System-On-A-Chip Packs SD Card Controller

Touted as the first system-on-a-chip with an on-chip hardware Secure Digital (SD) card controller, the L7210 is a low-power, high-performance processor for smart cell phones, wireless Internet terminals, PDAs, music players, and Internet appliances. The chip includes an ARM720T processor with sophisticated power management, Bluetooth interface compatibility, USB connectivity, and ACLink serial audio codec interfaces for 16-bit stereo sound. The device adds a third UART, a 80 KB on-chip SRAM, and a SD Card controller, while maintaining pin and register compatibility with the current L7200 and L7205 products. It offers system designers five levels of power management and even at full power, requires less than 100 mW. The SD Card controller allows the devices to power and provide secure storage to devices such as smart cell phones. In addition to interfacing with popular communications-oriented DSPs, the device includes a display subsystem capable of controlling 800 x 600 color or monochrome LCD panels. The chip is priced at less than $25 each/10,000. LINKUP SYSTEMS CORP., Santa Clara, CA. (408) 988-1848.