Atmel has expanded its low-power ARM Cortex M0+-based MCU portfolio with three new families: the SAM D21, D10 and D11. These entry-level, low-power MCUs are packed with high-end features including Atmel’s Event System, SERCOM module, peripheral touch controller and a full-speed USB interface.
“As more devices are becoming smarter and connected in this era of the Internet of Things (IoT), designers are looking for MCUs with additional connectivity and communication options to scale their applications in the consumer, industrial and medical markets,” explained Patrick Sullivan, Vice President of Marketing, Microcontroller Business Unit, Atmel Corporation.
“Atmel’s new SAM D21, D10 and D11 families of Cortex M0+-based MCUs deliver low-power consumption, connectivity and small footprint, providing designers just the right price-to-performance ratio. These new families expand the company’s growing line of Atmel Smart microcontrollers with new pin and memory combinations, along with new features such as DMA and crystal-less USB.”
As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, Atmel’s SAM D portfolio is architected beyond the core, leveraging over two decades of MCU experience to create unique, connected peripherals that are easy-to-use, while providing scalability and performance. Indeed, to help simplify the design process and eliminate the need for additional components, Atmel’s new SAM D lineup integrates additional functionality, including full-speed crystal-less USB, DMA, I2S, timers/counters for control applications, along with several other new features. Atmel’s SAM D devices are also code- and pin-compatible making it easy for designers to migrate up and down the family.
“Atmel’s expanded portfolio of low-power SAM D family ARM Cortex-M0+-based devices enables more designers to deliver smart devices in this increasingly connected world,” said Noel Hurley, Deputy General Manager, CPU Group, ARM.
“The ARM Cortex-M0+ processor is a highly area- and energy-efficient core which enables partners, such as Atmel, to provide the right peripheral set, intelligence, communication and memory for their customers’ needs.”
Key SAM D21 features include:
- 48MHz operation 2.14 Coremark/MHz
- Single-cycle IO access
- 6- to 12-channel Event System
- 6- to 12-channel DMA
- Up to six SERCOM modules configurable as UART/USART, SPI, I2C
- 12Mbps USB 2.0 device with an embedded host and device
- Two-channel I2S with 96MHz fractional PLL for audio streaming
- Up to five 16-bit timers, up to three 16-bit times optimized for control applications
- Peripheral touch controller supports up to 256 touch channels for capacitive touch buttons, sliders, wheels and proximity sensing
- Down to 70uA/MHz in active mode
- 4uA RAM retention
- Real-time clock and calendar
- Option to choose between internal and external oscillators, on-the-fly clock switching
- Sleepwalking
To help accelerate the design process, the $39 SAM D21 Xplained Pro is equipped with an embedded debugger/programmer and offers support for a wide range of compatible extensions boards. Standalone programmer debugger solutions supporting the SAM D family are also available from both Atmel and third parties, with the Atmel SAM D MCUs fully supported by Atmel Studio and Atmel Software Framework.
The SAM D21 is the first family in this expanded portfolio, and samples and tools are available today with volume production in May 2014. The SAM D21 is offered in 32KB to 256KB of Flash and in 32-, 48- and 64-pin packages. Meanwhile, the SAM D10 and D11 families will be available in 14- and 20-pin SOIC and 24-pin QFN packages with up to 16KB of Flash. Both memory options feature 4KB of SRAM. All package options minimize the number of power pins to maximize the amount of IO available for the application. Engineering samples and tools are slated to go live in Q2 2014.
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