S8051XC3
Super-Fast 8051 Microcontroller with Configurable Features & Peripherals

The S8051XC3 IP core implements a high-performance, low-energy, 8-bit microcontroller that executes the MCS®51 instruction set and includes a configurable range of features and integrated peripherals. 

The core’s sophisticated architecture yields the fastest 8051-compatible 8-bit MCU available anywhere (at the time of its release). It runs with a single clock per machine cycle, and requires an average of 1.5 to 1.8 machine cycles per instruction, depending on configuration. Dhrystone 2.1 tests show it to run from 9.41 to 26.85 times faster than the original 8051 at the same frequency, without requiring an external arithmetic acceleration unit (such as an MDU). Representative 40nm ASIC results have reached 635 MHz for the most advanced version, for an effective speed up of 1,400 times over 80C51 chips. Interrupt latency is a remarkably low two cycles.

The S8051XC3 is also one of the most energy efficient 8-bit processors available. Its small silicon footprint—the CPU size can be 6,000 gates—means very little power leakage. Furthermore, dynamic power of the CPU at a 40nm technology is as low as 2.7μW/MHz, and its higher performance allows clocking at lower frequencies. The core allows energy consumption to be adjusted to the processing workload via dynamic frequency scaling and independent control of the CPU and peripherals clock. 

The core’s rich set of optional features and integrated peripherals allows designers to adjust performance and silicon requirements to best match an application’s specific requirements. (Several pre-configured versions at different price points are also available.) Software development is facilitated by a single-wire or JTAG debugging interface, which operates seamlessly within IDEs such as those from IAR and Keil.

This core builds on CAST’s experience with hundreds of 8051 IP customers going back to 1997. Designed for easy reuse in ASICs or FPGAs, the core is strictly synchronous, with positive-edge clocking (except in the optional debug & SPI modules), synchronous or asynchronous reset, and no internal tri-states. 

S8051XC3 users can select among a rich set of pre-integrated and pre-verified peripherals and core options. (Verilog defines, e.g.  ‘define USE_PMU, are used for this purpose.) Options not included by default but that can be added on request are noted by italics.

Timers/Counters

  • Timer 0 & 1: 80C51-like 16-bit timers/counters
  • Timer 2: 80515-like 16-bit counter, with compare/capture unit
  • PCA: 80251-like programmable counter array with 5 PWM channels
  • WDT: 80251-like Watchdog Timer

Interfaces

  • I2C 0  & 1: Master-Slave ports for the Phillips Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) serial bus
  • SPI: Master-Slave port for the Serial Peripheral bus Interface serial bus
  • Serial 0: 80C51- or 80251-like Full-Duplex UART/USART  
  • GPIO 0-4: 80C51-like 8-bit parallel ports 
  • GPIO 5: 80C515-like parallel port 5
  • GPIO 6: 80C451-like, printer-like 8-bit parallel port 6
  • SFR: Up to 112 Special Function Registers Interface
  • ISR: 80251-like Interrupt Controller with up 23 sources, and two or four priority levels 
  • CAN: CAN 2.0 and FD Controller
  • LIN: Local Interconnect Network (LIN) Bus Controller
  • OCDS: On-chip debugging system interface

Arithmetic Units

  • MDU: Multiply Divide Unit for 16 x 16-bit multiplication, 32/16- and 16/16-bit division, and 32-bit normalization and L/R shifting
  • MAC: Multiply-Accumulate Unit  (16 x 16-bit multiplica-tion/40-bit accumulator)

Performance Acceleration & Architectural Options

  • AIEA: Advanced instruction execution architecture, which includes a number of performance optimizations 
  • VDMA: Direct Memory Access controller, with up to eight channels
  • D-DPTR: Dual Data Pointers with Automated Increment/Decrement/Switch capability
  • 32MIF: 32-bit memory code/date memory interface
  • PMU: Power management unit

Three versions of the core are available, offering a range of capabilities and prices: 

  • S8051XC3-F includes all options, and is user-configurable.
  • S8051XC3-C retains configurability of the -F version, with these exceptions: a) only allows for 8-bit memory data/code memory interfaces; b) some features of the advanced instruction execution architecture are disabled, limiting the performance to 15.62x the performance of the original 80C51; and c) I2C, SPI and RTC are not included.
  • S8051XC3-A includes user-configurable options matching the original Intel 8051 peripheral set: 64kB memory interface, two timers, one serial port, four parallel I/O Ports, two-level interrupt controller, and one DPTR register. 

The Dhrystone 2.1 benchmark score varies from 0.088 to 0.252 DMIPS/MHz, which translates to speed improvements from 9.4 to 26.85 times over the standard 80C51 assuming the same clock frequency, or 500x to more than 1,400 times increase when the S8051XC3 is clocked at 635MHz.

Sample Dhrystone 2.1 benchmark results are as follows.

Version

DMIPS/MHz

80C51 Ratio

S8051XC3-F

0.252

26.8

S8051XC3-C

0.147

15.6

S8051XC3-A

0.088

9.4


Reference designs have been evaluated in a variety of technologies. The following are sample results for the cores CPU using a 40nm ASIC technology.

Version

Maximum Speed

Minimum Area

S8051XC3-F

630 MHz

12.5k gates

S8051XC3-C

660 MHz

10k gates

S8051XC3-A

880 MHz

6.2k gates

Support

The core as delivered is warranted against defects for ninety days from purchase. Thirty days of phone and email technical support are included, starting with the first interaction. Additional maintenance and support options are available; contact CAST Sales.

Deliverables

The core is available in Verilog RTL or as targeted FPGA netlist, and its deliverables include everything required for a successful implementation, including a behavioral model, an automated constrained random verification (CRV) test-bench, comprehensive documentation, and sample synthesis and simulation scripts. Hardware debug pods and reference design boards are also available.

Related Content

Features List

Fully compatible with the MCS®51 instruction set

Best Performance Available

  • Up to 26.85x speed up over the original 8051 at the same clock
  • More than 1,400 times faster than the original 8051 when clocked at maximum frequency 

Energy Efficient

  • Small silicon footprint for less power leakage, lower static power consumption
  • Better DMIPs/MHz power ratio allows energy to be saved by operating at a lower frequency
  • Ultra-low dynamic power (2.7μW/MHz in 40nm)
  • Advanced power management supports dynamic frequency scaling, and CPU and/or peripherals clock gating 

Configurable Microcontroller

  • Automatic instantiation of user selectable MCU peripherals 
  • Pre-integration with other CAST IP on request  
  • User-configurable CPU and memory architecture to match application needs 

Easy Firmware Development 

  • CDP-XC on-chip debug interface, supports JTAG and Single-Wire 
  • USB-based, low cost CDP-XC debug pods 
  • Integration with IAR Embedded Workbench & Keil uVisionTM IDEs
  • Software and Hardware breakpoints, and Trace
  • Cycle-accurate Simulation Model

Flexible Memory Architecture 

  • 64KB or 8MB address space
  • 8, 16, or 32-bit memory interface
  • Integration with slow memories or peripherals easier with acknowledged transactions 
  • Independent XTEM bus 
  • Optional extra 16-bit or 24-bit DPTR 

Efficient Interrupts Handling

  • Up to 23 interrupts, with 2 or 4 interrupt priority levels
  • Ultra-low interrupt latency: two cycles from interrupt assertion to ISR start
  • Bridges for integrating with APB, AHB-Lite, or AXI4-Lite peripherals available upon request

Resources

Development Tools & Options

IAR Systems Embedded Workbench for 8051

Keil µVision for 8051

Lauterbach Logo

Lauterbach Debug and Trace Solutions

Evaluation: Try it for Yourself

Easily evaluate this 8051's features and performance in your own environment with the 
Talos Series Evaluation Kit for 8051s.

Articles

Understanding Interrupt Latency in Modern 8051s 
by Nikos Zervas at ChipEstimate.com

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