NXP claims largest ARM MCU portfolio

By Colleen Taylor, Contributing Editor -- Electronic News, 9/17/2007

Netherlands-based Philips Electronics spin-off NXP Semiconductors today announced the latest expansion to their ARM http://www.arm.com microcontroller portfolio with the introduction of the LPC2900 series.

With this latest offering, NXP will add three ARM9 microcontrollers -- the LPC2919, the LPC2917 and the LPC291 -- to its portfolio, bringing the portfolio to more than 50 ARM technology-based MCUs. NXP claimed the additions make it the largest ARM MCU product vendor in the industry, a goal the company noted in July, when it acquired the ARM-based BlueStreak MCU product portfolio from Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas.

The LPC2900 is based on the high-performance ARM968E-S processor and targets applications in industrial, medical, motor control and automotive industries. The NXP LPC2900 microcontrollers are based on 80-MHz ARM968E-S MCUs with two CAN controllers and two LIN controllers, providing connectivity and gateway options that NXP claimed are suited for applications such as industrial automation and in-vehicle networking. Built around an ARM968E-S processor core, and with the help of an on-chip power management unit, NXP claimed that the LPC2900 can also consume power more efficiently for low power applications. Its peripherals, such as high-speed pulse width modulator and UARTs, can be clocked independently at different clock rates, NXP said. Other features include dual CAN interfaces, two LIN masters and standard serial buses.

The LPC2917 and LPC2919 have 32-bit external memory controllers that support static memory devices. The system can support up to 768KBytes of on-chip flash and 80KBytes SRAM, NXP said.  For compatibility with existing tools, each device uses the standard ARM test/debug JTAG interface.

The LPC2900 is available immediately in industrial temperature range and will be showcased at the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) in Boston this week. Higher temperature products will be available in 2008. Pricing for the LPC2900 ranges from $6.79 to $7.75 in 10 Ku volumes.