Infineon Helps to Build Smart Industrial Machines; Announces Microcontroller Development Kit Supporting IO-Link V1.1 Standard Communication Systems

Neubiberg and Nuremberg, Germany – November 23, 2010 – Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) today at the SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2010 tradeshow announced the release of a design evaluation kit for development of communication systems supporting the IO-Link V1.1 standard, using the company’s 16-bit XE166 and 8-bit XC800 microcontrollers. The industry first solution leverages the real-time performance of the XE166 MCU and the cost-effective XC800 device for system designs that support up to eight IO-Link channels on the master with a FIFO buffer for each channel. Developed in cooperation with highly experienced partners in industrial automation, the Infineon IO-Link evaluation kit allows equipment manufacturers to easily evaluate the functionality of a complete IO-Link-based master-device combination.

IO-Link is a standardized point-to-point communication system that simplifies integration of sensors and actuators into factory automation systems. It offers various benefits for end users including easier and less expensive cabling, remote diagnostics and configuration. An IO-Link system consists of an IO-Link master and one or more IO-Link devices (sensors or actuators). The IO-Link master provides the interface to the PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) and controls the communication between connected IO-Link devices. IO-Link enables a robust communication with built-in error detection and easy integration into well-established field bus systems with reduced and unshielded cabling. As an open interface, IO-Link can be integrated into all common field bus and automation systems.

Easy-to-use and turnkey evaluation kit

Infineon has developed a low-cost USB kit allowing customers to easily evaluate an IO-Link master and device configuration using the high performance 16-bit XE164 as master and the low-cost 8-bit XC822 for the device node. Supported by its partners Hitex Development Tools, Technologie Management Gruppe, supplier of IO-Link software stack, and the Zentrum Mikroelektronik Dresden AG (ZMDI), leading provider of IO-Link PHY devices, Infineon provides a complete solution including tool chains and evaluation copies of the IO-Link software stack for both master and device. The kit includes a USB stick as the XE164-based master node including physical transceiver PHY and supporting four IO-Link channels, a single 8-bit XC822 based device node, cabling, demos and documentation. Additional projects using the 8-bit XC800 as a device have also been developed with the partners HMT microelectronic, supplier of IO-Link physical transceivers and IP, and MESCO Engineering, supplier of IO-Link device software stack.

About the XE164

The master node of the Infineon IO-Link solution is based on the XE164, a member of the XE166 16-bit microcontroller family. The XE166 real-time signal controllers offer 32-bit performance on 16-bit devices, with up to 100 MIPS and integrated MAC unit with complete DSP library. The scalable family include devices with Flash sizes from 128KB to 1600KB and packages from 64-pin to 176-pin. Up to four independent PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) units and fast AD (analog to digital) converters with 600ns conversion time are part of the powerful peripheral set.

About the XC822

The intelligent device node of the IO-Link kit is based on the low-cost XC822, one of the latest members of the scalable XC800 8-bit MCUs. With the XC800 family, Infineon has combined an 8051-core with embedded flash memory up to 64Kbyte. To reduce system costs, features such as oscillator, voltage regulator, EEPROM and supervisory circuits are integrated. Different flash sizes, scalable peripherals and innovative features like an MDU (Multiply Division Unit) co-processor make it easy to select the right product for a dedicated application. The peripherals include a Capture/Compare Unit for flexible PWM generation and an enhanced fast AD converter for precise measurement and hardware synchronization to PWM.

Availability

The Infineon I/O-Link kit is already available and can be ordered under www.infineon.com/io-link.

Infineon presents additional information on the its IO-Link solution at SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2010 in Nuremberg (Hall 1, Booth 531) or at the joint booth of the “Profibus Nutzer Organisation”, PNO (Hall 6, Booth 210).

Further information on the microcontroller portfolio and the IO-Link solution of Infineon is available at www.infineon.com/io-link.

Details on the IO-Link standard can be found at www.io-link.com.

Infineon Technologies AG, Neubiberg, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions addressing three central challenges to modern society: energy efficiency, mobility, and security. In the 2009 fiscal year (ending September), the company reported sales of Euro 3.03 billion with approximately 25,650 employees worldwide. With a global presence, Infineon operates through its subsidiaries in the U.S. from Milpitas, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore, and in Japan from Tokyo. Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX) and in the USA on the over-the-counter market OTCQX International Premier (ticker symbol: IFNNY).