Enhancing access lines of STM32F4 microcontrollers

27th September 2016

Enaie Azambuja

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STMicroelectronics has extended its high-performance STM32F4 MCU series at the entry level, introducing new devices with more memory and extra features, as well as the first STM32F4 MCUs qualified to 125°C. Enhancements to the quick-start Discovery Kit help developers take advantage of the new features.

The new STM32F412 and high-temperature STM32F410 MCUs give designers more choices within the economical Access Lines, which feature the 84MHz (STM32F401 line) and 100MHz (STM32F410/F411/F412 lines) ARM Cortex-M4 cores and 128KB to 1MB Flash with up to 256KB RAM.

The Access Lines offer easy scalability to both STM32F4 Foundation Line and Advanced Line devices. The STM32F412 comes with high-performance interfaces to off-chip memory via dual-mode 100MHz Quad-SPI and a Flexible Memory Controller (FMC) for static memory that allow efficient expansion of the integrated 1MB Flash and 256KB RAM.

There is also a new LCD parallel interface, which allows managing displays up to QVGA resolution with 16-bit colour depth or WQVGA with 8-bit depth. A True Random Number Generator (TRNG) enhances support for performing security algorithms such as cryptography.

In addition, the USB OTG port present in the current Access Lines is enhanced with Link Power Management (LPM) and dual power rails that enable designers to save circuit-board space by eliminating level shifters.

The STM32F410 begins a roadmap that will ultimately qualify all STM32F4 Access Line MCUs to 125°C. Like other Access Line MCUs, both the STM32F410 and STM32F412 support Direct Memory Access (DMA) Batch Acquisition Mode (BAM) to capture data without waking the CPU in power-conscious applications.

In addition, digital filters for four low-power microphone channels allow efficient hosting of speech-recognition algorithms with lower power consumption and low CPU loading.

Alongside the evolution of the Access Line MCUs to meet advancing customer needs, ST has also added new features to the supporting STM32F412 Discovery Kit (STM32F412G-DISCO). Its new 1.54-inch touchscreen colour LCD simplifies HMI development and it has on-board stereo digital MEMS microphones, an I2S codec and headphone, microphone, and speaker connections, and Arduino Uno expansion connectors. A low-cost STM32 Nucleo board (NUCLEO-F412ZG) is also available, featuring a 144-pin STM32F412ZG MCU.

The STM32F412 is available now, from $3.60 for 10,000 pieces, in UQFN48 package. The STM32F410 is also available immediately from $1.71 for 10,000 pieces in the WLCSP package, qualified for 85°C operation. Priced at $25.00, the Discovery Kit is available now from distributors or directly from www.st.com/stm32f4.