Released on: October 1, 2008, 2:51 am

Press Release Author: Semiconductor Corp. - PSoC Mixed-Signal Array

Industry: Computers

Press Release Summary: Cypress designs and manufactures semiconductor solutions that
permit innovation around the world. Cypress offers PSoC, the premier programmable
mixed-signal controller; the TrueTouch multi-touch and gesture-based input system;
CapSense capacitive sensing; wireless USB; West Bridge ultra-fast peripheral
controllers; as well as general purpose clock generators, image sensors, memory,
optical sensors, and more.

Press Release Body: Cypress PSoC Designerâ"¢ 5.0 Accelerates Embedded Development and
Time-to-Market by Combining Code-Free Design With Customization Capabilities
Integrates Original PSoC Designer and PSoC Expressâ"¢ Tools, Enabling Designers
To Start Projects in Code-Free Mode Then Flow Them into C Language for Fine-Tuning
San Jose, Calif., July 7, 2008 -Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: CY), today
introduced PSoC Designerâ"¢ 5.0, the industry's first and only integrated design
environment that includes both code-free and high-level language programming modes
in one package. Cypress has combined the revolutionary PSoC Expressâ"¢ visual embedded
system design tool with the full-featured PSoC Designer software to create a new
design paradigm - users can now start projects in a drag-and-drop visual design mode
(system-level view) and then move to code-based design in C language (chip-level
view) to refine and customize their projects, all from within a single tool.
In addition to integrating the PSoC Express functionality, the new PSoC Designer 5.0
tool includes the more powerful version 9.61 of the HI-TECH C® PRO compiler for the
PSoC® Mixed-Signal Array. The new compiler includes a new "Lite" mode that designers
can use free of charge without any time or code-size limits usually associated with
free compilers. Users can download PSoC Designer 5.0 free of charge at
www.cypress.com/go/pr/psocdesigner.
"PSoC Designer offers the ability to customize designs in C code easily, while our
PSoC Express users value the very fast design cycles," said Jon Pearson, marketing
director for PSoC Development Tools at Cypress." "PSoC Designer 5.0 maintains the
unique qualities of PSoC Express and lets designers seamlessly complete custom
coding. It offers our customers the best of both worlds and keeps Cypress in the
forefront of embedded design innovation."
PSoC Designer 5.0 also includes a plethora of upgrades focused on usability and
ensuring embedded design engineers have the best tool, interface and components to
quickly and easily complete the most complex designs while maximizing the efficiency
of the target PSoC devices. Some of these enhancements include Graphical User
Interface features based on familiar software best practices. For example,
practically every window within the application can now be docked to the development
workspace, hidden or exposed as needed through tabbed interfaces, or float as
independent windows and effectively used in multiple-display environments.
About PSoC Designer
PSoC Designer (www.cypress.com/go/pr/psocdesigner) helps users harness the power and
flexibility of PSoC devices. With two project design modes, system-level and
chip-level, users can choose to do designs with no coding, with all coding, or any
combination of the two." By operating at a higher level of abstraction and not
requiring firmware development, a system-level project enables new designs to be
created, simulated and programmed to the targeted PSoC device in hours or days
instead of in weeks or months. A chip-level project provides the user with a catalog
of peripheral functions (called "user modules") that they can select, place and
route to pins using flexible analog and digital PSoC block technology and then
develop the firmware for a custom mixed-signal design. For a system-level project,
PSoC Designer automatically generates the chip-level design information and all
firmware, but also allows the user to add user modules and additional functions
programmed in C language or assembly language.
This powerful, easy-to-use IDE comes with an extensive user module catalog,
pre-configured, pre-characterized embedded peripheral functions, and extensive user
assistance in the form of "help" dialog boxes, pull-down menus and other graphical
user interface aids. User modules take the configurable PSoC devices and create
useful functions as diverse as counters, timers and PWMs, analog converters, both
ADCs and DACs, communications links like UARTs, SPI and I2C, as well as comparators,
programmable gain blocks, filters and even bootloaders. Each user module includes
the hardware configuration data, startup code, an interrupt service routine when
applicable, and a set of APIs. These APIs, or application programming interface
software functions, provide instant control of all aspects of the user module. This
innovative approach helps the designer get to a fully functional custom device
without weeks or months of tiresome datasheet scouring, tedious low-level coding and
repetitive debugging.
PSoC -- Because Change Happens
PSoC devices employ a highly configurable system-on-chip architecture for embedded
control design, offering a flash-based equivalent of a field-programmable ASIC
without lead-time or NRE penalties. PSoC devices integrate configurable analog and
digital circuits, controlled by an on-chip microcontroller, providing both enhanced
design revision capability and component count savings. They include up to 32 Kbytes
of Flash memory, 2 Kbytes of SRAM, an 8x8 multiplier with 32-bit accumulator, power
and sleep monitoring circuits, and hardware I2C communications.
The flexible PSoC resources allow designers to future-proof their products by
enabling firmware-based changes during design, validation, production, and in the
field. The unique PSoC flexibility shortens design cycle time and allows for
late-breaking feature enhancements. All PSoC devices are also dynamically
reconfigurable, enabling designers to morph internal resources on-the-fly, utilizing
fewer components to perform a given task.
Easy to use development tools enable designers to select configurable library
elements for analog functions such as amplifiers, ADCs, DACs, filters and
comparators and digital functions such as timers, counters, PWMs, SPI and UARTs. The
PSoC family's analog features include rail-to-rail inputs, programmable gain
amplifiers and up to 14-bit ADCs with exceptionally low noise, input leakage and
voltage offset.
A single PSoC device can integrate as many as 100 peripheral functions saving
customers design time, board space and power consumption while improving system
quality. Customers can save as much as $10 in system costs. Learn more about PSoC
products at www.cypress.com/psoc and receive free online training at
www.cypress.com/psoctraining.
About Cypress
Cypress delivers high-performance, mixed-signal, programmable solutions that provide
customers with rapid time-to-market and exceptional system value." Cypress offerings
include the PSoC® Programmable System-on-Chipâ"¢, USB controllers, general-purpose
programmable clocks and memories. Cypress also offers wired and wireless
connectivity solutions ranging from its WirelessUSBâ"¢ radio system-on-chip, to West
Bridgeâ"¢ and EZ-USB® FX2LP controllers that enhance connectivity and performance in
multimedia handsets. Cypress serves numerous markets including consumer,
computation, data communications, automotive, industrial, and solar power. Cypress
trades on the NYSE under the ticker symbol CY. Visit Cypress online at
www.cypress.com.
www.cypress.com/go/se/7_July_Psoc


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