
Reader Inquiry: 1-800-477-8924, ext. 5300
Please refer to Profile #: SPN67
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