Renesas Technology Releases Low-priced E100 Emulator for Engineers Developing Embedded Systems with 8- to 32-B

Renesas Technology Releases Low-priced E100 Emulator for Engineers Developing Embedded Systems with 8- to 32-Bit CISC Microcontrollers

Compact, easy-to-use, full-spec emulator with powerful debugging capabilities supports devices in M16C, H8SX, and other CISC MCU families

SAN JOSE, Calif. — June 4, 2008 — Renesas Technology America, Inc. today announced the E100 full-spec emulator*1, an expansion of its extensive line of development tools for engineers designing embedded systems that use microcontrollers (MCUs). The E100 improves the system design process by offering enhanced ease of use and performance compared to currently available emulators, while providing advanced debugging capabilities. The new development tool directly addresses the need for more efficient debugging environments, a need mandated by the increased functional complexity of MCU-based products and the shorter development cycle characteristic of highly competitive international markets. The E100 works with new and future devices in the M16C, H8SX, H8S, H8, and R8C families of 8- to 32-bit CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer) devices and allows real-time in-circuit emulation at bus cycle speeds up to 130MHz.

The new emulator comprises two components: a compact (73× 184×132mm) main unit and a plug-in, series-specific MCU function unit. This modular design costs much less than previous Renesas emulators — over 50 percent less. Moreover, after the initial purchase, customers can economically support debugging of different target MCUs just by buying additional low-cost function unit modules. The first function unit offered supports the M16C/64 product group. Other function units will be released as Renesas introduces new MCUs such as H8SX/1725, R8C/3xA, H8S/Tiny and so on.

The key to the E100 emulator’s ease of use is an enhanced GUI (Graphical User Interface) that simplifies operating procedures and measurement setups. For example, the sophisticated GUI lets engineers make complex settings such as those for break conditions, trace conditions, and repeated-routine execution-time measurements by using a visual dialog format or simple drag-and-drop actions. For example, simply dragging a function or variable from the source view to the event dialog sets a hardware event on its access. Once set, these conditions can be saved to a pool of registered events that can be easily reused later. Procedure prompts are clear and easy-to-understand, as evidenced by the display of function execution history that is presented when the engineer is referencing trace information.

The comprehensive measurement resources and capabilities of the E100 help users understand the nature of application software problems and find their causes, thus significantly shortening the time required for debugging the code. This is enabled though utilization of state-of-the-art programmable logic in the design of the E100 to achieve a new level of system performance and flexibility at a reasonable price point. The emulator hardware can be dynamically restructured to provide optimum debugging capabilities depending on the operation required. For example, program testing and qualification can be enhanced using the powerful profiling and coverage (both code execution and data access) features.

The emulator has a generous 4Mcycle (four-megacycle) capacity trace memory, featuring multiple acquisition modes, including a novel “repeat fill” option which captures sequential 513-cycle “windows” around a point of interest, allowing developers to see 256 cycles of bus activity before and after a specified condition. These may be analyzed without needing to stop execution of the target application. The E100 also features a 16Kbyte real-time RAM monitor, and a 16-channel-event detection function, 4096-point software break, as well as a 32-bit external trigger. The environment-friendly product uses no hazardous substances in its hardware components or packaging and is built with RoHS-compliant materials.

A Windows®*2 compatible PC is used as the host computer for the E100, and the emulator connects to it via a USB 2.0 (High Speed) interface. The E100’s GUI is provided by Renesas’ fourth-generation High-performance Embedded Workshop integrated development environment (IDE), running on the PC provided. The High-performance Embedded Workshop links together a variety of software tools, including a C/C++ compiler, debugger, and linker. The IDE enables engineers to perform system development efficiently by carrying out many different tasks, ranging from coding to building and to system hardware debugging under an integrated project management system.

The E100 emulator joins Renesas’ extensive line of existing system development tools, which includes two other full-spec emulators: the PC7501 for the M16C family and the R8C family, the E6000 for the H8S and H8 families, and E6000H for the H8SX family. These mature debugging solutions are widely used and highly rated throughout the world. The new support tools improved functionally allows efficient debugging of larger programs, and its lower prices fit better into tight engineering budgets. Moreover, its modular design will help unify the support tool lineup as Renesas moves forward to evolve its MCUs offerings to meet the changing requirements of global markets.

Price and Availability

Product Name Type Name Configuration Sample Price / Availability

E100 emulator R0E001000EMU00 E100 emulator USB interface cable AC adapter $2,134/Now

MCU unit R0E530640MCU00 M16C/64 group MCU unit Emulator debugger $828/Now

PCB adaptor R0E0100TNPFK00 100-pin 0.5mm pitch LQFP PCB footprint adaptor $421/Now

About Renesas Technology Corp.

Renesas Technology Corp. is one of the world’s leading semiconductor system solutions providers for mobile, automotive and PC/AV (Audio Visual) markets and the world’s No.1 supplier of microcontrollers. It is also a leading provider of LCD Driver ICs, Smart Card microcontrollers, RF-ICs, High Power Amplifiers, Mixed Signal ICs, System-on-Chip (SoC), System-in-Package (SiP) and more. Established in 2003 as a joint venture between Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501, NYSE:HIT) and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TSE:6503), Renesas Technology achieved consolidated revenue of 951 billion JPY in FY2007 (end of March 2008). Renesas Technology is based in Tokyo, Japan and has a global network of manufacturing, design and sales operations in 17 countries with 26,800 employees worldwide. For further information, please visit http://www.renesas.com

Notes:

Full-spec emulator: A device that performs verification via connection of an emulator to an IC socket mounted on a user system, with functions equivalent to those of a microcontroller provided on the emulator side

Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

*Other product names, company names, or brands mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Specifications — Renesas Technology E100 Full-spec Emulator for 8- to 32-bit MCUs

Product E100 Emulator

Part Number R0E001000EMU00

Supported microcontrollers

New products in the following microcontroller families:

M16C family: M16C/64 group now

R8C family: R8C/3x group end 2008

H8 family: Future new products

H8S family: Future new products

H8SX family: Future new products

(Note: The E100 does not support previously released Renesas MCUs.)

Host PC interface USB 1.1/2.0 (Full Speed/High Speed)

User interface specification Connection via low-profile IC socket for MCU package

Main functions C source-level debugging

Real-time emulation

Memory and on-chip IO referencing/modification and memory contents referencing/modification during user program execution

Event detection function (16 channels) [Execution address/

data/interrupt/external probe conditions specifiable]

Hardware break (Combination of event condition[AND/OR/sequential, etc.])

Software break (4,096 points), forced break

Real-time trace (4Mcycles)

Real-time RAM monitor (512 bytes × 32 blocks)

Performance measurement function (Measures maximum/minimum/average execution time and number of executions of specified section at 8 locations)

Profile function* (Measures execution time and number of executions of functions at up to 8K locations in 128Kbyte × 8-block range)

Code/Data Coverage*

C0 coverage (256Kbytes × 8 blocks) or C0/C1 coverage (128K × 8 blocks) or Data coverage (64Kbytes × 8 blocks)

External triggers (32, including 16 input-only [option])

External dimensions

(emulator main body) 73mm (W) × 184mm (D) × 132mm (H) [excluding AC adapter]

*: Profile function and Coverage function can not be used at the same time.