Date: 11/11/2009

IO-Link reference design jointly by Atmel, HMT and MESCO

Atmel, HMT Microelectronic, and MESCO Engineering have cooperated to launch IO-Link reference design which includes Atmel's AVR microcontrollers, HMT's PHY IC and MESCO's IO-Link stack to create the smallest IO-Link reference design. IO-Link is the upcoming industrial control communication standard that will introduce several benefits for the end user, including easier cabling, remote diagnostics and configuration.

This reference design measures 6mm by 20 mm, and is claimed as the smallest reference design available in the industry today.

The TM96.0-A reference design is equipped with a push button, 2 LEDs and a potentiometer to allow developers to add stimuli to the system. The implementation used in the reference design does not require external protection to sustain reverse polarity or to comply to the EMC surge protection defined in the IEC 60255-5 standard.

Atmel's AVR microcontrollers and HMT's PHY IC are available in small packages to allow implementations in size-constrained environments. All AVR microcontrollers, including the picoPower, high performance XMEGA featuring 12-bit ADC and DAC, can be used to run the MESCO stack and connect to the HMT7742 PHY IC. This makes the solution scalable.

The MESCO IO-Link device stack firmware provides the developer of an IO-Link device full access to all features and services defined in the IO-Link Specification version 1.0. The firmware also supports features like Service PDU, Interleave Mode and diagnostics handling with event details. Using a modular design, which is optimized for the AVR architecture, the library is scalable and allows a quick implementation of customer specific commands. The TM96.0-A reference design comes with a demo application of the MESCO IO-Link device stack firmware. For IO-Link product development, the TM96.0-B evaluation and debugging board is available. It is equipped with all the required connectors and provided with the MESCO firmware library. Optionally the customer can purchase the related source code. A developer using this solution benefits from an IO-Link tested, proven, interoperable and maintained device stack firmware, reducing significantly the time to market and associated development risks.

Ingar Fredriksen, Atmel's AVR Product Marketing Director says, "We are delighted to work together with HMT and MESCO Engineering to position our AVR family as the microcontroller-of-choice to build an IO-Link-enabled product. The customer benefits from the HMT's strong expertise in mixed-signal ICs and ASICs for industrial sensors, as well as MESCO's experience in the field of industrial communication and, in particular, its work within the IO-Link standard. The combination of the innovative and small-sized HMT PHY IC, with the compact and efficient AVR devices and a full validated software stack, is a true added-value for all sensor or actuator companies who are looking for an integrated, low system cost and ready-to-go IO-Link solution. AVR products are offered in a wide variety of pin, memory, and feature options. This makes it easy for developers to find the perfect microcontroller for their application needs, use the software from MESCO, and interface with the HMT7742 PHY IC to build an IO-link device."

Roger Bostock, HMT's IO-Link Product Manager comments, "We are pleased to have applied our long experience in high voltage and industrial sensor integrated circuit design to produce the HMT7742 PHY IC, which is suitable for a broad market. Our road map extends this base to a wider family of IO-Link ICs and IPs for the diverse sensor and actuator requirements, always with an eye to small physical size. The flourishing partnership with Atmel and MESCO provides sensor and actuator designers with reference designs which are qualified and guaranteed to provide compatible elements. This allows customers to concentrate on sensing and actuating, rather than on the wiring behind the device."

Peter Bernhardt, MESCO's Sales Manager comments, "IO-Link technology is developed for sensors and actor communication. Therefore, a strong requirement of the IO-Link device developer is an ultra-small hardware implementation. For MESCO, as a service company for customer specific hardware and software development, it is a great benefit to cooperate with Atmel and HMT. We are now able to provide the customer such small solutions, which we never achieved with standard discrete electronic components and circuits."

"MESCO is an active member of the IO-Link working group since its foundation. We used the gained expertise to develop the IO-Link device software stack and provide expert development services to our customers," Bernhardt continued.

Availability:
Samples of the TM96.0-A demonstrator and the TM96.0-B development kit are now available.

For more details visit www.atmel.com