Ultra-low power Cortex M0+ MCUs for IoT devices

28th August 2013

Nat Bowers

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Datasheet

Atmel is now shipping production quantities of its new Atmel SAM D20 MCUs, the first series in a new family of ultra-low power embedded Flash microcontrollers based on the ARM Cortex-M0+ processor. In this era of the Internet of Things, products used in building automation, consumer electronics, smart metering, and industrial controls are becoming smarter and more connected.

Atmel’s new SAM D20 MCU gives designers access to a new Cortex M0+ based MCU to easily add more intelligence and connectivity to next-generation IoT devices.

The new series combines innovative and proven technologies including intelligent peripherals with Atmel’s Event System and capacitive touch support for button, slider and wheel capability and proximity sensing. The new SAM D20 series is supported by the latest version of Atmel Studio and Atmel Software Framework, the integrated development platform for developing and debugging Atmel ARM Cortex-M and Atmel AVR MCU- based applications.

Ingar Fredriksen, Senior Director of Flash-based Microcontrollers at Atmel, comments: “We’ve built decades of innovation and experience in embedded Flash MCU technology into our new Atmel SAM D20 family. The SAM D20 sets a new benchmark for flexibility and ease-of-use, and combines the performance and energy efficiency of the ARM Cortex-M0+ core with an optimized architecture and peripheral set. We’ve brought true differentiation into this new family, making it the ideal MCU for low-power, cost-sensitive industrial and consumer applications.”

Key features for Atmel’s SAM D20 Cortex-M0+ ARM-based series includes:

Integration of high-precision 12-bit analog and internal oscillators, up to eight 16-bit timer/counters, real-time performance, peripheral event system, and flexible clocking options and sleep modes.
Serial communication module (SERCOM module) that can be configured from the application to act as an USART, UART, SPI and I2C; each device in this new family includes four to six SERCOM modules.
Support for button, slider and wheel touch capability as well as proximity without the need for external components, and features 14 new devices available in 32-, 48- and 64-pin package options with 16 to 256KB of Flash memory.

Evaluation Kit

To accelerate design, the SAM D20 Xplained PRO evaluation kits are available today for USD $39. The kit features a 64-pin and a 256KB SAM D20 device along with a programmer/debugger and hardware to evaluate both the processor and the peripherals and comes pre-loaded with software that can easily be re-programmed, debugged and prototyped.

Availability

Production quantities of the128KB 32-pin, and 256KB 48-and 64 pin products are available in QFN and QFP packages now.