Tech Shout!

Freescale Semiconductor has released the ColdFire microprocessor range, which is created to allow low-power, high-performance embedded systems running the Linux OS. With this move, Freescale further extends the array of price-performance options within its Controller Continuum. I t delivers 410 Dhrystone MIPS (DMIPS) core performance at around 380 mW, these latest ColdFire microprocessors are designed to be reasonable for the developer’s system power budget, while making possible exceptional system-level performance.

Freescale’s MCF5445x family packs in 12 advanced microprocessors that integrate a rich set of connectivity peripherals. The MCF5445x devices incorporate an on-chip memory management unit to support protected memory operating systems, such as the Linux OS. The MCF5445x family supports 10/100 Ethernet, USB On-The-Go (OTG), advanced technology attachment (ATA) and peripheral component interconnect (PCI), enabling easy integration of any PCI-based peripheral.

Tony Massimini, chief of technology at Semico Research Corporation said, “Freescale has expanded its ColdFire MCU portfolio by an impressive 25 percent with the launch of these 12 high-performance microprocessors, combined with the addition of 10 ColdFire MCUs for entry-level applications.” Adding, “The MCF5445x devices’ high level of performance at less than 400 mW is impressive makes them compelling solutions for power-sensitive applications that require flexible connectivity options.”

FreeScale’s MCF5445x family offers a broad choice of price, peripheral, power and performance options, thus making it a perfect choice for consumer applications, such as network-attached storage and Ethernet gateways. In addition, the processor family is also well-suited for a variety of embedded control applications, including industrial control, embedded voice over IP (VoIP), factory automation, point-of-sale terminals, test and measurement equipment, and health care equipment.

“The MCF5445x family hits the sweet spot in value, performance and integration for 32-bit microprocessors,” maintained Mike McCourt, vice president and general manager of Freescale’s Microcontroller Division. “Embedded system designers who previously thought this level of processing performance was unaffordable are now able to enhance their system designs by adding more performance and higher-speed connectivity.”

The high-performance V4 ColdFire microarchitecture featuring an advanced multiply-accumulate (eMAC) unit, hardware divide and a memory management unit (MMU) is what the MCF5445x microprocessors are based on. The MMU enables embedded designers to run protected-mode operating systems, such as Linux OS as well as other third-party real-time operating systems (RTOSs).

The MCF5445x family devices incorporate an on-chip DDR memory controller that supports DDR1, DDR2 and mobile DDR memory. Affordable DDR1/2 memory support combined with a cost-effective, non-volatile memory serial interface enables a serial boot ability developed to minimize system cost while maintaining exceptional system performance. The presence of a dual-role master/slave serial peripheral interface (SPI) enables other SPI devices to communicate with the MCF5445x as a master or slave, giving developers greater control in integrating other low-cost peripherals.

The main features and specs of MCF5445x family:

Performance of up to 410 Dhrystone 2.1 MIPS at 266 MHz

Memory management unit (MMU) and enhanced multiply-accumulate (EMAC) unit

16 KB I-Cache, 16 KB D-Cache

32 KB SRAM

Two 10/100 Ethernet MACs (external PHYs)

Hardware accelerated encryption

Random number generator

DES, 3DES, AES, block cipher engine

MD5, SHA-1, HMAC, hash accelerator

ATA/ATAPI-6 controller (UDMA100 capable)

3 UARTs

DMA supported serial peripheral interface (DSPI) with serial boot facility

I2C bus interface

Synchronous serial interface (SSI) for audio codec capability

USB 2.0 Host/Device/On-The-Go Controller

Full speed/low speed transceiver

High-speed ULPI support

Four-channel 32-bit timers with DMA support

Four-channel periodic interrupt timer

16-channel DMA controller

16-bit 133/266MHz DDR2/DDR controller

Supports Mobile DDR, DDR1, and DDR2

Up to 135 general-purpose I/O

System integration (PLL, SW Watchdog)

1.5V core; 1.8V/2.5V SDRAM bus; 3.3V I/O

Low-power operation for energy-efficient designs

Total device power of less than 1W (running Linux OS with example applications, such as WebServer and MP3 decode and playback)

Approximately 380 mW core power at 410 DMIPS

Lowest stop mode approximately 6 mW

Highly flexible power-management modes including low-power run capability

Temperature ranges: 0 degrees C to +70 degrees C, -40 degrees C to +85 degrees C

Packages: 360 PBGA, 256 MAPBGA

A wide ecosystem of hardware and software development tools, including full-featured evaluation kits, complimentary Linux board support packages and third-party software tools support the MCF5445x family.

Complimentary Linux solutions for MCF5445x devices, powered by CodeSourcery’s complete GNU C Compiler (GCC) toolchain, allows fast time to market supported by a royalty-free, open-source software solution. The development kit includes an evaluation board with preinstalled Linux OS and demonstration applications, along with a DVD with Linux OS and full development system for out-of-the-box productivity.

In addition, the MCF5445x evaluation kit also includes a complimentary Preview Release of Freescale’s CodeWarrior Development Studio for ColdFire Architectures v7 to help developers get their applications up and running quickly.

The MCF5445x family devices start from $9.95 (suggested resale pricing) in 10,000-unit quantities. The M54455EVB evaluation system is comes at a suggested resale price of $850.