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CYGNAL PROCESSOR

by Tom Cantrell

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The 8-bit MCU is the Clark Kent of chips. On the surface, you see a meek everyday Joe, but underneath is a heart of steel.

Although 8-bit MCUs may not sizzle like the latest Wunderchips, they have a beefy bottom line to the tune of billions of units per year. Personally, I find the deeply embedded apps enabled by MCUs far more interesting than the desktop, where I need a 64-bit blowhard and a huge supply of bloatware just to type in my stories.

Because Iıve covered the 8-bit MCU market over the years, I know that the little chips have remained immensely popular with designers who consistently rank them as number-one favorites for design-ins. Back in ı98, I gave a presentation entitled "8-bits: Onward and Upward" at the Embedded System Conference, in which I forecasted a rosy future and highlighted what I saw as the major trends (see Figure 1).

Figure 1ıYou can see from the slide I used in ı98 that the 8-bit MCU trends I forecasted appear to continue apace, and on-chip debugging and low power should be added to the list.

Not bad prognosticating, judging by the recent announcement of the C8051F000 from startup Cygnal Integrated Products (see Figure 2).

8 BIT LIVES

Does the world really need another 8-bit MCU? Probably not at the low end. The under-a-buck arena is for heavyweights only and not a safe place for a startup, no matter how clever or nimble it may be.

But, the neat thing about the 8-bit market is how broad it is, encompassing everything from the lean-and-mean jellybean in a toy or appliance, to high-integration chips in office and communications equipment. Donıt forget the intriguing field-programmable SOCs (8-bit MCUs with FPGAs) from Triscend and Atmel, nor the growing catalog of ASIC and FPGA 8-bit MCU core IP from design houses big (e.g., Mentor Graphics) and small (e.g., VAutomation, recently acquired by ARC).

A market this big and dynamic encourages technical innovation. Although it rarely makes the headlines, MCU suppliers continue to slowly but surely add new features and capabilities. Itıs kind of like watching your kids grow. Hard to notice any change from day to day, but all of a sudden, the little tyke you bounced on your knee wants to borrow the car.

The Cygnal ıC51 is object-code compatible with the 8051 of the good old days. It has the same peripherals and control registers (SFRs) with all the bits in the right places. But, look closer and youıll see that 8-bit MCUs have come a long way.

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