Atmel introduces next-gen SoC solution for smart metering

Atmel recently announced the introduction of its latest Power Line Communication System-on-Chip (SoC) solution designed for smart metering applications.

The Atmel SAM4CP16B is an extension of Atmel’s SAM4Cx smart energy platform built on a dual-core 32-bit ARM® Cortex®-M4 architecture. Fully compatible with Atmel’s ATPL230A OFDM physical layer (PHY) device compliant with PRIME standard specification, this highly flexible solution addresses OEM’s requirements for various system partitioning, BOM reduction and time-to-market requirements by incorporating independent application, protocol stack and physical layer processing functions within the same device.

“We continue to build on the success of our industry leading SAM4Cx platform and offer best-in-class embedded connectivity, flexibility and cost structure for high-volume smart metering deployments,” said Andres Munoz, Atmel Marketing Manager, Smart Energy Communications. “Furthermore, additional enhancements developed to meet PRIME standard specifications provide unprecedented performance in rigorous environments.”

As part of the Atmel® | SMART™ family, the solution includes integrated low-power driver, advanced cryptography, 1Mbytes of embedded Flash, 152Kbytes of SRAM, low-power RTC, and LCD controller. Additional key features include:

• Application/Master Core
  — ARM Cortex-M4 running at up to 120 MHz
  — Memory Protection Unit (MPU)
  — DSP Instruction
  — Thumb®-2 instruction set
  — Instruction and Data Cache Controller with 2 Kbytes Cache Memory
• Co-processor
  — ARM Cortex-M4F running at up to 120 MHz
  — IEEE® 754 Compliant, Single precision Floating-Point Unit (FPU)
  — DSP Instruction
  — Thumb-2 instruction set
  — Instruction and Data Cache Controller with 2 Kbytes Cache Memory
• Symmetrical/Asynchronous Dual Core Architecture
  — Interrupt-based Interprocessor Communication
  — Asynchronous Clocking
  — One Interrupt Controller (NVIC) for each core
  — Each Peripheral IRQ routed to each NVIC Input
• Cryptography
  — High-performance AES 128 to 256 with various modes (GCM, CBC, ECB, CFB, CBC-MAC, CTR)
  — TRNG (up to 38 Mbit/s stream, with tested Diehard and FIPS)
  — Classical Public Key Crypto accelerator and associated ROM library for RSA, ECC, DSA, ECDSA
  — Integrity Check Module (ICM) based on Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA1, SHA224, SHA256), DMA assisted
• Safety
  — 4 Physical Anti-tamper Detection I/O with Time Stamping and Immediate Clear of General Backup Registers
  — Security bit for Device Protection from JTAG accesses
• PRIME PLC embedded modem
  — Power Line Carrier Modem for 50 Hz and 60 Hz mains
  — 97-carriers OFDM PRIME compliant
  — DBPSK, DQPSK, D8PSK modulation schemes available
  — Additional enhanced modes available: DBPSK Robust, DQPSK Robust
  — Eight selectable channels between 42kHz to 472kHz available
  — Baud rate Selectable: 5.4 to 128.6 kbps
  — Four dedicated buffers for transmission/reception
  — Up to 124.6 dBμVrms injected signal against PRIME load
  — Up to 79.6 dB of dynamic range in PRIME networks
  — Automatic Gain Control and continuous amplitude tracking in signal reception
  — Class D switching power amplifier control
• Shared System Controller
  — Power Supply
  — Embedded Core and LCD Voltage Regulator for single supply operation
  — Power-on-Reset (POR), Brownout Detector (BOD) and Watchdog for safe operation
  —Low Power Sleep and Backup modes

Interested in learning more about Atmel’s new comprehensive smart energy platform? You can check out our recent deep dive on the subject here.