SAN JOSE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—June 4, 2008— Renesas Technology America, Inc. today announced the E100 full-spec emulator^a1, an expansion of its extensive line of development tools for engineers designing embedded systems that use microcontrollers (MCUs). The E100 improves the system design process by offering enhanced ease of use and performance compared to currently available emulators, while providing advanced debugging capabilities. The new development tool directly addresses the need for more efficient debugging environments, a need mandated by the increased functional complexity of MCU-based products and the shorter development cycle characteristic of highly competitive international markets. The E100 works with new and future devices in the M16C, H8SX, H8S, H8, and R8C families of 8- to 32-bit CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer) devices and allows real-time in-circuit emulation at bus cycle speeds up to 130MHz.

The new emulator comprises two components: a compact (73× 184×132mm) main unit and a plug-in, series-specific MCU function unit. This modular design costs much less than previous Renesas emulators — over 50 percent less. Moreover, after the initial purchase, customers can economically support debugging of different target MCUs just by buying additional low-cost function unit modules. The first function unit offered supports the M16C/64 product group. Other function units will be released as Renesas introduces new MCUs such as H8SX/1725, R8C/3xA, H8S/Tiny and so on.

The key to the E100 emulator’s ease of use is an enhanced GUI (Graphical User Interface) that simplifies operating procedures and measurement setups. For example, the sophisticated GUI lets engineers make complex settings such as those for break conditions, trace conditions, and repeated-routine execution-time measurements by using a visual dialog format or simple drag-and-drop actions. For example, simply dragging a function or variable from the source view to the event dialog sets a hardware event on its access. Once set, these conditions can be saved to a pool of registered events that can be easily reused later. Procedure prompts are clear and easy-to-understand, as evidenced by the display of function execution history that is presented when the engineer is referencing trace information.

The comprehensive measurement resources and capabilities of the E100 help users understand the nature of application software problems and find their causes, thus significantly shortening the time required for debugging the code. This is enabled though utilization of state-of-the-art programmable logic in the design of the E100 to achieve a new level of system performance and flexibility at a reasonable price point. The emulator hardware can be dynamically restructured to provide optimum debugging capabilities depending on the operation required. For example, program testing and qualification can be enhanced using the powerful profiling and coverage (both code execution and data access) features.

The emulator has a generous 4Mcycle (four-megacycle) capacity trace memory, featuring multiple acquisition modes, including a novel “repeat fill” option which captures sequential 513-cycle “windows” around a point of interest, allowing developers to see 256 cycles of bus activity before and after a specified condition. These may be analyzed without needing to stop execution of the target application. The E100 also features a 16Kbyte real-time RAM monitor, and a 16-channel-event detection function, 4096-point software break, as well as a 32-bit external trigger. The environment-friendly product uses no hazardous substances in its hardware components or packaging and is built with RoHS-compliant materials.

A Windows®^a2 compatible PC is used as the host computer for the E100, and the emulator connects to it via a USB 2.0 (High Speed) interface. The E100’s GUI is provided by Renesas’ fourth-generation High-performance Embedded Workshop integrated development environment (IDE), running on the PC provided. The High-performance Embedded Workshop links together a variety of software tools, including a C/C++ compiler, debugger, and linker. The IDE enables engineers to perform system development efficiently by carrying out many different tasks, ranging from coding to building and to system hardware debugging under an integrated project management system.

The E100 emulator joins Renesas’ extensive line of existing system development tools, which includes two other full-spec emulators: the PC7501 for the M16C family and the R8C family, the E6000 for the H8S and H8 families, and E6000H for the H8SX family. These mature debugging solutions are widely used and highly rated throughout the world. The new support tool’s improved functionally allows efficient debugging of larger programs, and its lower prices fit better into tight engineering budgets. Moreover, its modular design will help unify the support tool lineup as Renesas moves forward to evolve its MCUs offerings to meet the changing requirements of global markets.

Price and Availability
Product Name		Type Name		Configuration		Sample Price / Availability
E100 emulator		R0E001000EMU00		-- E100 emulator -- USB interface cable -- AC adapter		$2,134/Now
MCU unit		R0E530640MCU00		-- M16C/64 group MCU unit -- Emulator debugger		$828/Now
PCB adaptor		R0E0100TNPFK00		-- 100-pin 0.5mm pitch LQFP PCB footprint adaptor		$421/Now

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