Fortior FU75xx dual-core motor control MCU family combines 32-bit RISC-V core with 2nd-gen Motor Engine (ME2) core

Motor driver IC specialist Fortior Technology has recently introduced the FU75xx dual-core motor control MCU family, pairing a 32-bit RISC-V core and the company’s proprietary 2nd-generation Motor Engine (ME2) core.

The RISC-V core is used for parameter configuration and routine processing, while the ME core integrates FOC and CORDIC modules that enable fast calculation of FOC (as quick as 5µs)  or square-wave control for sensored/sensorless BLDC/PMSM motors. The chips have an impressive list of peripherals (see specs below) and target high-speed computing and real-time control for robotics and motion systems, such as industrial servo drives, robotic joints, smart home appliances, and new energy vehicle systems.

FU75xx MCU specifications:

• Dual-core CPU
  • RISC-V core @ 48 MHz
  • ME2 motor engine core @ 48 MHz with FOC module and CORDIC module
• Memory – 12kB SRAM, 4kB PRAM for program execution
• Storage – 64kB Flash with ECC and CRC, self-program and code protection
• I/Os (numbers depend on SKU)
  • 27x to 32x interrupt sources with 8 configurable priority levels
  • 22x to 53x GPIO
• Communication interfaces
  • Up to 2x I2 C
  • Up to 2x SPI
  • 2x UARTs, supporting single-wire mode
  • 1x LIN
  • 1x CAN FD
  • BiSS (Bidirectional Serial Synchronous) interface for full-duplex communications between sensors and actuators  (FU7562Q/FU7561Q/FU7512L/FU7512P)
  • 6-channel DMA for I2C/SPI/UART/LIN/DataMonitor
• Analog peripherals
  • 12-bit ADC, operating with 1μs conversion time and internal VREF or external VREF as reference voltage
    • 8- to 13-channel ADC1
    • 10- to 14-channel ADC2
    • Up to 3-channel ADC3
    • Internal VREF – 3V, 4V, 4.5V or VDD5 can be selected as the internal reference.
    • Internal VHALF with VREF/2, 1/4 VREF, 1/8 VREF, and 25/64 VREF as the internal reference
  • 5x to 7x operational amplifiers
  • 4x to 8x analog comparators
  • DAC
    • FU7571Q/FU7561Q/FU7541Q: Dual-channel 9-bit, dual-channel 6-bit
    • FU7562Q/FU7512L/FU7512P: Dual-channel 9-bit, single-channel 8-bit, and dual-channel 6-bit
    • FU7562L: Dual-channel 9-bit, single-channel 8-bit
  • Temperature sensor
• Drive Type
  • FU7571Q: 2x 6N Pre-driver outputs
  • FU7562Q/FU7561Q: 6N Pre-driver output + PWM output
  • FU7562L: 6N Pre-driver output
  • FU7541Q: 2x 3P3N Pre-driver outputs
  • FU7512L/FU7512P: 2x PWM outputs
• PFC (Power Factor Correction): 1x in FU7562Q/FU7562L, 2x in FU7512L
  • Automatic hardware
  • ADC automatic sampling
  • Over-current protection and wave-by-wave current limiting protection
  • Interleaved two-phase boost PFC
• Debugging – Two-wire FICE (Fortior Interactive Connectivity Establishment) protocol-based in-circuit emulation
• Timers
  • Timer2/Timer5/Timer6 (FU7562Q/FU7561Q/FU7512L/FU7512P): PWM output, measurement of duty cycle and period of input PWM wave, measurement of the time of set PWM wave numbers, QEP decoding, tailwind/headwind detection, rotation direction and speed detection of step motor
  • Timer5/Timer6 (FU7571Q/FU7541Q): PWM output, measurement of duty cycle and period of input PWM wave, measurement of the time of set PWM wave numbers, and tailwind/headwind detection
  • Timer2/Timer6 (FU7562L): Basic timer
  • Timer2 (FU7571Q/FU7541Q): Basic timer
  • Timer3/Timer4/Timer7/Timer8: PWM output, and measurement of duty cycle and period of input PWM wave. Timer4 supports FG generation and Timer3/Timer8 supports up to 96MHz input.
  • Systick Timer
  • RTC
  • IWDT, WWDT
• System clock
  • Built-in 24MHz high-speed RC oscillator
  • Built-in 32.8kHz low-speed RC oscillator
  • 12MHz external crystal clock
• Power Supply
  • FU7571Q/FU7561Q – 5V ~ 20V
  • FU7562Q/FU7562L – 10V ~ 20V and 3V ~ 5.5V
  • FU7541Q – 5V ~ 28V
  • FU7512L/FU7512P – 3V ~ 5.5V
  • Low-voltage detector (LVD)
• Packages
  • FU7571Q  – QFN64
  • FU7562Q – QFN64-56
  • FU7562L – LQFP52
  • FU7561Q – QFN56
  • FU7541Q – QFN48
  • FU7512L (LQFP64), FU7512P (LQFP48)

Nine SKUs are currently available with different drive types, number of I/Os, packages, and target applications.

The company appears to provide a development board (pictured below), but I could not find public details.

Having said that, we found out about the new FU75xx family through Banana Pi’s upcoming BPI-BJ2403N Servo motor controller based on the FU7512L SKU, and they’ve shared the datasheet for the FU75XX microcontrollers and a GitHub repo with source code (C language) and binaries that relies on Fortior Tech’s FTM32ForIDE. We’ll cover the Banana Pi in detail once it’s up for sale.

The shocker is when I check the price on JLCPCB: about 2 cents for the FU7512L, and other FU75xx parts when buying a few hundred pieces. In the screenshot below, it costs $8.97 to purchase 444 FU7512L chips, or $0.0202 per unit. Related products are shown to be $0.0392 per unit, but that’s for a single unit, and the minimum order is 444 pieces…

That’s only for people who purchase PCBs from JLCPC, but that’s still impressive. I double-checked the Raspberry Pi RP2040 price to make sure I didn’t misunderstand pricing, and it goes for 71 cents as expected, but I still feel the 2 – 4 cents price for the Fortior chips is likely a placeholder rather than the actual price. Additional information may also be found in the press release on the Fortior Tech website.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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