- TOKYO, Japan, July 20, 2016 -
Seiko Epson Corporation (TSE: 6724, "Epson") has begun shipping samples of the
S1C17M13, a new 16-bit microcontrol unit (MCU) with Flash memory integrated onchip.
This MCU is designed to drive light-emitting diodes (LEDs) at up to 56 mA*.
Epson plans to produce 200,000 units per month when volume production beings in
March 2017.

Epson has long integrated drivers in its MCUs to control LCDs in applications that
use them. Recently, however, there has also been a sharp increase in the number of
factory automation products and home appliances that use 7-segment LED displays
or LED indicators. Epson anticipates ongoing demand for LEDs as a means for
displaying simple information, as LEDs are bright, self-emitting, and easily visible
even in dark environments.

On the other hand, LEDs have to be driven at a current of about 10 mA to produce a
constant level of brightness. This has made it necessary to add dedicated external
driving circuits to today's low-voltage, low-power MCUs. Moreover, users have had to
develop their own control software and embed it in an MCU to achieve efficient
multiple-digit segment displays. LEDs are simple, but they require more external
driving components than LCDs. Users have thus had to spend considerable time
and money developing LED software-as much if not more than for LCDs. Reducing
users' costs and development times has thus been an issue.

The S1C17M13, Epson's first MCU for LED display applications, is ideally
engineered to solve this issue. This product operates at voltages ranging from 1.8 V
to 5.5 V and readily supports the 5 V needed for most factory automation products.
The new MCU has five pins that can output up to 56 mA*. By using these high-output
pins as common pins in combination with an additional eight other segment pins,
users can drive a segment LED display with up to 8 segments x 5 common pins
without the use of external transistors on the common lines.

In addition, the MCU has an integrated hardware controller that supports dynamic
lighting control. Customers can use a simple software setting to select any segment
(LED) they wish to light up. They can fine-tune the lighting interval and adjust the
brightness to any of four levels. These new features will help users reduce the cost of
their products as well as their total development times.

Epson also plans to commercialize a derivative product in the series (the
S1C17M12) that does not include the 12-bit AD converter. Two types of evaluation
boards are also available for the new product.


* Maximum output current per pin at an operating voltage of 5 V. Not capable of
multiple simultaneous outputs.

Feature and Specifications


Key Product Features
1. Ideal specifications for LED display applications
- Five pins capable of up to 56 mA* output.
- Integrated hardware controller that supports dynamic lighting control

2. Embedded circuits that help customers reduce total product part counts, save
board space, and shrink software development times
- Oscillator circuit that is switchable between 16, 12, 8, and 4 MHz and 700 kHz
- Supply voltage detector (SVD) circuit that does not require an external power
supply supervisor
- Circuitry that allows I/O port functions to be assigned with software (universal port
multiplexers)
- UART, SPI, and I2C serial interface circuits

3. Low-voltage and low-current consumption that extend battery life
- Guaranteed operating range: 1.8 V - 5.5 V
- Sleep mode current consumption: 0.5 μA

Product Specifications

Product model number:           S1C17M13

CPU core:                               16-bit RISC processor with multiply and accumulation unit multiplier/divider

Flash memory:                        16Kbytes

RAM:                                      2Kbytes

Operating voltage:                  Guaranteed operating range: 1.8V-5.5V

Current consumption:             SLEEP mode: 0.5µA (typical)

                                                RUN mode: 1.7mA/16 MHz (typical)

Supply voltage detector:         VDD: 28 levels (1.8 to 5.0V)/ external voltage: 32 levels (1.2 to 5.0V)

LED controller:                         Up to 5-digit, 7-segment LED output (8 segments x 1 to 5 common pins)

                                                Dynamic drive control

                                               Anode common mode, cathode common mode, and pin status when OFF are selectable with software

                                               4-level brightness adjustment

Infrared remote controller:      1 channel (can be used to generate EL lamp driving waveforms)

Analog-digital converter:         Successive approximation ADC, 12-bit resolution, 8 input channels

Timer:                                     16-bit PWM timer. 1 channel

                                               16-bit timer, 4 channels

                                               Watchdog timer

Serial interfaces:                     UART (1 ch.), SPI (2ch.), and I2C (1ch.) interfaces

I/O ports                                  38 max.

                                               21 universal support multiplexers

Package:                                48-pin TQFP 12-48 (lead pitch: 0.5 mm)


*Maximum output current per pin at an operating voltage of 5 V. Not capable
of multiple simultaneous outputs.

Notes:
Use the following link to see full press release:
http://global.epson.com/newsroom/2016/news_20160720.html 

Please see the link below for further details about these products:
http://global.epson.com/products/semicon/products/mcu/16bit_index.html#ac02

About Epson
Epson is a global technology leader dedicated to connecting people, things and
information with its original efficient, compact and precision technologies. With a
lineup that ranges from inkjet printers and digital printing systems to 3LCD
projectors, smart glasses, sensing systems and industrial robots, the company is
focused on driving innovations and exceeding customer expectations in inkjet, visual
communications, wearables and robotics.

Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises
more than 67,000 employees in 90 companies around the world, and is proud of its
contributions to the communities in which it operates and its ongoing efforts to reduce
environmental impacts.
http://global.epson.com

About Epson Electronics America, Inc.
Epson Electronics America, Inc. (EEA), is a subsidiary of Japan-based Seiko Epson
Corporation (SEC) and is responsible for sales, marketing and engineering of the
product lines of SEC's Microelectronics Device Division in the America's. EEA
provides a wide array of timing and frequency control products, integrated circuits,
sensing device and system solutions for customer products and applications that
require high levels of accuracy, reliability, stability, energy efficiency and compact
design. Based in San Jose, California, the EEA Group has three regional offices,
more than 40 sales offices in the U.S. and a growing network of exclusive distributors.
http://www.eea.epson.com