Freescale Shipments of 16-Bit Automotive Microcontrollers Surpass 100 Million Units a Year
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Industry-leading S12 MCU family integrates scalable flash memory, high-performance coprocessor and FlexRay(TM) technology
S12XF Signature Graphic
AUSTIN, Texas - April 10, 2007 - Freescale Semiconductor, the leading supplier of semiconductors to the automotive industry, is now shipping its popular S12 16-bit automotive microcontrollers (MCUs) at a rate of more than 100 million units a year. The company achieved this volume shipment milestone while maintaining an exceptionally low defect rate of less than one part per million. And, the pace of S12 product shipments continues to grow significantly in 2007.
Freescale S12 and S12X MCU families are designed to enable scalability, hardware and software reuse, and compatibility across a broad array of automotive electronics platforms such as body, chassis and safety systems. The most widely adopted 16-bit architecture in the automotive market, the S12 family offers a broad range of performance and memory options (with on-chip flash scaling from 16KB to 1MB) and a smooth migration path to higher-performance S12X devices.
"Reaching this significant shipment milestone is a testament to Freescale's strong global customer relationships and the broad market adoption of our 16-bit S12 automotive MCU portfolio," said Ray Cornyn, Freescale's automotive MCU operations manager. "The S12 and S12X families offer a full range of compatible, 16-bit price/performance options, providing greater flexibility for body electronics designers. As the leading supplier of automotive MCUs, we continue to evolve our portfolio to meet the market needs for zero-defect quality and support for critical automotive industry standards, such as FlexRay technology."
High-performance coprocessor and FlexRay(TM) technology
Freescale's S12 architecture features two integration innovations that are vital for high-performance 16-bit automotive system designs: an on-chip XGATE coprocessor and integrated FlexRay(TM) technology.
Introduced on the S12X architecture in 2004, the RISC-based XGATE coprocessor addresses the design challenge of achieving higher MCU performance without the cost and complexity of adding separate processors. Running at twice the speed of the main CPU and without any CPU processing overhead, the XGATE coprocessor is engineered to boost system performance by an additional 80 MIPS at peak operation. S12X MCUs with XGATE are designed to deliver performance equivalent to many 32-bit MCUs, while retaining the low system cost and high code efficiency benefits of Freescale's S12 architecture.
FlexRay technology provides up to 10 times the speed of existing communications protocols for automotive networks. This results in more nimble and versatile stability control systems, more precise engine management and weight-saving electronic "brake-by-wire" systems that eventually may replace bulky hydraulic brakes.
Smallest FlexRay controller sampling
In related news, Freescale has begun sampling the MC9S12XF MCU family to selected automotive manufacturers. The MC9S12XF family features the smallest FlexRay technology-enabled MCUs available in the industry. Based on Freescale's high-volume S12 architecture, the MC9S12XF family provides a high-performance distributed control solution for embedded nodes on FlexRay networks used in body, chassis and safety applications. In addition to offering FlexRay technology, the S12XF family devices integrate Freescale's performance-boosting XGATE coprocessor.
For more information about Freescale's S12 and S12X families and automotive MCUs, visit www.freescale.com/files/pr/s12x.html.
About Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. is a global leader in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for the automotive, consumer, industrial, networking and wireless markets. The privately held company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development, manufacturing or sales operations in more than 30 countries. Freescale is one of the world's largest semiconductor companies with 2006 sales of $6.4 billion (USD). www.freescale.com
Freescale Technology Forum
The Freescale Technology Forum (FTF) has become the developer event of the year for the embedded semiconductor industry. The Forum, which debuted in 2005, has been enthusiastically received by the global developer community, drawing more than 12,000 attendees at FTF events worldwide since its inception. For more information about FTF events, please go to www.freescale.com/ftf.
Media Contacts:
Americas
Dale Weisman
Freescale Semiconductor
(512) 895-2795
dale.weisman@freescale.com
