MCUs for inverter control systems

NEC Electronics has announced the availability of six new microcontrollers (MCUs) for inverter control systems, designed for advanced motor control applications in products such as air conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines.

The new devices feature high performance with advanced control functions for more precise motor control, as well as integration of formerly discrete components to help lower costs. The new offering includes four 100-pin V850E/IG3 MCUs and two 80-pin V850E/IF3 MCUs.

Compared with the company's prvious generaion of inverter control MCUs, the devices feature a four-fold increase in resolution of the A/D converter that detects motor rotation (4,096 discrete values,12 bits) and an approximately six-fold increase in gain ratio-to 13 steps-of the operational amplifier (op amp) that adjusts the level of motor status signals.

The comparator that protects a system from motor faults can detect overvoltages, and also measure undervoltage with respect to a reference level. Components that normally would have to be connected externally-including a voltage-generating regulator IC, a reset IC to initialise the microcontroller when it is powered on and a low-voltage indicator (LVI) circuit to detect low voltage-are integrated on chip. With their enhanced performance and high integration, these new devices allow designers to achieve more precise inverter control, at lower costs and with fewer parts.

With the addition of these new devices, NEC Electronics now offers a comprehensive lineup of 214 All Flash microcontrollers, ranging from compact and economical 8-bit devices to high-performance 32-bit models. Combined sales of NEC Electronics' 8-bit 78K0 MCUs (including mask ROM devices) and 16-bit 78K0R MCUs are expected to reach 100 billion yen in fiscal year 2009. Sales of NEC Electronics' 32-bit V850 microcontrollers are expected to reach the 100 billion yen mark in fiscal year 2008.

NEC Electronics