Infineon Provides 8-Bit Flash Microcontrollers With Extended Temperature Range Up To +140°C and 100,000 Read/Write Cycles

Munich, Nuremberg, Germany – February 13, 2007 – Today at the Embedded World Show 2007 in Nuremberg (February 13-15), Infineon Technologies (FSE/NYSE: IFX) announced availability of an 8-bit embedded flash microcontroller (MCU) product family that is qualified for operation of up to +140°C.  The new XC866 HOT microcontrollers exceed today’s maximum temperature performance of +85°C for industrial applications and +125°C typical in automotive applications.  This makes them ideal for use in system designs with high environmental or operating temperatures that would typically require costly and complex heat dissipation or cooling systems.  The new XC866 HOT products can now be applied directly onto the application diminishing the need for elaborate cooling and thus reducing overall system cost.

 

In the industrial sector, such high-temperature applications include motor controls for heating and furnace systems, and electronic controls embedded inside motor drives.  Automotive applications that require extended temperature ranges include cooling fans located close to the engine, throttle controls and turbochargers.

 

The XC866 HOT 8-bit microcontrollers with embedded flash memory feature up to 100,000 read/write cycles at +140°C.  This feature makes them currently the only MCUs in the market able to perform such data flash cycling at high temperatures.

 

The XC866 HOT family members are based on the standard 8051 architecture with on-chip flash memory of 4 kBytes, 8 kBytes or 16 kBytes.  Performance and cost-saving features of the XC866 include a 26.67 MHz system frequency, an on-chip oscillator and PLL for clock generation and an embedded voltage regulator supporting single voltage supply of 3.3 V or 5.0 V.  The MCUs feature a set of powerful peripherals, including a high-performance capture compare unit enabling flexible PWM signal generation with special modes for motor control; a fast 8-channel 10-bit AD converter allowing for a conversion time of less than 1.5 microseconds (µs) compared to the customary 6 to 10 µs; three 16-bit timers; UART; SSC (Synchronous Serial Channel); and on-chip debugging support (JTAG).  An XC866 family of compatible 8 kBytes or 16 kBytes ROM versions with +140°C capability will also be available to offer even further cost saving potential.

 

“The set of strong peripherals and superb real-time performance along with high quality standards and benchmark cost-performance-ratio have positioned the XC866 microcontroller families ahead of the competition,” said Dr. Christopher Hegarty, vice president and general manager of the Microcontrollers business unit at Infineon Technologies.  “In order to improve our customers’ competitiveness, it is our goal to be the most reliable microcontroller supplier, providing leading-edge embedded control in real-time system environments, and delivering the best quality to our customers.”

 

Availability, Packaging and Pricing of the XC866 HOT

 

XC866 HOT microcontrollers are fully qualified and currently available in volume production.

 

The XC866 comes in a green TSSOP-38 package for the -40°C to +140°C temperature range.  A full suite of low-cost development tools including starter kits, documentation, debuggers, and compilers are available now.

 

In quantities of 10,000, the XC866 HOT is priced at approximately Euros 1.80 (US-$ 2.30) per piece.

 

Infineon will present the new XC866 HOT microcontrollers at the Embedded World 2007 show (February 13-15, 2007, Nuremberg, Germany) at booth 432 in Hall 12.

 

Further information on Infineon’s XC866 HOT products and microcontroller portfolio is available at http://www.infineon.com/XC866HOT and www.infineon.com/microcontrollers

Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions addressing three central challenges to modern society including energy efficiency, mobility and security.  In fiscal year 2006 (ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 7.9 billion (including Qimonda sales of Euro 3.8 billion) with approximately 42,000 employees worldwide (including approximately 12,000 Qimonda employees).  With a global presence, Infineon operates through its subsidiaries in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore, and in Japan from Tokyo.  Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). Further information is available at www.infineon.com.