November 17
24
C
omputer
-
on
-m
odules
Embedded modules simplify
processor integration
By Florian Gross,
Texas Instruments
and Ralf Orschau,
Phytec
This article presents
the advantages provided
by the new TI Sitara AM572x
processor integrated in
the modules offered by Phytec.
n
Industrial customers face significant chal-
lenges whenever they introduce a new process
platform, regardless of whether they design it
themselves or prefer to purchase a third-party
module instead. This is mainly a result of the
on-chip analog sections of increasingly com-
plex processors nowadays, which have higher
hardware and software requirements than
previously. This can lead to costly and lengthy
development cycles.
As a solution to this dilemma, module ven-
dors readily integrate EMC-critical compo-
nents at the module level. As a manufacturer
of embedded modules, Phytec has many years
of experience concerning EMC-aware layout
for high-speed signals. Relevant components
are integrated into the module, which plays
the role of an additional component on the
carrier board. This separation between pro-
cessor environment and application greatly
simplifies the design of the carrier board.
Each module comes with a hardware-specific
Board Support Package (BSP). Phytec adapts
the BSP to its hardware, which leads to signif-
icant time and cost savings for the customer.
Designing the software for new processors
usually takes as much time as the design of
the hardware. Upon request, the company will
also make any module-related driver adap-
tions for the final products. Based on the long-
term relationship between Texas Instruments
and Phytec, the module manufacturer has
access to selected processors like the AM572x
processor in an early development stage. This
shortens the time-to-market, meaning the
module can be made available to customers
earlier. Based on a single- or dual-core ARM
Cortex-A15 architecture, the AM572x pro-
cessor is available in different configuration
levels featuring up to two C66 DSPs support-
ing the main processor in HMI applications,
etc. In the past, this would have required two
separate processors. Automotive applications
benefit from the processor Profibus protocols
and its temperature range of -40 °C to 105 °C.
When it comes to performance, the two ARM
Cortex-A15 cores clocked at up to 1.5GHz
(3.5DMIPS/MHz) and the two C66 DSPs are
supported by 2 x 32 bits of DDR3/DDR3L
memory, with one of these memories featur-
ing ECC (Memory Error Detection). For the
Figure 1. Block diagram of Texas
Instrument ARM Cortex-A15
processor AM572x
Figure 2. Comparison of different AM572x processor variants
