Infineon Technologies AG introduced its new XMC4800
series of 32-bit microcontrollers with on-chip EtherCAT node at the Hannover
Messe 2015.
Infineon is the first semiconductor company to offer
the EtherCAT node integrated on an ARM Cortex-M-based microcontroller with
on-chip Flash and analogue/ mixed signal capability. Comprising of at least 18
members varying in memory capacity, temperature range and packaging, all
XMC4800 microcontrollers will be AEC Q100 qualified, making them suitable for
use in commercial, construction and agricultural vehicles.
Maurizio Skerlj, Senior Director, Industrial and
Multimarket Microcontrollers, Infineon Technologies explains that the XMC4800
series simplifies the implementation of EtherCAT to a degree not yet available
in the market. The XMC4800 enables very compact system designs with EtherCAT
connectivity as there is no need for a dedicated EtherCAT ASIC, external memory
and clock crystal. Combined with its outstanding real-time capability, the
XMC4800 series is expected to drive networked industrial automation and
Industry 4.0 applications.
Martin Rostan, Executive Director of the EtherCAT Technology
Group is confident the new Infineon XMC4800 microcontrollers will be welcomed
by the EtherCAT community. In addition to vendors benefitting from the
extensive range of peripherals on this EtherCAT chip, reducing the bill of
materials, the extended temperature range will further accelerate EtherCAT
adoption in mobile machines.
A member of the XMC4000 family, which uses the ARM
Cortex-M4 processor, the XMC4800 series was specifically developed for use in
the automation of manufacturing and buildings as well as electric drives and
solar inverters. The XMC4800 series offers a seamless upgrade path to EtherCAT
technology with pin and code compatibility to the established XMC4000
microcontrollers. The XMC4800 also enables the use of EtherCAT in harsh ambient
temperature up to 125°C.
Key features of the XMC4800 series microcontrollers
include 144MHz CPU, up to 2MByte of embedded Flash memory and 352Kbytes of RAM;
four parallel fast 12-bit A/D converter modules, two 12-bit D/A converters,
four delta sigma demodulator modules, six capture/compare units (CCU4 and
CCU8), and two positioning interface modules as peripherals; communication
functions comprising of interfaces for Ethernet, USB, and SD/MMC; and six CAN
nodes, six serial communication channels and one external bus interface for
communication.
BECKHOFF Automation is part of the EtherCAT Technology
Group.