Renesas releases H8SX/1725F achieving highest operating speed of 80 MHz in 32-bit CISC MCU H8SX family for in-vehicle control systems

Renesas Technology Corp. has announced the development of the H8SX/1700 Series, featuring a maximum operating frequency of 80 MHz, as a new in-vehicle control system oriented series in the H8SX Family of microcontrollers incorporating an H8SX 32-bit CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer) CPU core. As the initial product, Renesas Technology is releasing the H8SX/1725F on-chip flash memory microcontroller for applications such as airbag and meter panel control in the H8SX/1720 Group. Sample shipments will begin in October 2007 in Japan.

Compared with Renesas Technology’s current H8SX/1500 Series products for in-vehicle systems, the H8SX/1700 Series incorporates a CPU core with an improved architecture, and offers higher performance through an approximate 1.7-fold increase in maximum operating frequency from 48 MHz to 80 MHz.
In addition, the H8SX/1725F being released in this phase incorporates high-speed flash memory with 1-cycle access capability at 80 MHz achieved through the use of advanced technology, together with a comprehensive set of on-chip peripheral functions, making it suitable for use in a wide range of in-vehicle control systems, including airbag and dashboard control systems, that require high performance and functionality.

Features of the H8SX/1725F are summarized below.

· High-performance H8SX CPU core featuring improved architecture and 80 MHz maximum operating frequency
The H8SX CPU core used in the H8SX/1725F features architectural improvements over the CPU core used in current H8SX Family products, and offers processing performance improvements such as faster execution of instructions. At the same time, the maximum operating frequency has been increased approximately 1.7-fold from 48 MHz to 80 MHz, enabling higher-level control to be implemented.

The instruction set of the CPU core is fully compatible with that of existing H8SX Family products, and upward-compatible with that of Renesas Technology’s H8S Family 16-bit microcontrollers. This allows user programs developed for H8SX Family and H8S Family systems to be used, thereby helping to reduce system development time.


· High-speed, high-reliability on-chip flash memory
Through the application of its proprietary technology, Renesas has developed high-speed flash memory capable of random access at up to 100 MHz, and the H8SX/1725F has 256 Kbytes of this high-speed flash memory on-chip for program storage use. This allows 1-cycle access by the CPU even at 80 MHz operation, enabling programs to be executed at high-speed, and thus making it possible to implement high-performance in-vehicle control systems. This flash memory can be programmed at high speed within a temperature range of –40°C to 85°C , and the 256-Kbyte programming time has been reduced by approximately two-thirds — from approximately 10 seconds to approximately 3 seconds — compared with Renesas’s current H8SX/1520 Series. This contributes a throughput improvement of programming process.

The H8SX/1725F also has on-chip data flash — that is, flash memory for data storage — for which 15-year data retention is guaranteed after 480,000 program and erasure. This memory can be used to replace external EEPROM (electrically erasable and programmable read only memory) previously provided for data storage purposes, helping to achieve both parts count and cost reductions. This data flash also newly incorporates a background operation (BGO) function that allows program storage flash memory to be accessed by the CPU — making application execution possible — even during rewriting of data flash contents. This enables data flash data rewriting to be performed efficiently when the CPU is operating.

· Comprehensive peripheral functions suitable for in-vehicle control systems
The H8SX/1725F includes a comprehensive set of peripheral functions. It is an easy-to-use microcontroller incorporating peripheral functions suited to in-vehicle control system use, including a high-speed serial interface that enables high-speed communication with a number of external chips, a CAN interface for in-vehicle LAN use, and a LIN interface. Other peripheral functions include a DMAC (Direct Memory Access Controller) and DTC (Data Transfer Controller) allowing high-speed data transfer. Communication and data operations are possible by using these functions in combination, enabling the CPU load to be reduced and other processing to be executed in parallel.

Typical Applications
Automotive field: Airbag control, meter panel control, chassis control, etc.
Industrial field: Factory automation equipment, etc.

Renesas Technology Hong Kong Limited