Freescale and TMG TE Develop First PROFIBUS Interface Certified on Freescale Silicon
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Scalable, single-chip solution based on Freescale's popular Tower development environment addresses Layer 2 through 7 processing; includes TMG PROFIBUS stack integrated on Freescale QorIQ P1025 device
BENGALURU, India (Freescale Technology Forum) - Freescale Semiconductor (NYSE: FSL) and TMG TE GmbH have successfully certified their first joint Process Field Bus (PROFIBUS) reference design through the authorized ComDeC PI Test Laboratory in Furth, Germany. The solution integrates the commercial TMG PROFIBUS DP slave protocol stack on Freescale's QorIQ P1025 multicore processor in a Freescale Tower System development platform module, called the TWR-P1025.
The PROFIBUS solution developed for the TWR-P1025 can port to additional QorIQ P1 family processors, including the P1012, P1021, P1016 and P1025 products, as well as Freescale's MPC8309 PowerQUICC processor.
PROFIBUS is a popular field bus (communication) technology commonly used in industrial automation equipment, and is overseen by the PROFIBUS and PROFINET International (PNO/PI) organization. Through better control and online diagnostics, PROFIBUS enables improved asset management for industrial equipment, helping to ensure lower life cycle costs, better quality and higher productivity.
"For the first time, our customers can combine their control application simultaneously with PROFIBUS and/or PROFINET industrial protocols using a single Freescale processor," said Nikolay Guenov, marketing director for Freescale's Networking Processor Division. "This PI-certified reference platform helps reduce chip counts and system costs by connecting the QorIQ P1025 processor directly to an RS-485 transceiver, thereby eliminating the need for separate PROFIBUS ASICs or FPGAs."
The TWR-P1025 module is part of the Freescale Tower System portfolio, a modular development platform consisting of more than 50 controller and peripheral modules, enabling rapid prototyping and tool reuse through reconfigurable hardware. The TWR-P1025 processor module also can operate as a stand-alone single board computer (SBC) development platform.
For PROFIBUS evaluation, the TWR-P1025 controller module is enabled with an executable version of the TMG PROFIBUS software stack, Freescale PROFIBUS layer 2 microcode and applications programming interface (API) source code.
Earlier this year, Freescale demonstrated a PROFIBUS pre-release solution running on the TWR-P1025 module at the 2012 Embedded World conference and at the Freescale Technology Forum-San Antonio.
About the QorIQ and PowerQUICC processors
Freescale's QorIQ P1 processor family includes single- and dual-core options that integrate Power Architecture® cores with a single precision floating point unit, 256 KB L2 cache, a DDR2/3 memory controller with ECC protection, an integrated security engine and extensive connectivity including dual gigabit Ethernet, dual PROFIBUS, dual UART, SPI, I2C, dual PCI Express®, dual USB and GPIO. QorIQ P1 processors are also capable of simultaneously running PROFINET, EtherCAT® and EtherNet/IP(TM) with performance headroom to spare for additional applications.
The MPC8309 PowerQUICC processor delivers 835 DMIPS of core performance at less than 1.6 watts. Critical control applications benefit from its double-precision floating point unit, ECC-protected DRAM memory, and extensive connectivity (dual 10/100 Ethernet, quad CAN, dual UART, SPI, I2C, PCI, USB and GPIO).
Both the MPC8309 and the QorIQ P1 family of processors are included in the Freescale Product Longevity Program, which ensures they will be available for a minimum 10 years from time of launch. For terms and conditions or to obtain a list of available products please see www.freescale.com/productlongevity.
Availability
The Freescale PROFIBUS reference platform is available now for purchase from Freescale or its distribution partners, by ordering the TWR-P1025-KIT at an MSRP of $299 (USD). The kit includes a TWR-P1025 processor module, TWR-IND-IO peripheral module, and TWR-ELEV elevator/backplane modules. Get started at www.freescale.com/profibusQorIQ
The QorIQ P1025 and its single-core equivalent QorIQ P1016 processor are available now starting from an MSRP of $35.16 (USD) and $29.89 (USD) respectively, in quantities of 10,000 units. The MPC8309 processor is available now at an MSRP of $8 (USD) in quantities of 10,000 units. The commercial TMG PROFIBUS DP protocol stack is available from TMG. More information about PROFIBUS, PROFINET, EtherCAT® and EtherNet/IP(TM) solutions from Freescale and partners is available at www.freescale.com/industrialnetworking.
About Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor is a global leader in embedded processing solutions, providing industry leading products that are advancing the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets. From microprocessors and microcontrollers to sensors, analog integrated circuits and connectivity - our technologies are the foundation for the innovations that make our world greener, safer, healthier and more connected. Some of our key applications and end-markets include automotive safety, hybrid and all-electric vehicles, next generation wireless infrastructure, smart energy management, portable medical devices, consumer appliances and smart mobile devices. The company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development, manufacturing and sales operations around the world. www.freescale.com.
