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The CC2640R2F SimpleLink ultra-low-power wireless microcontroller from Texas Instruments (TI) is in stock at Mouser Electronics. Part of TI’s CC26xx SimpleLink family of 2.4GHz devices, the CC2640R2F microcontroller features a small, single-chip system that integrates a flash-based microcontroller and Bluetooth Smart radio to target Bluetooth 4.2 and Bluetooth 5 low-energy applications. The microcontroller combines a 61μA/MHz ARM Cortex-M3 microcontroller and a rich peripheral set that includes an 8.2μA/MHz sensor controller. The 48MHz ARM microcontroller offers 128 kBytes of flash and 28 kBytes of SRAM and supports over-the-air (OTA) updates. The sensor controller is ideal for interfacing external sensors and for collecting analog and digital data autonomously while the rest of the system is in sleep mode. The device includes a 12-bit analogue-to-digital converter, up to 31 general-purpose inputs and outputs (GPIOs), and built-in robust security on chip with one of the simplest radio frequency (RF) and antenna designs available. Minimal RF expertise is required to implement the device, which helps make development and layout extremely easy. The wireless microcontroller is available in 2.7×2.7 mm WCSP and 4×4, 5×5 and 7×7 mm QFN packages, and is designed for a board array of wireless Internet of Things (IoT) applications, including health and fitness, industrial, and home and building automation. With ready-to-use protocol stacks (including the SIMPLELINK-CC2640R2-SDK software development kit for Bluetooth 5), the SimpleLink portfolio of wireless connectivity solutions not only offers designers maximum flexibility and support but also delivers multi-standard capabilities with code- and pin-compatibility across Bluetooth Smart, 6LoWPAN, ZigBee and ZigBee RF4CE.   Ref: KY32-MB91F376GPMCR-GS KY32-MB90F548GSPFV-G KY32-HD6417604SVF20

Two microcontroller lines from STMicroelectronics increase energy efficiency, flexibility, and feature integration at the high end of the STM32F4 Access Line for high-performance embedded designs. Qualified up to 125°C, these STM32 devices target always-on sensor acquisition and general-purpose industrial applications and present a robust and cost-effective upgrade from STM32F1 MCUs. The STM32F413 and crypto-enhanced STM32F423 integrate up to 1.5MB Flash and dense SRAM of 320KB. These are the most highly featured of the STM32F4 Access Lines, with rich audio capabilities including a Serial Audio Interface (SAI) and an enhanced voice-acquisition interface with multi-channel Digital Filter for Sigma-Delta Modulators (DFSDM) that enables low-power sound localisation and beam forming. The devices also provide peripheral integration, with two 12-bit Digital-Analogue Converters (DACs), up to 10 UARTs, and three CAN 2.0B active interfaces. The crypto-enhanced STM32F423 also has a True Random-Number Generator (TRNG) and AES-256 cryptographic hardware accelerator.Sitting at the top of the STM32F4 Access Lines, the MCUs introduce a 100MHz dual-mode Quad SPI for connecting serial off-chip memory, 16-bit Flexible Memory Controller (FMC) for external SRAM, PSRAM or NOR Flash, up to 16-bit QVGA or 8-bit WQVGA LCD interface, and USB OTG with Link Power Management (LPM) and dual power rails that save external level shifting.In addition, both lines feature a RAM-access scheme that uses the Instruction and Data (I/D) buses and the System BUS (SBUS) to connect to separate RAM1 (256KB) and RAM2 (64KB) areas thereby minimising contentions. An enhanced DMA Batch Acquisition Mode (BAM+) takes advantage of these separate RAM1 and RAM2 areas to process code and data extremely efficiently in sensor-hub applications.Delivering high performance, the STM32 microcontrollers combine the 100MHz 125DMIPS/339 EEMBC CoreMark ARM Cortex-M4 core with ST’s power-saving Dynamic Efficiency technologies that cut RUN mode current up to 112µA/MHz. These Dynamic Efficiency technologies include the ST ART Accelerator for zero-wait execution from Flash, and the supply-voltage extending down to 1.7V, to maximise the battery life of always-connected devices.Designers can immediately start their projects using the NUCLEO-F413ZH development board. This STM32 Nucleo-144 board comes with the ST-LINK/V2-1 debugger/programmer, software libraries and examples, and can be used directly with ARM mbed online resources. Ref:KY32-STM32F401CBU6KY32-STM32F401CCU6KY362-STM32F401C-DISCO

ST announced last week the world’s most powerful implementation of the ARM® Cortex®-M7 processor for the embedded market. Come and see it in action on our booth Hall 5, Stand 207. It is more than twice as fast as the STM32F7 series, the previous STM32 flagship series, meaning that its core frequency of 400 MHz has enabled ST to become the first ever to reach 2010 points in CoreMark with a Cortex-M MCU. This is possible because ST is the first to have shrunk its M7 implementation from a 90 nm process node to 40 nm. Although some manufacturers have started or are about to start mass producing SoCs in 10 nm technologies, it is important to understand that these components only have digital circuits, unlike ST’s embedded MCU, which includes digital circuitry as well as Flash memory, and analog components which require much more complex processes.Some reasons other than the technology shrink that enable the STM32H7 to set new performance records are detailed below.Three Domains, Memory-PackedTo optimize the STM32H7, its architecture has been divided into three domains. Very simply, the first one (D1) includes the core with its cache, Flash memory and high bandwidth peripherals like the module to drive a screen or the Chrom-Art graphics engine. D2, the connectivity domain, groups low-speed peripherals like USB, the cryptographic accelerator and the SD/MMC2 unit for storage. Finally, D3, the batch acquisition mode domain, is responsible for some of the most fundamental aspects of the MCU like its reset and clock control as well as ADCs, GPIO, RTC, the chip’s power management and a basic DMA (BDMA) controller.This structure allowed ST to design a flexible and efficient architecture that packs a massive internal memory compared to some STM32F7 series. Tthe L1 Cache is now four times bigger with 16 KB for instructions and the same amount for data. ST also included a total of 1 MB of SRAM and 2 MB of Flash, which is three times and twice as much respectively as the previous generation. However, instead of using a single block of SRAM, that would only benefit a certain domain, the STM32H7 placed various amounts at different locations to make the memory more versatile.Optimized Memory and FPUAnother great feature of the STM32H7 series is the ability to use ECC SRAM and Flash. The speed increase compared to the STM32F7 series is so high that ST now has the computational resources to add error correction and still break performance records.  By providing ECC, ST not only ensures data integrity, but also improves data retention in the Flash.The inclusion of a double precision (FP64) floating point unit may not always be obvious, but some of the products that will benefit the most from the STM32H7 series need to perform DSP-type computations. For instance, an embedded system that monitors a power grid and will need to compute fast Fourier Transform algorithms, or a connected device that will run a precise GPS system will rely heavily on double precision computations.The STM32H7 series also builds on the previous generation by adding 10 more communication peripherals, making a total of 35, it still offers cryptographic and hashing hardware acceleration, and remains pin to pin as well as software compatible with the STM32F7 series.Power Saving FeaturesDespite all this performance the STM32H7’s dynamic power consumption is 50% lower at only 250uA/MHz and it is possible to put D1 and D2 in a very low-powered standby mode (7µA) while D3 continues to capture data in its SRAM without needing to wake up the other domains, therefore greatly saving energy. There’s also a complex and elaborate clock-control scheme to ensure that different parts of the architecture run at varying speeds in order to further improve the MCU’s efficiency.The record-breaking STM32H7 series is sampling today to specific partners, and will be in mass production in Q2 2017. At this time, ST will have updated the mbed development platform to ensure developers can take full advantage of this groundbreaking architecture.More information about the STM32H7 series may be found on ST’s blog post or on it’s website. More information about ST’s Electronica presence, including the presentation program, can be found on the dedicated event pages.Meet also with the ST teams on the electronica Fast Forward startup platform. Ref:KY32-STM32F745IEK6KY32-STM32F745IGK6KY362-STM32F746G-DISCO 

Freescale Semiconductor is introducing one of the smallest ARM based Microcontroller Units (MCUs) ever, a chip that is roughly the size of a dimple on a golf ball—the Kinetis KL03. Because of its extremely small size, the company is positioning the MCU as an important step towards the development of the concept known as "The Internet of Things."ARM processors are a group of reduced instruction set processors based on the RISC architecture. As they have evolved, they have come to be used primarily as processors for embedded applications—they do one kind of thing really well, rather than a lot of things reasonably well. One such sub-group of ARM processors are known as Microcontroller Units—very small processors that are intended for a single type of application, such as monitoring an electrical signal, blood pressure or the amount of light in a room. They advantage of having a group type is that it allows for compatibility between similar devices and peripherals, and portability of code. As MCUs have grown smaller, they have become an integral part of the The Internet of Things.The Internet of Things, is an idea that doesn't yet have a formal designation—like the Internet, people define it differently depending on their own perspective. In general, it's a way of describing a world where everyday life is connected to the Internet—where physical objects are seamlessly connected to human activity and the information network. In such a world people and tiny devices will coexist to such an extent they become intertwined—everyone will be connected to everyone and everything else—all the time.The new MCU developed by Freescale is 15 percent smaller than anything the company has made before, yet is just as powerful. Its 32 bit architecture chip measures a mere 1.6 x 2 millimeters—small enough to be embedded in wearable devices (or swallowed as part of a biometric sensor). Onboard it has 32KB flash memory, 8K ROM and 2K RAM. It also has a boot loader and analog comparator and power management software for reducing battery needs. In short, it has everything a device maker might need to create devices that are so small, in many cases, people won't be aware of their presence.Whether such a processor proves to be a harbinger of The Internet of Things remains to be seen. What is likely certain, however, is that MCUs such as the KL03 will very soon be embedded in a whole new world of tiny devices, offering unprecedented capabilities.