A family of user-programmable peripherals with a functional unit architecture

A family of user-programmable peripherals, utilizing an integration strategy based on a programmable system device (PSD) concept, is described. Specifically, PSD is an efficient and highly configurable integration of high-density memory and LSI level logic blocks. The configurability is derived by providing programmable logic and programmable interconnect. PSDX is the first PSD family of programmable microcontroller peripherals; it integrates 256 kb to 1 Mb of EPROM, 16 kb of SRAM, a 28-input by 42-product term programmable logic device (PLD), and flexible I/O ports. This family is primarily targeted for embedded microcontroller applications. Using one PSD device it is possible to replace all the core peripherals in the system and, as a result, achieve a reduction in components, power dissipation, and overall system cost. The flexible architecture is achieved by providing 46 configuration options, which allows the PSD to interface with virtually any 8- or 16-b microcontroller. The integration is made possible by developing a special configurability and testability scheme. These parts are realized on a 1.2- mu m CMOS EPROM process.<
>