Low-Cost Cortex-M0 MCU from NXP targets 8/16-bit applications

LPC1100 Flash microcontroller family starting at 65 cents available in December

Eindhoven, Netherlands, November 16, 2009 – NXP today announced the availability of its ARM® Cortex™-M0 based LPC1100 microcontroller family from distributors in December. NXP’s LPC1100 is the lowest-priced 32-bit MCU solution in the market, bringing higher value and ease of use than existing 8/16-bit microcontroller through unprecedented performance, simplicity, low power, and more importantly, dramatic reductions in code size for all 8/16-bit applications. With 15 members initially, the LPC1100 family offers a seamless entry point for any 8/16-bit customers looking to start with the scalable ARM architecture throughout their entire range of product development.

“Existing 8-bit architectures have their origins in the early era of the semiconductor industry, resulting in limitations of address range, register restrictions, limited functionality, unsuitability for high-level languages, and little attention to power and scaling issues,” said Geoff Lees, vice president and general manager, microcontroller product line, NXP Semiconductors. “The Cortex-M0 processor core and system architecture take full advantage of today’s optimized low-power design tools, techniques, and the latest low-power, high-density silicon Flash process.”

Superior Performance

With over 45 DMIPS of performance compared to the sub-DMIP performance typical of 8-bit MCUs and 3 - 5 DMIPS for 16-bit MCUs, the LPC1100 can not only execute basic control tasks but also sophisticated algorithms, making even the most complex tasks within reach. Shorter time to do more tasks translates directly into lower energy consumption. This level of performance is delivered at 50 MHz, with extensive power optimization, at less than 10 mA.

Smaller Code Size

Completely shattering the myth that 8/16 bit microcontrollers use less code, industry standard Coremark benchmarks dramatically illustrate that the LPC1100 requires 40-50 percent smaller code for most common microcontroller tasks.

“It may be a big surprise to embedded users how much the LPC1100, a 32-bit microcontroller, outperforms in efficiency compared to 8- and 16-bit microcontrollers. If performance and energy consumption are important criteria for selecting a microcontroller, based on the results generated from EEMBC's CoreMark benchmark, embedded designers should check out the LPC1100 (especially with its $0.65 price tag) before committing to any 8- or 16-bit options with comparable features and pricing. The scores for the LPC1100 are already posted on CoreMark.org,” said Markus Levy, EEMBC President.

LPC1100 Features

Features of the NXP LPC1100 family of microcontrollers include:

• 50 MHz Cortex-M0 processor with SWD/debug (4 break-points)
• 32 Vectored Interrupts; 4 priority levels; Dedicated Interrupts on up to 13 GPIOs
• UART, 1 or 2 SPI, I2C (FM+); 2 16-bit and 2 32-bit timers with PWM/Match/Capture
• 12MHz Internal RC Oscillator with 1% accuracy over temperature and voltage
• Power-On-Reset (POR); Multi-level Brown-Out-Detect (BOD); 10-50 MHz Phase-Locked Loop (PLL)
• 8-channel high precision 10-bit ADC with ±1LSB DNL
• Up to 28 or 42 fast 5V tolerant GPIO pins for HVQFN33 and LQFP48 respectively, high drive (20 mA) on select pins
• Single 1.8 – 3.6V power supply; over 5kV ESD for rugged applications

Future product features will include: Ultra Low Power options, CAN, 12-bit ADC and DAC, temperature sensor, high resolution timer features, and advanced sensor interface.

The LPC1100 family is supported by development tools from IAR, Keil, Hitex, Code Red, and many others. NXP will also offer an easy to use, comprehensive development tool platform for under US$30.

Pricing and Availability

Recommended distribution unit pricing in 10,000 piece quantities for the 33-pin package is: LPC1111FHN33/101 at US$0.65, LPC1112FHN33/101 at $0.75, LPC1113FHN33/201 at $0.85, and LPC1114FHN33/201 at $0.95, with Flash sizes of 8K, 16K, 24K and 32K respectively. In addition, 48-pin LPQFP and PLCC44 packages will be available for socketed applications.

The NXP LPC1100 family will be available in early December 2009. Further information on the NXP LPC1100 microcontroller family is available at: http://www.standardics.nxp.com/microcontrollers/

About NXP Semiconductors

NXP Semiconductors provides High Performance Mixed Signal and Standard Product solutions that leverage its leading RF, Analog, Power, Digital Processing and manufacturing expertise. These innovations are used in a wide range of automotive, industrial, consumer, lighting, medical, computing and identification applications. Headquartered in Europe, the company has about 29,000 employees working in more than 30 countries and posted sales of USD 5.4 billion in 2008. News from NXP is located at www.nxp.com.