Atmel expands metering platform for advanced smart energy apps

Atmel has expanded its Atmel | SMART portfolio of energy metering products with the recent introduction of the SAM4C32 dual-core secure MCU, along with the SAM4CMS32 and SAM4CMP32 for residential, commercial and industrial metering applications. The new system-on-chip (SoC) solutions have 2MB of cache-enabled dual-bank flash, are pin-pin compatible with existing 512KB and 1MB devices in the portfolio, and allow unparalleled scalability and design-reuse for next-generation smart metering platforms.

The SAM4Cx series is built on a dual-core 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 architecture with flexible firmware metrology capability up to a class 0.2 accuracy designed to meet WELMEC requirements for the separation of legal metrology, applications and communications. All devices include advanced security features, low-power real-time clock and LCD driver, and multiple serial interfaces resulting in a best-in-class level of integration, performance and lower bill of material (BOM) cost.

“As the rate of smart meter deployments continue to rise in several European and Asian regions, our customers demand an unprecedented level of integration and scalability to maximize their R&D investment and to address multiple utility markets more quickly at lower cost points,” explained Kourosh Boutorabi, Atmel’s Senior Director of Smart Metering. “We are committed to offering next-generation smart metering system architects a broad portfolio of solutions based on the same core platform architecture, software and tools.”

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the Atmel | SMART SAM4Cx is a comprehensive smart energy platform designed specifically for grid communications, electricity, gas and water metering systems, and energy measurement applications.

Key features of the SAM4CMS32 and SAM4CMP32 include:

• Application / Master Core
  • ARM Cortex-M4 running at up to 120MHz
  • Memory Protection Unit (MPU)
  • DSP Instruction
  • Thumb®-2 instruction set
  • Instruction and Data Cache Controller with 2 Kbytes Cache Memory
  • 2Mbytes of flash, 256Kbytes of SRAM, 8Kbytes of ROM
• Coprocessor (provides ability to separate application, communication or metrology functions)
  • ARM Cortex-M4F
  • 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
  • 32K+16K bytes of SRAM
• Symmetrical/Asynchronous Dual Core Architecture
  • Interrupt-based Inter-processor Communication
  • Asynchronous Clocking
  • One Interrupt Controller (NVIC) for each core
  • Each Peripheral IRQs routed to each NVIC Inputs
• 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)
  • 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
  • Two (ATSAM4CMS32) / one (ATSAM4CMP32) physical Anti-Tamper Detection I/Os with Time Stamping and Immediate Clear of General Backup Registers
  • Security Bit for Device Protection from JTAG Accesses
• Shared System Controller
  • Embedded Core and LCD Voltage Regulator for single supply operation
  • Power-on-Reset (POR), Brownout Detector (BOD) and Dual Watchdog for safe operation
  • Ultra-low-power Backup mode (< 0.5 µA Typical @ 25°C)
  • Optional 3 to 20 MHz quartz or ceramic resonator oscillators with clock failure detection
  • Ultra-low-power 32.768 kHz crystal oscillator for RTC with frequency monitoring
  • High-precision 4/8/12 MHz factory-trimmed internal RC oscillator with on-the-fly trimming capability
  • One high-frequency PLL up to 240 MHz, one 8 MHz PLL with internal 32 kHz input
  • Low-power slow clock internal RC oscillator as permanent clock
  • Power Supply
  • Clock
  • Ultra-low-power RTC with Gregorian and Persian Calendar, Waveform Generation and Clock Calibration
  • Up to 23 Peripheral DMA (PDC) Channels
• Shared Peripherals
  • One Segmented LCD Controller
    • Display capacity of 38 segments and 6 common terminals
    • Software-selectable LCD output voltage (Contrast)
    • Can be used in Backup mode
  • Four USARTs (ATSAM4CMS32) or three USARTs (ATSAM4CMP32) with ISO7816, IrDA®, RS-485, SPI and Manchester Mode /
  • Two 2-wire UARTs
  • Up to two 400 kHz Master/Slave and Multi-Master Two-wire Interfaces (I2C compatible)
  • Up to five Serial Peripheral Interfaces (SPI)
  • Two 3-channel 16-bit Timer/Counters with Capture, Waveform, Compare and PWM modes
  • Quadrature Decoder Logic and 2-bit Gray Up/Down Counter for Stepper Motor
  • 3-channel 16-bit Pulse Width Modulator
  • 32-bit Real-time Timer
• Energy Metering Analog-Front-End Module
  • Works with Atmel’s MCU Metrology library
  • Compliant with Class 0.2 standards (ANSI C12.20-2002 and IEC 62053-22)
  • Four Sigma-Delta ADC measurement channels, 20-bit resolution, 102 dB dynamic range
• Analog Conversion Block
  • 6-channel, 500 kS/s, Low-power, 10-bit SAR ADC with Digital averager providing 12-bit resolution at 30 kS/s
  • Software Controlled On-chip Reference ranging from 1.6V to 3.4V
  • Temperature Sensor and Backup Battery Voltage Measurement Channel
• I/O
  • Up to 57 I/O lines (ATSAM4CMS32) or up to 52 I/O lines (ATSAM4CMP32) with External Interrupt Capability (edge or level sensitivity), Schmitt Trigger, Internal Pull-up/pull-down, Debouncing, Glitch Filtering and On-die Series Resistor Termination
• Package
  • 100-lead LQFP, 14 x 14 mm, pitch 0.5 mm

Learn more about the newest SAM4C32 MCUs here.