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News Release

March 25, 1997

Hitachi to Release the H8S/2134F and H8S/2144F 16-bit Microcontrollers with On-Chip Single-Voltage Power Supply Flash Memory

- Microcontrollers designed for computer peripherals such as CD-ROM and DVD drives and commercial equipment achieving 20-MHz high-speed and low power operation -

Hitachi, Ltd. announces the release of two products, the H8S/2134F (80-pin version) and the H8S/2144F (100-pin version) of H8S Series, which are the Hitachi's high-end models of 16- bit microcontrollers. These products feature on-chip flash memory that supports write and rewrite operations from a single-voltage power supply. Sample shipments will begin in August 1997 in Japan. These two products operate from a 5-V single-voltage power supply, include 128 kbytes of flash memory, and operate at the high speed of 20 MHz. As such, they computer peripherals such as CD-ROM and DVD drives and commercial equipment, and furthermore can contribute to shorter development periods and allow program changes even after end products are shipped.

The ability to reload microcontroller programs at all stages in the product cycle from development and prototyping through first production and then mass production, as well as field programmability for easy parameter adjustment, have come to be strongly desired in the microcontrollers used in electronic equipment to support the increasing scale of the software used in these products, to provide reduced product development times, and to support product specification improvements and adjustments to the control data. The frequent changes to the software due to constantly changing customer requirements and the release of new versions in commercial equipment and computer peripherals such as CD-ROM and DVD drives have resulted in strong needs for on-chip flash memory microcontrollers that allow on-board programming. The H8/3437F Series and H8/3337YF Series F-ZTAT(TM) microcontrollers have been widely used in such applications. However, the performance increases in CD-ROM drives have been phenomenal, and CPUs with performance that can support higher speed CD-ROM access are now required. Also, larger memory spaces are now required in DVD drives.

To respond to these needs for increased performance and memory capacities, Hitachi has released the H8S/2134F (80-pin version) and the H8S/2144F (100-pin version) of the H8S Series. These two new microcontrollers both include 128 kbytes of single-voltage power supply flash memory on chip. These products are fabricated in a 0.5 micron CMOS process and include 128 kbytes of flash memory and 4 kbytes of RAM on chip. Although it was previously necessary to provide an external 12-V power supply for erasing and writing the flash memory these microcontrollers achieve 5-V single-voltage power supply operation by including a step-up circuit on chip, allowing the cost of the 12-V power supply to be saved in end products. The single-state execution of basic instructions(*2), which is a feature of the H8S Series, allows these microcontrollers to achieve 20-MHz operation at 5 V, 10- MHz operation at 3 V, and at least twice the performance of the earlier H8/3337YF Series at about 1/5 the power dissipation.

These microcontrollers include four multifunction timers, an 8-input A/D converter, and three serial communications interface channels as peripheral functions. These microcontrollers are upward compatible with the H8/3337YF and can use the basic functions provided by earlier software, allowing users to easily achieve improved performance and increased functionality in existing end product lines.

Additionally, due to the static circuit technology(*3) common to the H8S Series, these microcontrollers provide high-level power saving functions, including medium speed modes in which the CPU and other clocks are switched to function at rates from 1/2 to 1/32 that of the basic clock, a module stop function that allows the peripheral modules to be turned on or off individually, and a sleep mode. Thus these products can provide the fine low-power mode control required by portable equipment.

The H8S/2134F and H8S/2144F differ in the number of I/O pins, with the H8S/2134F providing 66 pins and the H8S/2144F providing 82 pins. The H8S/2134F is provided in an 80-pin plastic QFP package (with a 14 x 14-mm body and a 0.65-mm lead pitch) and an 80-pin plastic TQFP package (with a 12 x 12-mm body and a 0.5-mm lead pitch) and the H8S/2144F is provided in a 100-pin plastic QFP package (with a 14 x 14-mm body and a 0.5-mm lead pitch) and a 100-pin plastic TQFP package (with a 14 x 14-mm body and a 0.5-mm lead pitch).

Future developments in this area will include mask ROM versions of the H8S/2134F and H8S/2144F, as well as new versions with differing memory capacities. In particular Hitachi is developing an F-ZTAT(TM) version with 64 kbytes of flash memory, and mask ROM versions with 64, 96, and 128 kbytes of mask ROM. Additionally, Hitachi is planning to develop a version with improved personal computer communications functions and compact versions in 64-pin packages.

Note:
1. F-ZTAT(TM) (Flexible ZTAT) microcontroller
Microcontrollers that provide flexibility in system development by providing on-chip flash memory to allow application software to be reloaded easily with the microcontroller in the on-board state. F-ZTAT(TM) is a trademark of Hitachi, Ltd.

2. Single state execution of basic instructions
The H8S CPU executes frequently-used instructions, such as register to register operations in a single state (clock cycle). This CPU reduces the number of cycles required for instruction execution in the H8/300H CPU by 1/2 for essentially all (95%) instructions.

3. Static circuit
Unlike dynamic circuits, which require both a precharge period and a discharge period, static circuits dispense with the precharge period and allow faster operation and reduced power consumption due to a reduction in the frequency of signal state changes. These circuits can retain their state even without a clock, and thus are effective for low-speed operation.

Application Product Examples:
- CD-ROM drives, DVD drives, and other computer related equipment. Handy phone.

Pricing in Japan
Product no. Package Sample price (Yen)
HD64F2144FA20 QFP-100 3,000
HD64F2144TE20 TQFP-100 3,600
HD64F2134FA20 QFP-80 2,900
HD64F2134TF20 TQFP-80 3,500
HD64F2144FA10 QFP-100 3,000
HD64F2144TE10 TQFP-100 3,600
HD64F2134FA10 QFP-80 2,900
HD64F2134TF10 TQFP-80 3,500

Features:
1. On-chip single-voltage power supply flash memory
These microcontrollers do not need the external 12-V power supply required by earlier flash memory products for data erase and write operations. Also, they do not require a special tool for data writing and support on-board programming and reprogramming. This gives these microcontrollers the ability to reload application software at all stages in the product cycle from development and prototyping through first production and then mass production, providing great flexibility over a wide range.

2. High-speed operation and low power consumption achieved
These microcontrollers achieve 20-MHz operation at 5 V, 10-MHz operation at 3 V, and at least twice the performance of the earlier H8/3337YF Series at about 1/5 the power consumption.

3. Identical pin arrangement and upward compatibility with the H8/3337YF (H8S/2134F)
These two microcontrollers are upward compatible with the H8/3337YF Series, which has been widely used in computer-related and commercial equipment such as CD-ROM drives. This allows existing software assets to be reused. Additionally, the H8S/2134F adopts the same pin arrangement as the H8/3337YF, while the H8S/2144F adds an extra 16 I/O pins, allowing users to easily achieve increased system functionality and performance.

4. Low-voltage and low-power operation achieved
These microcontrollers provide a rich set of power saving functions, including a medium-speed mode, a sleep mode, and a module stop mode, and can efficiently reduce system power consumption.

Development Environment:
A user development environment that consists of the C compiler, assembler, linkage editor, librarian, simulator, debugger and other tools already available for the H8S series is available for these microcontrollers. Furthermore, these tools run on widely available personal computers and workstations. Additionally, the E6000 real-time emulator and other emulators are available as hardware support.

Specifications
Item H8S/2144F H8S/2134F
CPU Minimum instruction execution time: 50 ns (5 V), 100 ns (3 V)
RAM 4 kbytes
Bus controller Burst ROM interface
Timers One 16-bit free-running timer
Three 8-bit multifunction timers
Two 14-bit PWM timers
Two watchdog timers
Serial communications interface Three asynchronous/clock synchronous interface channels
A/D converter Resolution: 10 bits, inputs: 8
Interrupt controller Three-level interrupt control, external interrupts: 9
Low power consumption modes Medium-speed mode
Sleep mode
Module stop mode
Software/hardware standby modes
Subclock-related low-power consumption mode
Subactive mode
Watch mode
Clock oscillator 1:1 oscillator (The operating frequency is identical to the clock frequency.)
Flash memory Capacity 128 kbytes
Erasure units * Batch chip erase
* Block erase with the memory divided into 10 blocks
Number of write cycles 100
Write and erase voltage The same voltage as VCC (2.7V to 5.5 V)
Write time 10 ms/32 bytes (typical)
Erase time 100 ms (typical)
Write erase methods * CPU control technique (On-board programming under user program control)
* PROM writer technique
Number of I/O pins 82 66
Process 0.5 micron two AL layer CMOS
Package 100-pin QFP, 100-pin TQFP 80-pin QFP, 80-pin TQFP

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WRITTEN BY Secretary's Office
All Rights Reserved, Copyright (C) 1997, Hitachi, Ltd.