Gleichmann to present 8-bit microcontrollers

The microcontrollers are designed specifically for fluorescent and LED lighting applications and, according to the company, enable a significant reduction in system and energy costs.

The MCUs are equipped with up to two 16-bit PWM timers, which enable a precise PWM control in 65,536 steps.

A powerful oscillator, which allows control of the two integrated timers with a maximum of 40 MHz, guarantees a fine-grained inverter control.

Furthermore, both of the integrated timers are each capable of generating two non-overlapping outputs so that four-channel LEDs with precise dimming and colour control can be driven by a single MCU.

In practice, one of the 16-bit PWM timers is used for control of the power factor cos (PFC).

For a reliable protection against over-current or under-voltage, comparators with outputs linked directly to the PWM timer were integrated on the chips.

Therefore, if needed, the PWM output is immediately shut down without intervention of the CPU.

The 8-bit microcontrollers consume 0.7 uA in standby mode and 260 uA during operation at 1 MHz.

This helps keep power consumption of the lighting as low as possible.

Furthermore, an integrated Manchester encoder/decoder in the UART enables lighting control of multiple networked lighting devices in compliance with the digital addressable lighting interface (DALI) standard.

All MCUs of the 78K0/lx2 family are qualified for the extended operating temperature range from 40C to +105C and are offered, dependent on version, in a 16-pin, 20-pin or 30-pin SSOP package.

Data sheets are immediately available from Gleichmann Electronics.

Mass production is expected to begin in May 2009.