Evaluation Kit For Flash Microcontroller

SGS-THOMSON Microelectronics has introduced an evaluation kit for the ST10F166 high performance 16-bit microcontroller with on-chip flash memory. Comprising a development board, starter versions of 3rd party software tools and a full set of documentation and manuals, the ST10F166-KIT provides a low cost PC-based evaluation and development platform for one of the industry’s most versatile microcontrollers.

The hardware part of the kit is a PC hosted board containing the ST10F166BQ1 and 1Mbyte of external flash memory, complementing the 32Kbytes of flash memory included in the ST10F166 itself. The software tools include C-Compiler, Assembler, Linker and Debugger and are fully functional for programs up to 8Kbytes in length, more than enough to handle all evaluation and initial development requirements. The included flash memory programming software runs under Windows 3.1 and programs the full 32Kbyte on-chip memory as well as up to 1Mbyte of external flash memory.

Part of SGS-THOMSON’s popular ST10 family of 16-bit microcontrollers, the ST10F166 is particularly suited to embedded applications. Its integrated bank-erasable flash memory reduces chip count, improves performance by up to 15% in comparison with external memory and gives maximum flexibility in development, production, purchasing and inventory holding, while its very fast interrupt response time (less than 1 us) yields excellent performance in real-time applications.

Other key features of the ST10F166 include an 8-channel Programmable Event Controller that allows peripheral I/O to be handled without interrupting main program execution, a flexible external bus interface with five Chip Selects, a 16-Channel Capture/Compare Unit for interval timing and PWM/frequency generation of up to 16 signals, and a 10-Channel 10-bit A/D converter.

A major application area for the ST10F166 is expected to be industrial motor drive controls, where microprocessor control can provide accurate speed control under varying loads, controlled motor start-up and stopping, more economical operation, overload/fault detection and controlled system shut-down. With its rich support for analogue and digital I/O, a PWM capability up to 38kHz and the ability to continuously modify the control algorithms stored in the flash memory, the ST10F166 is ideally suited to this application.

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