fido1100 32-bit Communications Controller

fido1100

fido logo

flexible input, deterministic output

fido has an innovative new architecture that redefines the boundaries between hardware and software, providing deterministic performance with its unique "RTOS Kernel On a Chip." This, along with the flexibility of programmable I/O peripherals and on-chip debug tools, distinguishes fido from other communications controllers. fido combines these new features with something familiar - the 68000 instruction set. This is arguably the most widely known and used instruction set in the embedded market today. The development tools are well-proven and robust, providing a very mature and reliable tool-chain upon which fido resides.

Winner of Control Engineering

Innovation Award 2006

Benefits

Deterministic performance unmatched by other microcontrollers
Reduced latency and jitter even at moderate clock speeds
Longevity and guaranteed obsolescence protection
Flexibility to support a wide range of I/O protocols on a single part
68000 code compatibility and robust development tool-chain
Reduced development time and effort using on-chip debug tools
Reduced dependency on RTOS for safety-critical or hard real-time performance
Fail safe recovery from "fatal" execution faults
Complete solutions available for Industrial Ethernet
Roadmap targeted at embedded control and communications
Complete design solution available for Profinet and EtherNet/IP

"The debug capability was used in a very clever way: a breakpoint was set conditionally during code execution by the code itself! This debug capability is the best we have seen so far." - Schneider Electric, Grenoble, France

"The programmable I/O is one of fido's distinguishing features. It's both clever and powerful" - Jim Turley, Silicon Insider

"the fido CISC CPU running at half the speed of the RISC CPU achieved faster response time and jitter was reduced almost 6 times with higher system reliability."- Schneider Electric, Grenoble

Key Features

fido

Patented 32-bit Real-Time architecture with 68000 software compatibility
Royalty-free silicon RTOS Kernel (See Presentation here)
Fail-safe and deterministic operation for real-time applications (See Presentation here)
4 Patented programmable I/O controllers (See Presentation here)
Open source software development environment (Evaluation/Development Kit)
Unique on-chip debug features and capabilities
Available for the life of your product

Applications

Industrial Automation
Motion Control
Programmable Logic Controllers
Communication Controllers
Real-time Embedded Devices
Instrumentation
Safety-critical devices
I/O Modules

Packages

208-Lead PQFP
208-Ball BGA (0.8mm pitch)
208-Ball BGA (0.5mm pitch)

Architecture

Redefining the boundary between software and silicon

fido is an acronym for flexible input, deterministic output. This captures two of the essential benefits of the architecture. "flexible input" refers to our UIC peripheral engine and "deterministic output" refers to the unique real-time and safety-critical features provided by the new architecture.

RTOS Kernel in a Chip

Innovasic took a fresh approach to the design of the fido family. We moved some very specific Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) functions into the silicon to provide exceptional real-time control capability and to allow our customers to develop and debug their code much faster than is possible on conventional microcontrollers. Context switching, context management, scheduling, priority control and memory protection are all built-in to the fido chip. We call this capability "RTOS Kernel in a Chip" and it doesn't exist on other microcontrollers. For some applications, this capability eliminates the need for an RTOS altogether. For others, only a very small footprint RTOS may be needed.

"fido achieved better performance in terms of jitter, with a much more straightforward software implementation thanks to its innovative chip architecture."

- Schneider Electric, Grenoble

Programmable I/O

We took the exact opposite approach with our peripheral set. We made the I/O peripherals programmable so that almost any permutation of I/O protocols can be supported by a single fido part number. Customers told us that they are often forced to use multiple members of a microcontroller family to address different I/O requirements. This not only causes inventory management issues, since multiple part numbers have to be purchased and managed in relatively low quantities, but it also raises the obsolescence concern again. Exposure to multiple part numbers increases the likelihood of encountering an end of life notice with at least one of these parts. By allowing the user to select the peripheral functionality in software, one fido part number can address multiple product designs.

(The fido1100) "…includes some real innovation combined with some familiar and practical features"

- Jim Turley, Silicon Insider

Key Features

Real-time 32-bit microcontroller
New CISC architecture optimized for real-time
CPU32+ (68000) instruction set compatible
Context Manager (RTOS Kernel in a Chip)
On-chip priority based preemptive scheduler
5 independent hardware contexts
Single clock cycle context switching
On-chip time- and space-partitioning
Deterministic Cache
Dedicated Peripheral Management Unit
Universal I/O Controller (UIC) supporting:
10/100 Ethernet
UART
GPIO
MAC filtering
Full featured two channel DMA with deterministic arbitration
Zero-overhead Endian conversion
Five counters and timers
Two 32-bit timer control unit
Watchdog timer
Context timer
External Bus Interface
8-bit or 16-bit interface
Programmable chip selects
SDRAM controller
24 KBytes high-speed SRAM
Flat contiguous memory
Non-aligned memory access
Automatic sleep mode when contexts are inactive
JTAG emulation and Debug Interface
On-chip debug tools
Unlimited trace buffer anywhere in memory
True on-chip single stepping (no emulation)
Single step one context while other run at speed
Context-aware breakpoints with minimal instrumentation
Break/watch points can be chained together to capture elusive bugs
Library and support tools
Eclipse IDE
Customized GNU tool set
Full library support
UIC libraries
Embedded communication stacks
GPIO sample programs
Standard 208 PQFP, TQFP and FBGA packaging
3.3V with 5V tolerant I/Os
Industrial temperature grade

Documentation

Data Sheet

fido1100 Data Sheet

User Guide

fido1100 User Guide

Instruction Set

fido1100 Instruction Set Reference Guide

Application Notes

White Papers

Evaluation Kit

The fido1100 Evaluation - Development Kit (EDK) contains everything you need to evaluate the fido1100 or to begin development. The Evaluation Board is complete with 1MB SRAM, 8MB SDRAM, 8MB FLASH and a variety of I/O interfaces (Ethernet, UART, GPIO, CAN and SMBUS).

With the fido1100 EDK, customers receive a full set of software libraries and development tools, including the industry-standard Eclipse IDE, Sourcery G++ GNU tool chain from Code Sourcery, full library support, embedded communication stacks, GPIO and sample programs.

In addition, the fido Leash software provides a framework for multi-context system development. It manages hardware initialization and allocation, software initialization, and context management with a debug mode for quickly identifying run-time problems.

"Innovasic has put together a winning package with the fido1100 platform and its EDK “; “The software package had me off and running with something of my own in less than an hour."- William Wong, Electronic Design

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Sample Request

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Part Number	Package	Order from Future Electronics	Order from Another Distributor
fido1100PQF208IR1	208-Lead PQFP (RoHS)	Order Now	Distributors
fido1100BGA208IR1	208-Ball BGA (0.5 mm pitch, RoHS)	Order Now	Distributors
fido1100BGB208IR1	208-Ball BGA (0.8 mm pitch, RoHS)	Order Now	Distributors
fido1100EDK-1	Evaluation and Development Kit	-	Distributors

Innovasic Semiconductor