What are MCUs?
Microcontroller Unit (MCU) can also be called Single Chip Microcontroller (Single Chip Microcontroller). MCU is more used for control. High-end chips such as GPUs are no less important than simple but bulky analog chips.
MCU application field
MCU is mainly used in consumer electronics, industrial/medical, automotive electronics and other fields.
Consumer MCUs are mainly used for small household appliances such as sweeping robots, drones, balance vehicles, and the Internet of Things. They have lower requirements for chip specifications. According to statistics, the operating temperature range of consumer MCU chips is 0°C to 70°C. The humidity requirement is low, and the service life is about 3 to 5 years. However, this type of MCU product iteration is fast and the demand is differentiated, requiring major manufacturers to provide timely and more comprehensive local services.
Compared with consumer MCUs, industrial control MCUs have higher indicators. The operating temperature range of industrial-grade MCUs is -40°C~+85°C, and the service life is 5~10 years. Industrial-grade MCUs are mostly 32-bit, and are widely used in industrial fields, such as factory automation and robotics, power transmission and grid power supply, control of electrical motors, smart cities and smart building automation, etc.
According to the classification of MCU digits, there are 4/8/16/32/64 MCUs on the market. The MCU digits represent the width of data processed by the CPU at one time. The larger the digits, the stronger the MCU processing capability. But it does not mean that we only blindly require higher computing speed and performance. MCUs with different numbers of bits play a role in different fields.
MCU core
Speaking of MCU, we have to mention its core, and we have to mention ARM company. No matter at home or abroad, the 32-bit MCUs of major MCU manufacturers all purchase cores and devote their energy to the research and development of other parts (divided by The self-developed core is the main core, and the outsourced core is supplemented by Renesas), and the 32-bit ARM Cortex M series core occupies a dominant position among the cores developed by major core manufacturers.
Compared with the 32-bit design, the 8-bit architecture based on the traditional 8051 core is often considered relatively old, and the technical requirements for research and development are not high. Therefore, the core self-development rate of the 8-bit product of the MCU manufacturer is higher, at least much higher than that of the 32-bit MCU. , for the market, 8-bit products have an outstanding price advantage, often accompanied by rich peripheral blessings, and their power consumption is lower when the performance is satisfactory. At the same time, 8051 single-chip microcomputers are also entry-level in embedded teaching. Required items.
Development of MCUs
Among all MCU products, 32-bit products have the highest concentration. In the 32-bit market, Renesas and NXP bear the brunt and focus on the automotive market. Among them, Japan’s Renesas Electronics mainly uses self-developed cores (according to statistics, about 78% of all cores used), that is, Renesas’ MCU All use their own structure. Another thing that cannot be ignored in the 32-bit market is STMicroelectronics. From the robust low-power 8-bit MCU STM8 series to the STM32 series MCU based on the ARM core, ST has provided embedded developers with rich MCU resources. It is the first of its kind for the MCU industry to establish a complete ecology.
In the 8-bit MCU market, Microchip (Microchip) has a share of more than 30%, and it is the only one. It emphasizes cost-saving and optimized design. Most chips have their compatible FLASH program memory. The main product of Microchip is 16C series 8 1-bit single-chip microcomputer, CPU adopts RISC structure, fast running speed, low price, low power consumption, good anti-interference. In addition, Infineon of Germany focuses on automobiles and industries; Texas Instruments of the United States, in addition to analog products, has also launched a series of 32-bit microcontrollers represented by the Piccolo series of microprocessors.
MCU Latest News
With the rapid popularization of products in the fields of smart home, health care, and the Internet of Things, the global demand for MCUs is growing rapidly. This demand is not only in the number of chips, but also in the low power consumption, customization, and specific peripherals of the chips. and other new needs.
New energy vehicles will be one of the hot topics for a long period of time in the future. The global automotive MCU market is occupied by six international IDM manufacturers: STMicroelectronics, NXP, Renesas, Infineon, Texas Instruments, and Microchip Technology. The market share of these manufacturers exceeds 80%.
This year, global semiconductor solutions provider Renesas Electronics expanded the RL78 low-power 16-bit MCU with the introduction of two new controllers, the RL78/F24 and RL78/F23, designed for automotive actuator and sensor control applications product family, strengthening Renesas' extensive automotive electronics product lineup.
STMicroelectronics launched a new car-grade MCU this year, which is an extension of the Stellar microcontroller product family based on the ARM core. The new product optimizes the performance of electric vehicles and the centralized electrical architecture of vehicles, helping to reduce the cost of electric vehicles and extend battery life. Mileage, faster charging speed.
