Atmel launches SAM3U Flash microcontroller

Atmel Corporation has introduced the SAM3U ARM Cortex-M3 Flash microcontroller.

The SAM3U integrates a high-speed (480Mbps) USB device and transceiver, a 4-bit 192Mbps SDIO/SDCard 2.0, an 8-bit 384Mbps MMC 4.3 host and 48Mpbs SPI interfaces on chip.

This connectivity, together with its 96MHz/1.25DMIPS/MHz operating frequency, makes the SAM3U Cortex-M3 device suitable for applications with intensive communications requirements, such as high-speed gateways in industrial, medical, data-processing and consumer applications.

The introduction of the SAM3U expands Atmel's 32-bit MCU portfolio, consisting of ARM and AVR32 products.

To fully exploit the SAM3U's high-speed communication peripherals, the device is built around a high data-bandwidth architecture with a five-layer bus matrix, 23 DMA channels and distributed on-chip memory, including up to 52Kb of SRAM split in three blocks and up to 256Kb of Flash in two banks.

The dual-bank Flash offers in-application programming (IAP), where one memory bank is written with a new version of the firmware, while the processor executes from the other bank.

A programmable-boot feature enables switching between the two Flash banks at the next MCU reboot.

Additional features include an eight-channel-each 10- and 12-bit ADC, the latter with an integrated programmable gain amplifier (PGA), differential and single-ended input to remove external OpAmps and a one Msps sample rate, four UARTs, five SPIs, two I2Cs, an I2S, timers, PWM, 128-bit unique ID and power and reset management.

The external bus interface offers the choice between 8- and 16-bit data bus widths for extended memory or connection to external FPGAs and ASSPs.

The SAM3U's supply voltage ranges from 1.62V to 3.6V.

Jacko Wilbrink, Atmel's marketing director for ARM-based microcontrollers, said: 'Atmel was the first to adapt USB full speed in its ARM Flash MCUs as a de-facto standard peripheral and we are now driving the deployment of USB high speed in the embedded space.

'USB full speed at 12Mbps displaced the UART; USB high speed at 480Mbps has the potential to replace parallel wire interconnections, reducing cost, improving reliability and improving EMI characteristics.

The SAM3U incorporates an advanced power management regime that minimises power consumption under all conditions of use.

The device can be put in back-up mode, with the core and peripherals powered down, in which power consumption is only 2.5uA.

Wake-up from back-up mode can be triggered by multiple sources and is accelerated via a high-speed on-chip RC oscillator, reducing the average power consumption critical for battery-operated systems.

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