New from Analog Devices is the Blackfin BF51x series, the newest members of the company’s convergent-processor family.
The new offerings continue to demonstrate the superior ability of the Blackfin convergent-processor architecture to reduce cost, power consumption, software complexity, and development schedules in a broad spectrum of mobile lifestyle, industrial and instrumentation, portable medical diagnostic and VoIP telephony applications. For additional information, please visit www.analog.com/BF51x. For the most up-to-date news, follow Blackfin at http://twitter.com/Blackfin.
The BF512, BF514, BF516 and BF518 are 16-/32-bit devices available at clock speeds up to 400 MHz (800 MMACS) and include 116 KBytes of RAM plus an optional 4 Mbits of serial (SPI) Flash memory. Each also integrates Lockbox security for code and content protection.
Integrated features include support for 16 stereo I²S digital-audio channels, 12 peripheral DMA channels, and an advanced memory controller for glueless connection to multiple banks of external SDRAM, SRAM, Flash or ROM. Each processor includes two dual-channel synchronous serial communication ports (SPORTs), a high-speed parallel peripheral interface (PPI), an I²C compatible two-wire interface, dual PC-compatible UARTs, and two SPI-compatible interface ports.
All of the new Blackfin processors include dynamic power management (DPM) functionality that lets developers match the processor’s power consumption to processing requirements during program execution. To maximise energy efficiency, the devices use a range of design techniques including programmable voltage and frequency scaling, clock-cycle resolution dynamic clock gating, multiple power domains that support deep-sleep and hibernate modes, high code density to minimise bus-activation energy, mixed threshold-voltage transistor utilisation, a full-custom processor core, judicious use of hardware accelerators, and support for mSDRAM to minimise board-level power consumption.
The BF512 is the new low-cost entry point in the Blackfin processor family. The device balances performance, peripheral integration, and price, and is well suited for cost-sensitive applications including portable test equipment, embedded modems, biometrics and consumer audio. All members of the BF51x family also include a new 3-phase PWM generation unit for inductive motor control applications and a quadrature interface for rotary encoders.
The BF514, BF516, and BF518 all extend the convergent processor family further into the portable application space with on-chip removable-storage interfaces. All three devices include secure digital input output (SDIO) for connectivity to standard Flash memory and Wi-Fi cards; a power-optimised CE-ATA storage interface for small form-factor handheld and consumer electronics applications; and an embedded multimedia card (eMMC) interface for integrating mass-storage Flash memory in a wide range of consumer electronics, wireless, navigation and industrial applications.
For developers of network-connected industrial and instrumentation applications, the BF516 adds an Ethernet 10/100 MAC with Media Independent Interface (MII) and Reduced Media Independent Interface (RMII). Highly integrated for industrial, portable and VoIP applications, the BF518 Ethernet MAC supports the IEEE-1588 clock synchronisation protocol for networked measurement and control systems.
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