Micronas picks ARM Cortex-M3 for its embedded BDC motor control driver
Date: 11/12/2013
Micronas has selected ARM Cortex-M3 32-bit RISC processor for designing driver IC for brushless DC motor control. Micronas already has 8051 based brushless DC motor control IC. Micronas has licensed ARM Cortex-M3 for its performance features such as 3-stage pipeline withThumb-2 instruction set, hardware divider, and single-cycle multiplier. Micronas also praise ARM Cortex-M3 for its low latency interrupt handling, integrated sleep modes, debug and trace capabilities, and embedded software development tool chain.
"The integration of the ARM Cortex-M3 processor into our embedded controllers for smart actuators complements our already established 8051- processor-based solutions and enables us to target new motor driving applications requiring advanced processing capabilities" says Dirk Behrens, Vice President Automotive at Micronas. "This paves the way towards a new class of highly versatile and compelling single-chip smart actuator solutions while facilitating software development for our customers".
"The ARM Cortex-M3 offers new levels of intelligence, energy efficiency and control for a new breed of smart industrial and automotive products" says Noel Hurley, Vice President, Marketing & Strategy, Processor Division, ARM. "We are delighted Micronas has chosen to partner with ARM and look forward to working closely to improve the lives of users from the factory floor to the dashboard."
Micronas has integrated other functions such as digital and analog components including comparators, diagnosis and protection functions, programmable gain amplifier, A/D converter, communication interfaces, direct 12 V operation regulators, as well as power bridges. Micronas says its embedded controllers support various commutation schemes and can either be operated in a sensor-less or sensored mode in conjunction with the HAL 2xy and HAL 5xy switch or 2D rotational encoder families. Smart actuator system solutions are sought after in various applications, like DC motor drives, fans and pumps.
