Microcontrollers for small‑scale system control of consumer products

Toshiba is now shipping engineering samples of its TXZ+ Family Entry‑Class M4H Group microcontrollers featuring a 32-bit Arm Cortex‑M4 core with a floating-point unit (FPU) and memory protection unit (MPU). They are operating at up to 120MHz and integrate 256KByte of code flash memory and 18KByte of RAM. The TMPM4H4FYUG, TMPM4H2FYDUG, and TMPM4H1FYUG microcontrollers are designed for applications in small‑scale system control of consumer products, such as air conditioners and washing machines, and in industrial equipment, including multifunction printers and factory automation systems.

As consumer products and industrial equipment become increasingly sophisticated and diversified, microcontrollers used in system control must deliver enhanced real‑time capabilities and stability, support ease of design, deliver the versatility necessary for long‑term operation, and be flexible enough to support development of derivative products. The new M4H Group microcontrollers are designed as entry-level products that provide essential functions. With a maximum operating frequency of 120MHz, they meet the computing performance and responsiveness requirements for consumer products and industrial equipment. They can also handle core system control applications, including control logic, interface processing, and timing control. The microcontrollers are available in 0.5mm pitch LQFP64 (TMPM4H4FYUG), 0.5mm pitch LQFP48 (TMPM4H2FYDUG), and 0.8mm pitch LQFP44 (TMPM4H1FYUG) packages.

M4H products support a supply voltage range of 2.7V to 5.5V and, by integrating a 10MHz high‑speed oscillator with ±1% accuracy, help to reduce external components and improve design flexibility. This suits them for use in consumer products and industrial equipment with 5V power supplies. The microcontrollers also integrate essential peripheral functions for system control, including a 12‑bit analog‑to‑digital converter (ADC), timers, universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART), serial peripheral interface (SPI), inter‑integrated circuit (I²C), and direct memory access (DMA). An additional feature is an advanced programmable motor driver (A‑PMD) that supports brushless DC motor control, ensuring flexible use in line with application requirements and system configurations.

Toshiba supports device evaluation by providing engineering samples and development environments. The company also supports smooth progress from initial evaluation to application development by providing starter kits, sample software, Common Microcontroller Software Interface Standard (CMSIS) compliant drivers, and user environments for major Integrated Development Environments (IDEs).