Eliminates Need for External Frame Buffer Memory in WVGA TFT-LCD Panel Display Applications for Digital Car Audio and Automotive, Consumer, and Industrial Applications
Renesas Electronics, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the availability of two new 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs), the SH7268 and SH7269. They deliver increased functionality and enable a smaller-size solution for digital car audio, consumer, and industrial applications that drive a colour TFT-LCD. These new MCUs share the following features: (1) large-capacity 2.5 megabyte (MB) on-chip SRAM that is almost double the size of the predecessor SH7266 MCU, allowing display of WVGA resolution (800 × 480) images without any external RAM; (2) maximum CPU operating frequency is 1.8 times faster (now at 266 megahertz (MHz), elevating performance to handle additional system tasks plus digital audio signal processing; (3) enhanced functions such as a 2D graphics accelerator compliant with OpenVG 1.1, the industry’s standard graphics processing programming interface (API) for embedded equipment.
Renesas Electronics’ new SH7268 and SH7269 MCUs in the SuperH family are based on the SH2A-FPU (floating point unit) superscalar CPU core, which provides superlative real-time performance and a double-precision floating point math unit, while integrating many peripheral functions for audio and graphic applications.
Because the price of colour TFT-LCD panels continues to fall, a wide variety of products using an embedded processor are now gaining a colour 2D graphics display for the user interface, enhancing the overall perceived value of the end product, and making their use naturally intuitive. The trend is to use higher and higher resolutions on the displays (up to WVGA), which requires a proportionally larger RAM frame buffer memory outside the MCU. Since Renesas Electronics’ SH7268 and SH7269 MCUs uniquely have an extremely large internal SRAM, there is no need for this external memory, saving power and space, increasing performance, and lowering emissions of electromagnetic interference. Many applications that can benefit from these attributes include automotive infotainment and vehicle status displays, office automation equipment, home appliances, games, medical patient monitoring equipment, home and building automation equipment, and fire/security control panels.
Following are key features of the new capabilities of the SH7268 and SH7269 MCUs:
(1) Large-capacity 2.5 MB on-chip SRAM supports one-chip solution
By including 2.5 MB of on-chip SRAM, the new MCUs can store the required image information for two screens of WVGA resolution when the SRAM is used as a frame buffer. For users of the previous generation SH7266 MCUs with VGA resolution (640 x 480), this is a natural upgrade path to WVGA without requiring any external frame buffer memory.
This built-in 2.5MB SRAM can also be used for program storage or as working memory. Since the memory space is divided into six pages, multiple pages can be accessed at the same time from different bus masters, making these MCUs optimal for real-time processing.
(2) Achieves 266 MHz high-speed operation
To take full advantage of the high-speed SRAM, and to produce faster signal processing for digital audio, the maximum CPU operating frequency has been increased by a factor of 1.8 compared to the existing SH7266 MCU, now achieving 266 MHz. The maximum CPU performance is reached when the 1-cycle access SRAM is used for program storage. The higher speed increases system capability by making it possible to respond to voice commands during audio playback or to implement noise reduction processing for hands-free telephone applications.
(3) Improved display functions, including an OpenVG 1.1 conforming 2D graphics accelerator
The new MCUs include a 2D graphics accelerator supporting the OpenVG 1.1 industry standard, providing high-precision 2D graphics display capability, with reduced loading on the CPU core itself, and reduced memory footprint, for a cost-effective enhanced HMI (human-machine interface).
Additionally, these MCUs include a hardware JPEG codec, and can therefore perform image data compression and JPEG data decoding at high speeds. Also, there are digital RGB output pins that support a full-colour display with almost 17 million colours at WVGA resolution.
With a total selection of 12 products among the SH7268 and SH7269 devices, Renesas Electronics offers options with and without a CAN interface, and two temperature ranges (-40 to +85°C and -20 to +85°C). The SH7268 MCU is available in a 208-pin QFP package, and the SH7269 is available in both 256-pin QFP and 272-pin BGA packages.
