Application Spotlight on
MCUs and
Embedded ARM
Solutions
®
Component Focus: pages 2-14
Intersil’s ISL8117 buck regulator handles extremely
wide input:output voltage ratios
Design Note: page 15
The relation between the conductor current and
the strength of the magnetic field it generates
Application Spotlight: pages 17-25
Performance breakthrough as STMicroelectronics
introduces STM32F756 microcontroller
Technical View: pages 26-27
Starting fast with a µClinux development project
running on a 32-bit STMicroelectronics MCU
NEWS
IN
BRIEF
Ambiq Micro signs global
distribution agreement with
Future Electronics
Ambiq Micro, which manufactures ultra lowpower real-time clocks (RTCs) and
microcontrollers for power-sensitive
applications, has signed a global distribution
agreement with Future Electronics.
Ambiq’s RTCs and Apollo family of MCUs
with ARM® Cortex® processors are based on
Ambiq’s patented Sub-threshold PowerOptimised Technology (SPOT™) platform.
This innovative technology enables the
operation of transistors at voltage levels far
below that considered normal in the
semiconductor industry. This means that
designers using Ambiq products can
achieve much lower power consumption
than systems using other RTCs or MCUs.
STAR
PRODUCT
Digital controller for wireless
battery chargers complies with
latest Qi standard
STAR
STMICROELECTRONICS
PRODUCT
The reference design is offered
together with a complete
ecosystem to support
customers in building their
applications, including the
STEVAL-ISB027V1 board, API
libraries, and documentation to
support the development of
custom software, as well as a
comprehensive graphical user
interface for monitoring realtime performance and
diagnostics.
Smart-metering ICs gain PRIME
v1.4 certification
Atmel has announced it is the first
semiconductor manufacturer to receive
PoweRline Intelligent Metering Evolution
(PRIME) v1.4 Profile 2 certification. The
certification has been granted to the Atmel® |
SMART SAM4CP16B and ATPL230A smartmetering solutions.
This latest PRIME standard supports
some of the most demanding requirements
of smart-metering systems by offering
increased robustness, throughput, band
expansion and band-plan flexibility as well
as support for the IPv6 protocol.
Improved desktop external ACDC power supplies now meet
Level VI efficiency standards
CUI Inc., has announced the enhancement
of its 90W and 120W desktop AC-DC
power-supply series to meet the new Level
VI efficiency standards. The SDI90-U and
SDI120-U series meet the more stringent
requirements laid down by the US
Department of Energy for average efficiency
and no-load power, set to come into effect
in February 2016.
©Copyright 2015 Future Electronics Ltd. All trademarks contained herein are the
property of their respective owners. Applications for product samples, badge
boards, demonstration boards, Future Electronics’ boards and other advertised
materials from Future Electronics are offered subject to qualification.
150601:
2
For more information e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
STMicroelectronics has introduced an
integrated digital power controller for
wireless battery-charger transmitters,
offering a flexible and efficient solution
for controlling power transfer to
battery-powered devices that use
electromagnetic induction for recharging.
The new STWBC is certified as compliant with
the Qi 1.1.2 A11 standard of the Qi Wireless
Power Consortium. It is also fully compatible
with the wireless charging protocols specified
by the Power Matters Alliance.
The STWBC, which features an internal
96MHz clock and which supports both halfbridge and full-bridge topologies, performs all
the functions of transmitter control: it is able to
precisely control the amount of transmitted
power to match the requirements of the
receiving unit while maximising the efficiency of
the power transfer.
The STWBC comes with firmware options,
enabling designers to tailor operation to the
requirements of their end-product without
involving an external microcontroller.
The operation of a Qi 1.1.2 A11-certified
solution based on the STWBC is demonstrated
in the STEVAL-ISB027V1 reference design from
ST, intended for all Qi-compatible receivers. In
the reference design, the STWBC provides for
foreign object detection: the digital feedback
between the transmitter and receiver allows the
detection of metal objects close to the receiver
that could cause a potential hazard, enabling
the STWBC to stop power transmission when
such objects are detected.
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Mobile devices
Wearable devices
Sports equipment
Medical equipment
Remote controls
FEATURES
• Support for applications up to 5W
• 5V supply voltage
• 10-bit ADC
• UART interface
• I C master
• Operating temperature range:
2
-40°C to 105°C
150602:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
FREE
BOARDS
Wireless Battery-charger Transmitter Design
The STEVAL-ISB027V1 is an evaluation board
demonstrating a 5W Qi-certified wireless battery-charger
transmitter. The complete kit includes the STWBC IC,
firmware, two-layer PCB layout and tools.
Orderable Part Number: STEVAL-ISB027V1
Apply now at my-boardclub.com
Fast-track board request code: FTM56A
EMAIL INFO@My-FTM.COM FOR SAMPLES AND DATASHEETS
COMPONENT
FOCUS
New controller enables single-stage buck-converter designs for
very high input:output ratios
INTERSIL
The new ISL8117, a 60V synchronous
buck controller from Intersil, provides a
simple, low-cost and efficient way to
implement a Point-of-Load (PoL) power
supply in which there is a large difference
between the input and output voltages.
The ISL8117 can provide stable operation with
a remarkably low on-time of as little as 40ns.
This enables the designer to create a power
supply with a very low duty cycle,
such as a PoL circuit which steps a
48V input down to a 1V output.
Before now, the designer of such
an application would have to choose
one of two options: an expensive
module, or a two-stage discrete DCDC converter circuit. The ISL8117
enables this wide voltage gap to be
bridged for the first time by a singlestage converter design. This is
cheaper than a module, and both
cheaper and easier to design than
an equivalent two-stage design.
In addition, the ISL8117 provides
high efficiency across all loads. Its
unique diode emulation mode dramatically
lowers light load power consumption while
producing consistent output ripple at varying
load levels.
In ideal situations, a complete power-supply
circuit can be designed with the ISL8117 and
just 10 external components.
The device uses internal loop compensation,
and provides single-resistor settings for
functions such as operating frequency and
over-current protection. Its current-mode
control scheme with input-voltage feed-forward
enables it to support various applications even
with fixed internal compensation schemes.
ENERGY
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
• Industrial equipment
• Networking and communications
•
•
equipment
Medical equipment
Industrial process-control equipment
FEATURES
• Switching frequency adjustable between
•
•
•
•
100kHz and 2MHz
Up to 98% conversion efficiency
±1.5% output-voltage accuracy
Programmable soft-start
Power-good indicator
150603:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
FREE
BOARDS
Synchronous Buck Controller Development
The ISL8117EVAL2Z provides a comprehensive platform
for exploration of the ISL8117’s ability to step a power rail
of as much as 48V down to as little as 1V.
Orderable Part Number: ISL8117EVAL2Z
Apply now at my-boardclub.com
Fast-track board request code: FTM56A
Ultra-sensitive capacitive touch sensors detect
a gloved finger
ON SEMICONDUCTOR
ON Semiconductor has introduced a
family of capacitive touch-sense
controllers offering either 8 or 16
sensing channels.
The LC717A00AJ and LC717A00AR have 8
input channels for capacitive sensing. The
LC717A10AJ, LC717A10AR and
LC717A10PJ have 16 channels.
The devices are high-performance,
low-cost capacitance-to-digital
converters which may be used to
easily implement an electrostatic
capacitive touch sensor. Extremely
sensitive, they are capable of detecting
tiny changes in capacitance, making
them suitable for use in systems
operated by users wearing gloves, or
through a thick overlay.
The built-in logic circuit detects the
on/off state of each input, and
produces the result as a digital output.
No external components are required for the
measurement function.
Calibration is automatically performed by the
logic circuit at start-up or whenever there are
changes in the operating environment. In
addition, once the operating parameters, such
as gain, are configured, the LC717Ax0
converters can operate in stand-alone mode
when the recommended switch pattern is
applied.
Alternatively, the parameters can be modified
by an external controller via the device’s I2C or
SPI bus interfaces.
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
White goods
Cooking appliances
PC peripherals
Office automation equipment
FEATURES
Differential capacitance detection
3ms minimum measurement interval
Automatic noise compensation
320µA operating current at 2.8V input
Supply voltage range: 2.6V to 5.5V
150604:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
LC717Ax0: detects the touch of a gloved hand
VISIT THE ONLINE FTM MAGAZINE AT: WWW.My-FTM.COM
3
COMPONENT
FOCUS
Low-profile rectifiers provide for higher-density
power-system designs
VISHAy
Vishay Intertechnology has introduced
16 new FRED Pt® Hyperfast and
Ultrafast recovery rectifiers with average
forward-current ratings ranging from
10A to 30A, and housed in a lowprofile SMPD, TO-263AC package.
The new devices’ SMPD package is footprintcompatible with the TO-263, D2PAK package,
but has a lower height of <1.7mm, enabling
users to achieve increased power density and
efficiency, and to realise end-products with a
slimmer form factor.
Combining fast and soft recovery characteristics
with low leakage current and a low forwardvoltage drop, the Vishay Semiconductors
rectifiers enable designers to reduce switching
losses and over-dissipation in automotive and
telecoms applications. The reverse recovery
times of the new rectifiers range between 25ns
and 55ns.
The rectifiers feature a planar structure and
platinum-doped lifetime control to guarantee
high overall performance, ruggedness and
reliability.
Part Number
Type
VS-10CDH06HM3
Hyperfast
2x5
yes
VS-10CDH06-M3
Hyperfast
2x5
No
VS-12CDU06HM3
Ultrafast
2x6
yes
VS-12CDU06-M3
Ultrafast
2x6
No
VS-16CDH02HM3
Hyperfast
2x8
yes
VS-16CDH02-M3
Hyperfast
2x8
No
VS-16CDU06HM3
Ultrafast
2x8
yes
VS-16CDU06-M3
Ultrafast
2x8
No
VS-16EDH02HM3
Hyperfast
16
yes
VS-16EDH02-M3
Hyperfast
16
No
VS-16EDU06HM3
Ultrafast
16
yes
VS-16EDU06-M3
Ultrafast
16
No
VS-20CDH02HM3
Hyperfast
2 x 10
yes
VS-20CDH02-M3
Hyperfast
2 x 10
No
VS-30CDU06HM3
Ultrafast
2 x 15
yes
VS-30CDU06-M3
Ultrafast
2 x 15
No
The PMZ130UNE from NXP
Semiconductors is an N-channel
enhancement-mode Trench MOSFET
rated for a maximum drain-source
voltage of 20V.
The device is notable for its very fast switching:
typical rise time is 12ns, and fall time is just 5ns.
At just 0.7V, the typical gate-source
threshold voltage is also low for a device of this
type. The maximum continuous drain current is
1.8A at 4.5V and an ambient temperature of
25°C. When this ambient temperature rises to
100°C, the maximum allowable drain current
falls to 1.2A.
Heat dissipation is also handled well by the
PMZ130UNE: thermal resistance from the
junction to the solder point is typically 17K/W.
4
The PMZ130UNE is housed in a leadless ultrasmall DFN1006-3, SOT883 surface-mount
plastic package measuring 1.0mm × 0.6mm ×
0.48mm.
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
• DC-DC converters
• Power factor correction circuits
• Low-voltage inverters
• Chopper motor drives in automotive
engine control units
• Anti-lock braking systems
• LED lighting
• High-Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting
Average
AEC-Q101
Forward
Qualified
Current (A)
20V N-channel MOSFET offers
fast switching performance
NXP SEMICONDUCTORS
ENERGY
FEATURES
• Low leakage current
• Forward voltage drop as low as 0.75V
• Offered in single- and dual-die
configurations
• Specified for output and snubber
operation
• Operating junction temperature range:
-55°C to 175°C
• Ideal for automated placement
• Supports automated optical inspection in
automotive systems
150605:
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Relay drivers
High-speed line drivers
Low-side load switches
Switching circuits
FEATURES
• 120mΩ on-resistance at 4.5V, 1.8A
• 1.6nC total gate charge
• 1µA maximum drain leakage current
• 2kV ESD protection (human body model)
• Operating temperature range:
-55°C to 150°C
150606:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
EMAIL INFO@My-FTM.COM FOR SAMPLES AND DATASHEETS
COMPONENT
Synchronous buck regulator in tiny 3mm
x 4mm package handles inputs up to 70V
MICREL
Micrel has released a family of highvoltage synchronous step-down
switching regulators with integrated
power switches capable of providing up
to 4A output current from inputs as high
as 70V.
The MIC28511, MIC28512 and
MIC28513 are
offered in both
Hyper Speed
Control™ and
HyperLight Load®
architectures: these
allow for low outputvoltage operation
from a high input
voltage, and offer very
fast response to
transient voltages.
The HyperLight Load
technology also provides very good light-load
efficiency, and requires only a small amount of
output capacitance.
Considering the MIC2851x devices’ highvoltage capability, they are housed in unusually
small 24-pin 3mm x 4mm QFN packages.
Integrating Micrel's high-voltage buck controller,
which has a wide input-voltage range, with its
FETZilla™ power MOSFETs and advanced
packaging technology, the MIC2851x
regulators benefit from outstanding thermal
performance. This enables users of the parts to
achieve very high power density, saving board
space, heat-sink cost and cooling energy.
The regulators’ high-voltage capability is
ideal for products which must perform in harsh
environments and for
applications in which the
system is subject to
high-voltage spikes or
high ambient
temperatures. The
MIC2851x family
can withstand
these voltage
spikes without
compromising
efficiency and
thermal performance.
The MIC2851x offers an adjustable output
voltage as low as 0.8V with a guaranteed
accuracy of ±1%. A constant switching
frequency can be selected in a range between
200kHz and 680kHz. This allows the designer
to choose between a higher frequency for a
smaller inductor, or operating at higher
efficiency at a lower switching frequency.
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
FOCUS
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Industrial control systems
Power metering
Telecoms equipment
Medical equipment
FEATURES
• Minimum input voltage range: 4.6V
• Integrated high-side and low-side
N-channel MOSFETs
• Built-in 5V regulator for single-supply
operation
• Fixed 5ms soft-start
• Internal compensation and thermal
shut-down
• Junction temperature range:
-40°C to 125°C
150607:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
FREE
BOARDS
The evaluation boards for the MIC28512 step-down
regulator has an input range of 4.6V to 70V. Its output
ranges between 0.8V and the product of 0.85V and the
input voltage at 2A.
Orderable Part Numbers:
MIC28512-1yML EV for HyperLight Load®
MIC28512-2yML EV for Hyper Speed Control®
Apply now at my-boardclub.com
Fast-track board request code: FTM56A
TVS diode array offers 10% lower clamping voltage
for superior protection
LITTELFUSE
The Littelfuse SM24CANA 200W TVS
diode array provides superior
protection against damage due to
lightning-induced transients or ESD in
industrial systems connected by CAN
bus, RS-232 or RS-485 interfaces.
A single SM24CANA array protects both CAN
signal lines. It absorbs repetitive ESD strikes
above the maximum level specified in the
IEC 61000-4-2 international standard without
performance degradation, and safely
dissipates 3A of surge current with very low
clamping voltages. The low typical dynamic
resistance of 0.7Ω results in a 10% reduction
in clamping voltage compared to similar
solutions available in the market, delivering
superior protection to extend the life of
mission-critical equipment.
The SM24CANA provides protection in
accordance with IEC 61000 standards for ESD,
Electrical Fast Transient (EFT) and lightning
protection. Meeting all the requirements of the
rigorous AEC-Q101 qualification regime, it can
also be used in automotive applications such
as drive-by-wire systems, engine-control
modules, powertrain electronics, anti-lock
brakes, airbags and other safety circuits.
In addition, low capacitance of 11pF helps
to preserve signal integrity thereby minimising
data loss.
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
CAN bus protection
Automated assembly stations
Motor controls
Security and alarm systems
Point-of-sale terminals
FEATURES
• 24V reverse-standoff voltage
• 200W peak-pulse power
• 24kV ESD protection (IEC 61000-4-2)
• 3A surge protection (IEC 61000-4-5)
• Operating-temperature range:
•
•
-40°C to 125°C
36V clamp voltage (IPP = 1A, tp = 8/20µs)
AEC-Q101 qualified
150608:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
SM24CANA: single device protects dual CAN signal lines
VISIT THE ONLINE FTM MAGAZINE AT: WWW.My-FTM.COM
5
COMPONENT
FOCUS
eDP-to-LVDS bridge operates across industrial
temperature range
NXP SEMICONDUCTORS
The PTN3460IBS is an embedded
DisplayPort (eDP)-to-Low-Voltage
Differential Signalling (LVDS) bridge
which provides a means to connect an
eDP source to an LVDS display panel.
It is specified for operation across the
industrial temperature range of -40°C to 85°C,
and also supports a choice of lower-resolution
industrial panels at sizes up to 10”.
The PTN3460IBS processes the incoming
DisplayPort (DP) stream, performs DP-to-LVDS
protocol conversion, and transmits a processed
stream in LVDS format.
It gives users the flexibility to implement
bridging operations in different design platforms,
because a number of its functions are
programmable. For instance, the designer may
control the sequencing of the LVDS panel
power-up/power-down sequence. In addition,
firmware controls the timing parameters of the
panel power-up/power-down sequence.
The PTN3460IBS has two high-speed ports: a
Receive port facing the DP source, such as a
graphics processor or chipset, and a Transmit
port facing an LVDS receiver such as an LVDS
display-panel controller. The bridge can receive
a DP stream at link rates of 1.62Gbits/s or
2.7Gbits/s, and can support one- or two-lane
DP operation.
The device may be powered by a single
3.3V supply, or by dual 3.3V/1.8V supplies, and
is available in a QFN56 7mm × 7mm package
with a pitch of 0.4mm.
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Multi-function printers
Industrial PCs
Embedded systems
Automotive dashboard displays
FEATURES
• Embedded microcontroller
• On-chip non-volatile memory
• No external timing reference needed
• LVDS transmitter conforms to
ANSI/TIA/EIA-644-A-2001 standard
150609:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
VOC sensor gives accurate measurement of
indoor air quality
AMS
The AS-MLV-P2 high-performance
gas sensor from ams is highly
sensitive to Volatile Organic
Compounds (VOCs), providing for
effective monitoring of indoor air
quality. Accurate, small and powerefficient, the AS-MLV-P2 produces
a precisely varying resistance in
response to changes in ambient
levels of pollutants commonly
found in indoor environments.
The superior performance of the AS-MLV-P2
is due to a combination of thin-film, thickfilm and other patent-pending proprietary
technologies implemented by ams. The
heater and inter-digital electrode structures
are placed on a 1µm silicon nitride
membrane, helping the sensor to offer very
low power consumption.
The AS-MLV-P2 measures ambient
concentrations of a broad range of
reducing gases associated with bad air
6
quality, such as alcohols, aldehydes, ketones,
organic acids, amines, and aliphatic and
aromatic hydrocarbons, which can be harmful
to human and animal health at high levels.
ams’ proven AS-MLV-P2 provides a direct
measurement of the concentration of
pollutants, giving the user helpful information
on which they can act to maintain and improve
air quality. Available in a surface-mount
package, it provides this capability in a small
footprint and offers long-term stable operation,
while typically only consuming a low power rate
of 34mW in continuous operation.
WORKING PARTNER STMicro’s STM32L053: page 22
ENERGY
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Smart home devices
Air-quality monitoring equipment
FEATURES
• 2.7V power supply, for sensing element
•
•
•
•
at 320°C
High sensitivity
Fast response
Long-term stability
Edge connectors
150610:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
EMAIL INFO@My-FTM.COM FOR SAMPLES AND DATASHEETS
COMPONENT
FOCUS
Tiny accelerometers
offer rich choice of
embedded functions
ROHM SEMICONDUCTOR
The KX022 from Kionix, a subsidiary of ROHM Semiconductor,
is a robust 2mm x 2mm x 0.9mm tri-axis accelerometer with
integrated FIFO/FILO buffer, which combines low power
consumption with a wide variety of embedded motion-sensing
algorithms.
Kionix also supplies a related part, the KX023 accelerometer, in a 3mm x
3mm x 0.9mm package. Both the KX022 and KX023 are housed in land
grid-array packages.
Both parts feature a sophisticated algorithm engine which supports
various functions including tap detection, orientation detection and activity
monitoring, as well as embedded motion wake-up algorithms.
Both the KX022 and KX023 also include an internal voltage regulator to
maintain constant internal operating voltages across the 1.8V to 3.6V
input-supply range. The devices require little current: they typically draw
just 0.9µA in Stand-by mode; 10µA at normal resolution with a 25Hz
output data rate; and 145µA in High-resolution mode.
Combined with Kionix’s stable XAC sensor, the KX022 and KX023
provide users with substantial reductions in power usage, noise and cost.
KX022: detects taps and orientation, and supports activity monitoring
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
APPLICATIONS
User interfaces
Power management
Active/inactive monitoring
Device orientation
Inclination and tilt sensing
Gesture recognition
Pedometer/activity monitoring
• User-selectable resolution and
acceleration ranges: ±2g, ±4g, ±8g
User-selectable output data rate
Two interrupt registers
Digital high-pass filter outputs
I2C and SPI digital outputs
Up to 16-bit resolution
150611:
FREE
BOARDS
Evaluation of the KX023
Accelerometer
FEATURES
•
•
•
•
•
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
Orderable Part Number:
EVAL-KX023-1025
Apply now at
my-boardclub.com
Fast-track board
request code: FTM56A
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
150612:
For more information e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
7
COMPONENT
FOCUS
ESD protection for ultra high-speed interfaces
NXP SEMICONDUCTORS
The PUSB3AB6 ESD diode from NXP
Semiconductors protects high-speed
connections such as SuperSpeed USB
and Hi-Speed USB, Secure Digital (SD)
card 3.0 and Thunderbolt interfaces
against ESD strikes.
The device includes six high-level ESD protection
diode structures. They protect sensitive
transmitters and receivers on very high-speed
signal lines.
All signal lines are protected by a special diode
configuration offering snap-back ultra-low line
capacitance of only 0.15pF. These diodes use
this snap-back structure in order to provide
protection to downstream components from
ESD voltages of up to ±15kV contact/air
discharge, exceeding the requirements of the
IEC 61000-4-2, level 4 standard.
The PUSB3AB6 device is encapsulated in a
leadless DFN2111-7 (SOT1358-1) surfacemount package measuring 1.1mm x 2.1mm x
0.5mm. Support for pass-through signal
routing makes for easier board layout.
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Portable and wearable devices
TVs and monitors
DVD recorders and players
Main board graphics cards and ports
Set-top boxes
Games consoles
FEATURES
• Supports SuperSpeed USB3.1 at
10Gbits/s
• All signal lines benefit from integrated
rail-to-rail clamping diodes
• Matched 0.5mm trace spacing
• ±7A peak pulse current
• 6V minimum breakdown voltage
• 1nA reverse leakage current
150613:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
PUSB3AB6: up to ±15kV of protection for USB lines
Surface-mount TVS diodes offer high reliability in
automotive applications
LITTELFUSE
The TPSMC and TPSMD series of
AEC-Q101 qualified Transient Voltage
Suppression (TVS) diodes protects
sensitive electronic equipment from
voltage transients induced by lightning
and other transient voltage events. The
diodes are suitable for surface mounting,
and have a low-profile package.
The TPSMC series has a 1,500W peak pulsepower capability on a 10/1000µs waveform,
with a repetition rate of 0.01%. The TPSMD
series’ peak power rating is 3,000W.
In addition, the devices conform to the
IEC 61000-4-2 ESD standard, providing 15kV
of protection in air, and 8kV of protection for
contact. ESD protection of data lines is
provided in accordance with IEC 61000-4-2
(IEC 801-2), and EFT protection of data lines in
accordance with IEC 61000-4-4 (IEC 801-4).
8
Both the TPSMC and TPSMD offer a fast
response time, typically less than 1.0ps from
0V to the minimum breakdown voltage. They
also offer excellent clamping capability and low
incremental surge resistance.
Typical reverse current in the TPSMC series
is less than 1µA above 13V. For the TPSMD,
this figure is less than 2µA above 12V.
The typical failure mode for the diodes is
short from an over-specified voltage or current.
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Automotive
Telecoms equipment
Computer equipment
Industrial appliances
Consumer electronics products
FEATURES
• 150°C maximum operating temperature
• Peak forward surge current:
•
• 300A TPSMD series
• 200A TPSMC series
15°C/W junction-to-lead thermal
resistance
150614:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
Automotive TVS diodes: <1ps response time
EMAIL INFO@My-FTM.COM FOR SAMPLES AND DATASHEETS
COMPONENT
Efficient DC-DC converter
suited to in-vehicle applications
STMICROELECTRONICS
STMicroelectronics has released the
A6986, an AEC-Q100-qualified
synchronous buck switching regulator
featuring a very low quiescent current
and offering high efficiency when
supplying light loads.
The A6986 monolithic regulator is able to
deliver an output of as much as 2A. The output
voltage is adjustable in a range from 0.85V up
to the input voltage. The capability to provide a
100% duty cycle and the wide input-voltage
range, up to a maximum of 38V, meet the coldcrank and load-dump specifications required
by automotive systems.
The device has a Low Consumption Mode
(LCM) designed for applications that are active
during car parking. In this mode, the A6986
maximises efficiency at light loads with
controlled output-voltage ripple.
It also has a Low Noise Mode (LNM), which
operates at a constant switching frequency to
minimise output-voltage ripple. This is suitable
for applications with a requirement for low
noise, such as car audio systems.
The output-voltage supervisor manages the
Reset phase for any digital load, such as a
microcontroller or FPGA. The Reset opencollector output can also implement outputvoltage sequencing during the power-up phase.
Pulse-by-pulse current sensing on both
power elements makes for effective constantcurrent protection.
FOCUS
WORKING PARTNER Vishay’s IHLP-4040DZ-8A: page 14
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Automotive systems
Battery-powered equipment
Car body applications (in LCM mode)
Car audio (in LNM mode)
FEATURES
• Input-voltage range: 4V to 38V
• 30µA quiescent current
• 8µA shut-down current
• Adjustable switching-frequency range:
•
•
•
250kHz to 2MHz
Adjustable soft-start time
Internal current limiting
Over-voltage protection
150615:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
A6986: handles automotive load-dump events
Schottky barrier rectifier features low forward voltage
NXP SEMICONDUCTORS
NXP Semiconductors has introduced
the PMEG1201AESF, a planar
Maximum Efficiency General
Application (MEGA) Schottky barrier
rectifier with an integrated guard ring
for stress protection.
The rectifier helps users to achieve higher
efficiency in power-system designs, offering a
typical low forward voltage of just 160mV.
The device’s average forward current is only
≤0.1A.
The PMEG1201AESF’s characteristics in
reverse operation are equally attractive. It
boasts a minimum reverse breakdown voltage
of 12V. Pulsed reverse current is specified at
240µA.
The PMEG1201AESF is housed in a
DSN0603-2, SOD962-2 leadless chip-scale
package measuring 0.6mm x 0.3mm x 0.3mm.
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Low-voltage rectification
DC-DC converters
Switch-mode power supplies
Ultra high-speed switching
LED backlights in mobile devices
FEATURES
• 40K/W junction-to-solder point thermal
resistance
• 125°C maximum junction temperature
• 26pF diode capacitance at 1V reverse
voltage
• 2.2ns reverse recovery time
150616:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
NXP’s PMEG1201AESF: suitable for use in mobile LED backlighting systems
VISIT THE ONLINE FTM MAGAZINE AT: WWW.My-FTM.COM
9
COMPONENT
FOCUS
Automotive MOSFET’s new package design
saves space and power
VISHAy
Vishay Intertechnology has introduced
the SQJQ402E, a 200A automotive
power MOSFET in an innovative
package design which helps designers
to save space and power when
replacing older D2PAK and DPAK
devices.
swings commonly experienced in automotive
applications. The internal construction of the
device keeps both inductance and maximum
on-resistance at low levels.
The improved performance of the
SQJQ402E and its new package design help
system designers to create smaller and lighter
modules in automotive applications in which
multiple MOSFETs are often required. The
devices offers similar on-resistance and higher
continuous current than devices in the threepin D2PAK, while featuring a 60% smaller
footprint and a 60% lower profile.
In addition, the SQJQ402E features 50%
lower on-resistance and a current rating twice
as high as the equivalent DPAK parts, with a 21%
lower profile and a footprint just 12% larger.
ENERGY
The Vishay Siliconix
SQJQ402E 40V TrenchFET®
power MOSFET is housed
in a new 8mm x 8mm x
1.8mm PowerPAK 8x8L
package. It is the industry's
first AEC-Q101-qualified
MOSFET to use the 8mm x
8mm footprint, and the first
of this size to feature gullwing leads. These leads
reduce stress on the PCB
solder joints, which is
caused by the wide
operating temperature
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Automotive motor drives
Electric power-steering systems
Transmission-control systems
Injector drives
FEATURES
1.5mΩ maximum on-resistance at 10V
40V drain-source voltage
±20V gate-source voltage
200A maximum continuous drain current
175°C maximum operating temperature
150617:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
New surface-mount fuses improve design flexibility in
space-constrained applications
LITTELFUSE
Littelfuse’s 470 and 476 series NANO2®
sub-miniature fuses provide surge
protection for downstream components
and prevent damage due to overload
conditions.
Housed in compact surface-mount packages,
the 470 series is for applications up to 125V AC
and the 476 series is rated for up to 250V AC.
The devices’ surface-mount design helps
manufacturers to achieve a higher placement
speed and higher yields in production than are
possible when using alternative through-hole
products.
The 470 series fuse has a 1206 footprint; the
476 series is housed in a 2410 package. It is
the smallest surface-mount fuse with this high
voltage rating and, like the 470 series, is
designed for primary-side circuit protection in
compact devices with high voltage requirements.
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
LED lighting
LCD/LED TVs
White goods
Notebooks and PCs
Power-supply units
FEATURES
125°C maximum operating temperature
Surge immunity capability:
470 series: US ENERGy STAR® (≥1.5A)
476 series: Global IEC 61000-4-5 2 (≥3A)
150618:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
Littelfuse’s 470 and 476 series: high-voltage primary-side circuit protection
10
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
EMAIL INFO@My-FTM.COM FOR SAMPLES AND DATASHEETS
150619:
For samples and pricing
e-mail info@my-ftm.com
P•I
E
•
COMPONENT
FOCUS
SECTION
15A wire-to-board connector ensures robust electrical
and mechanical mating
HIROSE
Hirose’s new DF63 is a small, highpowered wire-to-board connector
offering high reliability in industrial
applications.
The connector range consists of cable-mount,
female crimp sockets and board-mount,
vertical and right-angle male headers which
handle up to 15A current. Waterproof (DF63W)
and non-waterproof in-line versions
have also been added to the
range.
The mechanical design of the
connector has been optimised for
space saving. The three-position
header, for example, only
occupies an 88mm2 board
footprint, thanks to its small pitch.
The connector features a robust
lock which gives a clear tactile
click when mated. This confirms
the connector is fully engaged,
guaranteeing complete electrical
and mechanical connection. The
lock is on the centre of the
housing to avoid uneven locking and cable
entanglement, a common failing of side locks.
Furthermore, multiple connectors can be
mounted closer together side-by-side because
the lock is not positioned on the side.
The header features square male pin contacts
which have a wide conductive surface area of
1.14mm each side to carry high currents.
Each contact is protected by housing walls to
protect them from short circuits, and to prevent
them from being touched.
The cable-mount female socket housing uses
crimp contacts which have a unique internal
multi-point contact structure to ensure good
contact wipe and high contact reliability.
The design of the housing base is tapered to
allow resin sealing up to 5mm high. The resin
stopper, which is a step underneath the lock,
stops the resin rising too far. Keying variations
are available to prevent incorrect insertion
when multiple connectors are used.
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Robots
Medical devices
Industrial machinery
Smart meters
Gaming equipment
Home appliances
FEATURES
3.96mm pitch
630V AC/DC maximum voltage
Cable size: AWG16 to AWG18
30 mating cycles
150620:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
Hirose’s DF63 wire-to-board connector: centre-locking mechanism
Industry’s first 75V moulded tantalum capacitor
offers low ESR
VISHAy
Vishay Intertechnology has extended its
TANTAMOUNT® TR3 series of solid
tantalum surface-mount chip capacitors
with higher ratings up to 75V in the B, C,
D, E, V and W case sizes.
The TR3 series, which is intended for
applications requiring low Equivalent Series
Resistance (ESR), now provides the industry's
first 75V moulded tantalum capacitors.
Providing less expensive options
for decoupling in 75V applications,
for power supplies at 28V, and for
DC-DC conversion at 35V, the TR3
devices are ideal for sensor,
industrial-control and airborne
applications, and are expected to be
widely used in telecommunications
basestations and other applications.
The TR3 series offers a high
ripple-current carrying capability,
with the largest devices rated for
2.5A. The capacitors are offered in
seven moulded case sizes and
feature standard RoHS-compliant tin
terminations. Devices in the C, D and E case
codes are 100% surge-current tested.
The TR3 meets the new EIA-717, EIA
535BAAC and IEC QC300801/US0001
international qualification specifications.
Vishay also offers another series of tantalum
capacitors, the TL3, which is optimised for
demanding applications that require long
product life. These include battery-operated
equipment, portable instrumentation, tyrepressure monitoring, medical instruments, local
power supplies, handheld instruments and
battery back-up supplies.
0.47µF to 1,000µF
Capacitance
±10%, ±20%
Tolerance
4V DC to 75V DC
Voltage Rating
Minimum ESR at
25°C and 100kHz
0.035Ω
Maximum Ripple
Current at 100kHz
0.1A to 2.5A
A, B, C, D, E, V, and W
Case Codes
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Industrial equipment
Telecoms infrastructure
Consumer devices
Computer equipment
FEATURES
• 100% matte tin terminations
• Compatible with automatic pick-and-place
equipment
• Operating temperature range:
-55°C to 125°C
With voltage de-rating above 85°C
150621:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
Vishay’s TR3 chip capacitors: high ripple-current capability
12
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
EMAIL INFO@My-FTM.COM FOR SAMPLES AND DATASHEETS
COMPONENT
FOCUS
P•I
E
•
SECTION
New snap-in aluminium capacitors offer long
life in compact power supplies
VISHAy
ENERGY
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Vishay Intertechnology has introduced a
new series of miniature snap-in power
aluminium capacitors which offer a long
useful life, high ripple current and low
Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR).
•
•
•
•
The Vishay BCcomponents 256 PMG-SI series
of capacitors is available with capacitance values
ranging from 820µF to 47,000µF and voltages
from 16V to 100V, and in compact case sizes,
the smallest of which is 20mm x 25mm.
Featuring a cylindrical aluminium case with a
pressure relief valve, insulated with a blue
plastic (PET) sleeve, the new capacitors are
rated for a useful life of 2,000 hours at their
maximum operating temperature of 105°C.
Made with a non-solid electrolyte, the 256
PMG-SI devices are ideally suited for smoothing,
filtering, and energy storage in pulsed-power
applications.
• 19nH equivalent series inductance
• ±20% capacitance tolerance
• Ripple-current range at 120Hz and
FEATURES
105°C: 1.14A to 4.85A
• Maximum ESR at 120Hz and 20°C:
14mΩ to 332mΩ
• 1,000 hours shelf life at 0V and 105°C
150622:
TE Connectivity’s Z-PACK™ Slim UHD
range of backplane connectors is a
flexible and upgradeable system
designed to fit applications with a slot
pitch of 15mm (0.6 inch) or more.
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
256 PMG-SI series: non-solid electrolyte
Slim connector saves space
in backplane designs
TE CONNECTIVITy
Audio amplifiers
LED lighting drivers
Uninterruptible power supplies
Solar power micro-inverters
Z-PACK Slim UHD connectors have an
extremely high contact density combined with
excellent high-speed signal performance. This
means that manufacturers can use them in the
densest backplane designs. The Z-PACK Slim
UHD connector is around 10% smaller than
equivalent products on the market today,
making it well suited to applications in which
PCB space is at a premium.
The connectors transfer data at a rate of
12.5Gbits/s, with scalability up to 20Gbits/s.
This means that, as system designs are
upgraded to meet the requirement for higher
speeds, the existing PCB footprint does not
need to be changed.
The product also offers flexible configurations,
enabling the user to devise a pin assignment
suited to their application. It allows for easy
assembly thanks to its press-fit termination
technology and a micro-floatable contact design.
Z-PACK Slim UHD part numbers:
2042088-1
1982738-1
2042162-1
1982260-5
1982257-5
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Telecommunication equipment
Switches
Routers
Servers
Factory-automation equipment
FEATURES
55 signal lines/cm²
Low profile of 7.85mm
Integrated alignment correction
150623:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
Z-PACK Slim UHD: 10% smaller than equivalent competing products
VISIT THE ONLINE FTM MAGAZINE AT: WWW.My-FTM.COM
13
P•I
•
E
COMPONENT
FOCUS
SECTION
High-current automotive-grade inductor operates
continuously at up to 180°C
VISHAy
Vishay Intertechnology has launched a
series of high-current, automotive-grade
IHLP® inductors in the 4040 case size
which feature an industry-high maximum
operating temperature of 180°C.
The new Vishay Dale
IHLP-4040DZ-8A parts
offer a wide range of
inductance values from
0.47µH to 47µH.
With a frequency range
up to 1MHz, the AECQ200-qualified devices
enable designers of
voltage regulator
modules, high-current
noise filters and DC-DC
converters for hightemperature automotive
applications to achieve
high performance while
saving space and power.
The IHLP-4040DZ-8A inductors handle high
transient current spikes without hard
saturation. Housed in a shielded, composite
package which reduces buzz noise to ultralow levels, the devices offer high resistance to
thermal shock, moisture, mechanical shock
and vibration.
WORKING PARTNER STMicro’s A6986: page 9
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Engine- and transmission-control units
Diesel injection drivers
Entertainment and navigation systems
Noise suppression for motors
Windshield wipers
HID and LED lighting
Heating and ventilation blowers
Powered seats
Powered mirrors
FEATURES
4.0mm profile
DC resistance range: 1.55mΩ to 167mΩ
Saturation current range: 4.5A to 28.5A
150624:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
IHLP-4040DZ-8A inductors: very low levels of buzz
Waterproof micro-USB connector
features IP68 rating
TE CONNECTIVITy
TE Connectivity™ (TE) has introduced the
waterproof IP68 micro-USB connector
Type B, which features a special seal at
the connector’s perimeter to prevent
moisture and debris from penetrating
inside the shell.
The IP68 connector exceeds the minimum
IP68 performance standard requiring it to
withstand 30 minutes’ immersion at a depth of
1.5m under water.
TE’s waterproof micro-USB connectors use a
Metal Injection Moulded (MIM) shell to achieve
the IP68 standard. The stainless steel shell
replaces the traditional stamped and formed
shell, which normally contains many holes. TE’s
MIM shell provides the best possible mechanical
resistance to wrenching forces and false
insertion, while also enabling a reduction in
shell height of 0.3mm.
The waterproof IP68 micro-USB connector’s
staggered contacts provide for improved signal
separation as well as mechanical stability.
Equipped with an undercut matching the plug
latches, the connector keeps the plug mated in
the same way as a conventional micro-USB
connector.
WORKING PARTNER Atmel’s SAM E70, S70, V70: page 23
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Wearable devices
Handheld medical devices
Barcode scanners
Portable printers
Glucose meters
Portable music players
Digital cameras and camcorders
GPS units
Home electronics devices
Security control panels
Handheld industrial equipment
FEATURES
• Stainless steel reinforcement plate helps
prevent short circuits
• Screw-mounting ears
• Selectively gold-plated copper alloy
contacts
• 30V maximum voltage
• 1.8A maximum current on power pins
• 10,000 mating cycles
150625:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
Waterproof micro USB connector: reduced shell height
14
EMAIL INFO@My-FTM.COM FOR SAMPLES AND DATASHEETS
DESIGN
NOTE
The relation between magnetic field strength
and current in a conductor
CROCUS TECHNOLOGy
Pioneers in the fields of electricity and magnetism such as
Faraday, Ampere and Maxwell proved both empirically and
mathematically that the current running through a conductor
can be quantified by measuring the magnetic field it
generates.
A magnetic sensor may be used to detect current because the
magnitude and direction of the magnetic field are determined by the
magnitude and the direction of the current through the conductor, as
well as by the distance between the conductor and the magnetic sensor
used to measure the field.
Applying Ampere’s Law
Simply stated, Ampere’s Law relates the
electric current passing through a
conductor to the magnetic field produced
around it. If the conductor is circular, then a
circular magnetic field of equal magnitude
may be found around the conductor. Figure
1 illustrates this concept. Imagine that there
is a current, I, flowing through a conductor
which is coming out of the page. If we add
up the magnetic field along the blue circular
path of radius, r, around the conductor, this
should equal the field created by the
current flowing through the conductor.
Fig. 1: Ampere’s law describes the
relation between the magnetic field
Ampere’s Law provides a quick, simple
around a conductor, and the current
calculation of the magnetic field strength,
flowing through the conductor
which is proportional to the current passing
through the conductor, and inversely
proportional to the distance from the conductor. It is expressed by the
following equation:
B long straight wire =
µ0 I
Fig. 3: plot of magnetic strength against distance for a conductor carrying 10A
This same effect can be shown in a practical application example: a
four-layer PCB with a board stack-up as shown in Figure 4. The sensor
is mounted on the top layer of the PCB and the current-carrying
conductor which is generating
the magnetic field may be
mounted on the bottom layer, or
on either of the two inner layers.
Table 1 shows the calculated
value of B, the magnetic field
magnitude, as seen by the
Fig. 4: a measurement set-up using a Crocus
sensor when the current-carrying
magnetic sensor and a four-layer PCB
trace is mounted on each of the
three layers.
All the examples shown
here are given for a single
Distance (mm)
B Field [T]
fixed current value, 10A.
First INNER
0.3048
0.00167
In practice, the current
Second INNER
1.016
0.0005
measured by a Crocus
BOTTOM
1.3208
0.000387
magnetic sensor may vary
Table 1: how field strength measured by a magnetic sensor
from as little as a few mA up
varies with distance from the conductor
to several hundred
Amperes. The impact of changing the value of the current is shown in
Figure 5 for currents ranging from -50A to +50A. It is clear that that the
higher the current, the greater the distance between the sensor and
conductor for the same value of magnetic field strength.
2πR
Where:
B = flux of the magnetic field (T),
I = current through the conductor (A),
R = distance from the centre of the conductor to the
sensing point (m) and
µ0 = permeability of free space (T*m/A)
Since a magnetic field is a vector quantity, both the magnitude and the
direction of the magnetic field must be known in order to fully
characterise it. The direction can be calculated mathematically. But the
right-hand-rule also works, as shown in Figure 2.
To see how this quantification of field strength can be used to
measure current, consider a graphical representation of magnetic field
strength as a function of distance (R in Ampere’s Law).
Figure 3 plots the effects of
changing the distance from the
centre of the conductor on the
magnitude of the magnetic field
in the air when the conductor is
carrying 10A. Notice how the B
field value declines quickly as the
distance increases.
Fig. 2: place the thumb of the right hand in the
direction of the current through the conductor.
The direction of the magnetic field is indicated by
the fingers curled around the conductor
Fig. 5: magnetic field strength at a fixed sensing position varies as the value of
the current through the conductor varies
This application note shows the correlation between the current and the
magnetic field created by the current. In order to successfully measure
different levels of current, the designer must take into account several
factors including the physical characteristics of the measurement set-up
as well as the dynamic range of the current to be measured.
The concepts and examples in this application note are applicable to
all of the following Crocus magnetic sensors: CTSR218C-IQ2,
CTSR215C-IQ2, CTSR222C-IQ2, CTSR218C-IS4, CTSR215C-IS4, and
CTSR222C-IS4.
For more information e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
150626:
VISIT THE ONLINE FTM MAGAZINE AT: WWW.My-FTM.COM
15
High-performance Amplifiers
Flow Meter
Thermostat Control
Smoke Detector
Glucose Meter
Motor Control Systems
Sensor Applications
Battery Monitoring
Wireless Charging
Electronic Power Steering
Fuel Pressure Rails
Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI)
Solenoid Applications
Architecture Lighting
White Goods
High-power DC-DC Converters
Supply
…and many more!
High
Side
Sense
ADC
ADC
Load
High Slew Rate Options
Low
Side
Sense
ADC
Some noisy environment applications use an
RC for output filtering which slows down the
output variations. These applications need
high slew rate amplifiers.
For Noisy Systems
High Side Sensing
Low Side Sensing
• Up to 80V common mode
• Short detection
• No resistance to GND
• Best cost/performance solution
• As low as 10µV offset
Solutions
Device
Common Mode Voltage (V)
Vos (mV) (Max)
Gain (V/V)
BW (kHz)
Vos Drift µV/°C
Status
NCS2003x
5.5
4
External
5000
2
Orderable
NCS2007x
36
3
External
3000
2
Orderable
NCSx333
5.5
0.01
External
350
0.07
Orderable
NCS21x
26
0.035
50/100/200/500/1000
14
0.5
Sampling
NCS40x
80
0.2
14/20/50/100
500
0.1
Sampling
All products are Grade 1 AECQ100 qualified
150627:
For more information e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
MCUs
AND
EMBEDDED
ARM
SOLUTIONS
Application Spotlight
At a superficial glance, it can appear as
though the pace in microcontroller
development is primarily set by ARM, the
provider of the processor IP in the
majority of today’s new 32-bit devices.
And in fact this issue of FTM highlights
new products from Atmel and
STMicroelectronics which use the latest
ARM® Cortex®-M7 core, on page 23 and
25. ST says that the core doubles the
data- and digital signal-processing
capability of its new STM32F756 MCU
compared to products based on earlier
generations of the ARM Cortex-M core.
But a deeper look shows that the MCU
manufacturers themselves are also
finding clever ways to provide design
engineers with improved performance or
a wider choice of features. ST, for
instance, has developed the Routine
Booster technology in its STM32F3
MCUs, on page 22, which speeds up the
execution of motor-control loops.
The same company has also developed
the ART Accelerator™, an ‘Adaptive RealTime’ technology, eliminating the delay
normally suffered by high-speed
processors as they wait for data to move
in and out of Flash memory.
And NXP Semiconductors’ ability to pack
a vast range of analogue and
communications peripherals into its very
low-cost LPC112x MCUs, on page 18,
gives existing users of 8- and 16-bit MCUs
a compelling reason to make the switch to
32-bit processing. Not that the 8-bit MCU
itself is starved of development effort: the
latest ATmega48PB, 88PB and 168PB
devices from Atmel, page 20, offer a remarkable combination of efficient processing
operation and low power-consumption.
To request evaluation boards featured in
this Application Spotlight visit
www.myboardclub.com, or email info@myftm.com to request pricing or samples of
components in this issue of FTM.
Low-cost 32-bit MCU set to take the place of
8- and 16-bit devices
STMICROELECTRONICS
STMicroelectronics has boosted its
STM32F0 Value Line ARM® Cortex®-M0
MCU series, adding USB connectivity
and larger Flash memory to enhance
support for cost-sensitive applications.
The STM32F072R8 features a USB2.0 FullSpeed interface, which is able to run from an
internal 48MHz oscillator. The USB capability is
compatible with v1.2 of the Battery Charger
Detection function, and also supports USB link
power management, providing for optimum
energy efficiency and longer battery life.
The STM32F072R8 also includes 16kbytes
of SRAM with hardware parity, and 64kbytes
or 128kbytes of Flash memory.
Like other members of the entry-level 32-bit
STM32F0 Value Line, the STM32F072R8 is an
ideal replacement for 8- and 16-bit MCUs,
offering higher performance at comparable cost.
Users of all STM32F0 Value Line MCUs have
access to built-in safety functions, precise
internal oscillators, multiple clock sources, and
a real-time clock and calendar with alarm and
periodic wake-up from Stop or Stand-by modes.
Also in the STM32F0 Value Line are the
STM32F091xB/xC MCUs with up to 256kbytes
of Flash memory and 32kbytes of SRAM.
These parts operate in the -40°C to 85°C and
-40°C to 105°C temperature ranges, from a
2.0V to 3.6V power supply.
A comprehensive set of power-saving modes
allows for the design of low-power applications.
FREE
BOARDS
Low-cost 32-bit MCU Development
Arduino™ connectivity support and ST Morpho headers
make it easy to expand the functionality of this STM32
Nucleo open development platform with a wide choice of
specialised shields. The board comes with the
comprehensive STM32 software library together with
various packaged software examples, as well as direct
access to mbed online resources.
ENERGY
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INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Audio/video receivers
PC peripherals
Games consoles
GPS units
Industrial applications
PLCs
Inverters
Alarm systems
Video intercoms
FEATURES (STM32F072R8)
• Sleep, Stop and Stand-by low-power
modes
• 4MHz to 32MHz crystal oscillator
• Up to 87 fast I/Os
• Seven-channel DMA controller
• Fast 12-bit ADC
• Two-channel, 12-bit DAC
• Two analogue comparators
• Up to 24 capacitive sensing channels
Orderable Part Number: NUCLEO-F072RB
Apply now at my-boardclub.com
Fast-track board request code: FTM56A
150628:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
VISIT THE ONLINE FTM MAGAZINE AT: WWW.My-FTM.COM
17
MCUs
AND
EMBEDDED
ARM
SOLUTIONS
Migration path from LPC111x MCUs
offers better analogue and connectivity
NXP SEMICONDUCTORS
NXP Semiconductors has launched two
microcontrollers based on the ARM®
Cortex®-M0 processor core, offering
users of the popular LPC111x an easy
migration path to better analogue
capability and more
connectivity.
The LPC1124JBD48 and
LPC1125JBD48 are lowcost 32-bit MCUs, running
at a clock frequency of up to
50MHz, which are ideal for
applications that would
traditionally have been
implemented with an 8- or 16-bit
MCU. In these applications, the new
parts result in better performance, lower
power consumption and smaller code size
than traditional designs achieve.
Users of NXP’s existing 32-bit LPC111x
devices will also benefit from the improved
analogue sub-system of the LPC1124JBD48
or LPC1125JBD48, while drawing on their
knowledge of the previous generation of
devices. This is because the new MCUs
enhance the original architecture with a highperformance 12-bit, eight-channel ADC, which
can run at up to 2Msamples/s.
There is also a broader choice of
connectivity options, which includes three
UART interfaces with fractional baud-rate
generation, an internal FIFO and RS-485
support. One UART also features modem
control. Both the LPC1124JBD48 and
the LPC1125JBD48 feature a
1Mbit/s Fast-mode Plus I²C bus
interface and two SSP controllers
with FIFO and multi-protocol
capabilities.
Both devices have an
integrated power-management
unit which acts to keep power
consumption to a minimum
during Sleep, Deep sleep, and
Deep power-down modes. In Active
mode, three power profiles residing in boot
ROM let the user optimise performance and
minimise power consumption for any given
application through one simple function call.
The LPC1124JBD48 has 32kbytes of on-chip
Flash memory, and the LPC1125JBD48 has
64kbytes.
ENERGY
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The new SPC56EC74B3 is part of the
SPC56 32-bit automotive microcontroller
family, built on Power Architecture®
technology.
The SPC56 C-Line is dedicated to the needs
of gateway applications that require
connections to multiple in-vehicle networks
supporting various protocols, ranging from
LIN, SPI, UART and CAN to FlexRay® and
Ethernet. It provides the scalability needed to
implement platform approaches to product
development, while delivering the
performance required by increasingly
sophisticated software architectures.
The Power Architecture core of the SPC56
C-Line is completely user-mode compatible
with the original Power Architecture user
instruction set architecture. It operates at
speeds of up to 120MHz and offers highperformance processing as well as low power
consumption. It is supported by a choice of
software drivers, operating systems and
configuration code to assist users’
development projects.
18
Another member of the SPC56 family is the
SPC56EL70L5. The SPC56 L-Line is
designed to cover a wide range of automotive
applications that must meet the requirements
of the ISO26262 functional safety standard,
up to the most stringent ASIL-D level, with a
single MCU. Key safety features include lockstep mode, an enhanced DMA, a temperature
sensor, a central fault collection
and control unit,
built-in logic and
memory self-test,
CRC unit, ECCprotected memories
and clock-failure
detection.
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Metering
Alarm systems
Lighting control equipment
White goods
Industrial control systems
FEATURES
• 8kbytes of SRAM
• Programmable windowed watchdog timer
• Four PWM-capable timers
• Operating voltage range: 1.8V to 3.6V
• Operating temperature range:
-40°C to 105°C
150629:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
FREE
BOARDS
Improved Analogue Capability
Based on the LPC1125JBD48 MCU, this LPCXpresso™
development board gives the user a simplified Eclipsebased IDE, and includes a tri-colour LED, Reset, insystem programming and Wake buttons for easy testing
of software functionality, and expansion options
supporting the Arduino UNO and Pmod™ platforms.
Orderable Part Number: OM13080
Apply now at my-boardclub.com
Fast-track board request code: FTM56A
Performance and safety to the fore in new
Power Architecture automotive MCUs
STMICROELECTRONICS
INDUSTRIAL
ENERGY
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
•
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(SPC56 C LINE)
Automotive body applications
Automotive gateways
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(SPC56 L LINE)
ASIL-D safety applications
Driver assistance
Advanced motor control
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(SPC56 C LINE)
Single or dual core
Up to 3Mbytes of Flash memory
Up to 256kbytes of SRAM
One 10-bit and one 12-bit ADC
Up to six FlexCAN interfaces
Up to ten LINFlex channels
One FlexRay interface
One Ethernet interface
Orderable Part Number: SPC56XXMB
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(SPC56 L LINE)
Single or dual core
Up to 2Mbytes of Flash memory
Up to 192kbytes of SRAM
Two 12-bit ADCs
Up to three FlexCAN interfaces
Up to two LINFlex channels
One FlexRay interface
DSP and floating point unit
Apply now at my-boardclub.com
Fast-track board request code: FTM56A
150630:
FREE
BOARDS
Automotive Applications MCU Development
This system consists of an SPC56XXMB motherboard
and mini-modules (not included) for each variant in the
SPC56 series. The mini-modules plug into the motherboard.
FEATURES
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
EMAIL INFO@My-FTM.COM FOR SAMPLES AND DATASHEETS
MCUs
AND
EMBEDDED
ARM
SOLUTIONS
32-bit MCUs offer always-on system awareness
STMICROELECTRONICS
STMicroelectronics has introduced a new
series of STM32 Dynamic Efficiency™
microcontrollers which brings the powersaving benefits of data batching – the
technique used in Google’s latest
Android™ operating system (OS) to extend
battery life – to many more applications
besides smartphones and tablets.
The Android OS also uses a low-power sensor
hub to manage always-on sensors such as
accelerometers and pressure sensors. This
relieves the power-hungry main system
processor of the task, and thus helps the device
to consume less battery energy.
The new STM32F411 MCUs, which are
based on the ARM® Cortex®-M4 core, are a
perfect fit for these new sensor-hub
applications. The STM32F411’s Batch
Acquisition Mode (BAM) saves power by storing
sensor data directly into SRAM while the MCU’s
core sleeps. When operating in BAM, the
core wakes briefly to process these stored
data before returning to power-saving mode.
The ARM Cortex-M4 processor core in the
STM32F411 provides DSP and floating-point
unit functionality, and features up to 512kbytes
of Flash with a high SRAM capacity of up to
128kbytes.
Drawing on ST’s ART Accelerator™ cache
technology and advanced 90nm fabrication
process, the new STM32F411 is the industry’s
first ARM Cortex-M4-class device to draw
current in Run mode as low as 100µA/MHz, a
figure achieved when executing CoreMark™
code from Flash with peripherals switched off.
Current in Stop mode is just 10µA with all
SRAM content and context saved.
A choice of compact packages, the
smallest is 3.0mm x 3.2mm, allows use where
space is tight.
The Atmel® SMART™ SAM D10, SAM
D11, SAM D20 and SAM D21
microcontrollers, which have an ARM®
Cortex®-M0+ core, combine flexibility
and ease of use with low power
consumption and a compact package.
The SAM D10 and SAM D11 offer up to
16kbytes of on-chip Flash memory and 4kbytes
of SRAM, while the SAM D20 and SAM D21
integrate up to 256kbytes of Flash and
32kbytes of SRAM. The tiny devices are
packaged in a variety of styles, which include
a 24-pin QFN with a footprint of just 4mm x
4mm for the SAM D1x versions.
Operating at a maximum clock speed of
48MHz, these MCUs have a current
requirement of <70µA/MHz.
The SAM D series devices offer a rich
selection of peripherals integrated in the chip.
Features include Full-speed USB with no
requirement for a crystal, a peripheral touch
controller which requires no external
components, a 12-bit ADC with gain stage, a
six-channel DMA controller, a 10-bit DAC, and
timers/counters for control applications.
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LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Sensor hubs
Industrial controls
Medical monitors
Building automation
Wearable technology
FEATURES
BOARDS
This STM32 Nucleo board provides Arduino™ connectivity
support, and ST Morpho headers make it easy to expand
the functionality of the STM32 Nucleo open development
platform with a wide choice of specialised shields.
INDUSTRIAL
• 1.7V minimum power supply
• 12-bit, 2.4Msamples/s ADC
• Motor-control timer
• Serial interfaces:
FREE
•
• Three USARTs up to 12.5Mbits/s
• Five SPI up to 50Mbits/s
• Three I2C up to 1Mbit/s
• One SDIO up to 48MHz
• One Full-Speed USB2.0 OTG
I²S audio interfaces:
Two full-duplex, three simplex
Orderable Part Number: NUCLEO-F411RE
Apply now at my-boardclub.com
Fast-track board request code: FTM56A
Tiny, low-power 32-bit MCUs offer
rich set of peripheral functions
ATMEL
ENERGY
Atmel has provided for easy
migration between these
SAM D series MCUs:
they are code- and
pin-compatible,
making it easy for
designers to extend or
reduce the functionality of an
existing design as required.
All devices have accurate and low-power
external and internal oscillators. All oscillators
can be used as a source for the system clock.
Different clock domains can be independently
configured to run at different frequencies,
enabling power saving by running each
peripheral at its optimal clock frequency, and
thus maintaining a high core frequency while
reducing power consumption.
FREE
BOARDS
150631:
ENERGY
•
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INDUSTRIAL
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Home automation
Consumer electronics
Metering
Industrial equipment
FEATURES
• Support for capacitive touch buttons,
wheels and sliders
• Atmel’s Event System for inter-peripheral
signalling
• Up to three (SAM D1x) or six (SAM D2x)
flexible serial communication modules
• 32-bit real-time clock and calendar
• Analogue comparators
• Two software-selectable Sleep modes
150632:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
FREE
BOARDS
Atmel SAM D10 32-bit MCU Development
The SAM D11 Xplained Pro board features the
ATSAMD11D14A-MU MCU, and includes an on-board
embedded debugger, USB connection, two capacitive
touch buttons, and an Xplained Pro-compatible header.
The SAM D10 Xplained features the 24-pin
ATSAMD10D14A-MU MCU and features an on-board
embedded debugger, USB connection and a prototyping
area with access to all GPIO pins. It also has a capacitive
touch button. All Xplained mini boards are compatible
with Arduino shields.
Orderable Part Number: ATSAMD11-XPRO
Orderable Part Number: ATSAMD10-XMINI
Apply now at my-boardclub.com
Fast-track board request code: FTM56A
Apply now at my-boardclub.com
Fast-track board request code: FTM56A
Atmel SAM D11 32-bit MCU Development
VISIT THE ONLINE FTM MAGAZINE AT: WWW.My-FTM.COM
19
MCUs
AND
EMBEDDED
ARM
SOLUTIONS
Code-efficient 8-bit MCUs
balance power consumption and
processing speed
Designed to be easy to use, Atmel® AVR 8-bit
MCUs offer low power consumption and a
high level of integration. They are based on the
industry's most code-efficient architecture for
C and assembly programming.
The AVR family of microcontrollers features
high-endurance non-volatile memories
embedded on-chip. Their Flash memory is
specified for 10,000 Write/Erase cycles, and
EEPROM for 100,000. Data retention is 20
years at 85°C and 100 years at 25°C.
The new devices also provide support for the
Atmel QTouch® library of capacitive touch
buttons, sliders and wheels. Operation of
capacitive touch interfaces can use both
QTouch and QMatrix acquisition methods
across up to 64 sensing channels.
ATMEL
The ATmega48PB, 88PB and 168PB
are the latest low-power 8-bit
microcontrollers from Atmel based on
the proven AVR core, an enhanced
RISC architecture.
By executing
powerful
instructions in a
single clock
cycle, these new
MCUs achieve
throughputs of
close to
1MIPS/MHz, giving the
system designer the
freedom to balance power
consumption with
processing speed without
sacrificing performance.
Part Number
Flash
Memory
EEPROM
RAM
Interrupt Vector Size
ATmega48PB
4kbytes
256bytes
512kbytes
1 instruction word/vector
ATmega88PB
8kbytes
512bytes
1Kbyte
1 instruction word/vector
ATmega168PB
16kbytes
512bytes
1Kbyte
2 instruction words/vector
ENERGY
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INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Embedded systems
Consumer devices
Industrial equipment
FEATURES
• Unique serial number
• USART: wake-up on start of frame
• Internal oscillators and voltage reference
•
accurate to ±2% over the full voltage and
temperature range
GPIO input function on ADC inputs
150633:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
FREE
BOARDS
Atmel 8-bit MCU Development
This evaluation kit comes with a fully-integrated debugger
which provides seamless integration with Atmel Studio
version 6.2 or later. The kit provides access to the
features of the ATmega168PB, enabling easy integration
of the device in a custom design.
Orderable Part Number: ATmega168PB-XMINI
Apply now at my-boardclub.com
Fast-track board request code: FTM56A
MCU’s floating point unit benefits from unique Flash
memory accelerator
STMICROELECTRONICS
The STM32F446xx microcontroller from
STMicroelectronics is based on the highperformance ARM® Cortex®-M4 32-bit
core operating at a frequency of up to
180MHz.
This core features a single-precision Floating
Point Unit (FPU) which supports all ARM singleprecision data-processing instructions and data
types. It also implements a full set of DSP
instructions and a memory protection unit,
which enhances application security.
Data-processing performance is enhanced
by ST’s ART Accelerator™, a memory
accelerator optimised for ARM® Cortex®-M4
cores with an FPU processor. It supports the
inherent performance advantage of the core’s
FPU, which normally has to wait for the
embedded Flash memory at higher
frequencies, by implementing an instruction
pre-fetch queue and branch cache, which
increases programme execution speed from
the 128-bit Flash memory.
The STM32F446xx devices incorporate both
Flash memory and SRAM, and an extensive
20
range of enhanced I/Os and peripherals. All
devices offer three 12-bit ADCs, two DACs, a
low-power real-time clock, twelve 16-bit timers,
including two PWM timers for motor control,
and two general-purpose 32-bit timers.
The STM32F446xx devices operate in the
-40°C to 105°C temperature range, from a
1.7V to 3.6V power supply. A comprehensive
set of power-saving modes provides for the
design of low-power applications.
There are six STM32F446xx devices in
packages with pin counts from 64 to 144.
ENERGY
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INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Motor drives
Medical equipment
PLCs
Inverters
Circuit breakers
Printers
Scanners
Alarm systems
Video intercoms
Home audio equipment
FEATURES
• Camera interface for CMOS sensors
• Up to four I C interfaces
• Dual quad serial peripheral interfaces
• Three full-simplex I S interfaces
• USB OTG Full-Speed and USB OTG
2
2
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•
•
Hi-Speed interfaces
Two CAN interfaces
SDIO/MMC interface
SPDIF receiver
150634:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
EMAIL INFO@My-FTM.COM FOR SAMPLES AND DATASHEETS
MCUs
AND
EMBEDDED
Seminar in a Box
Future Electronics has brought together a series of complete
evaluation solutions based on NXP Semiconductors’ most popular
microcontrollers. Each ‘Seminar in a Box’ includes an MCU evaluation
board, product data sheet, and technology presentations with links to
LPCWARE to provide access to NXP’s software libraries.
LPC1700/LPC4088
ENERGY
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
LPC4088 Experiment Base Board and
Quick Start Board for Graphic
Applications Order Code: FSB4088
• Interfaces/Connectors
• 2 x 22 headers for LPC4088 QuickStart board
• 2 x 22 pin list for prototyping
• Arduino compatible expansion connectors (for
Arduino shields)
• Serial expansion connector, 14-pos connector
with UART/I2C/SPI/GPIO pins
LPC18Sxx/LPC43Sxx
PLCXpresso 18S37 Development
Board for Security Applications
Order Code: FSB18S37
• LPC18S37 MCU running at up to 180MHz
• On-board, high-speed USB-based debug
probe with CMSIS-DAP and LPCXpresso IDE
Redlink protocol options. Can debug the onboard LPC18S37 or external target
• Support for external debug probes
• Tri-colour LED
• Target Reset, ISP and WAKE buttons
• Expansion options based on Arduino UNO R3
and Pmod™, plus additional expansion port pins
• On-board Ethernet PHy with output available
at expansion connectors
• High-speed USB A/B connector for host or
slave operation
• 8Mb Macronix quad SPI Flash
• UART, I2C and SPI port bridging from
LPC18S37 target to USB via the on-board
debug probe
• FTDI UART connector
• A7001CM secure element
LPC824
ENERGY
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
LPCXpresso824-Max Board for
LPC82x Family MCUs for Multiple
Sensor Control Applications
Order Code: FSB824
• Fully supported by LPCXpresso Eclipse-based
IDE and GNU C/C++ toolchain, available in
free and pro versions
LPC1500
LPCXpresso Board for LPC1549 for
Motrol Control Applications
Order Code: FSB1500
• Fully supported by LPCXpresso Eclipse-based
IDE and GNU C/C++ toolchain, available in
free and pro versions
• Integrated JTAG debugger which can also be
used to debug external target
• LPCXpresso/mbed, Pmod™ and Arduino UNO
expansion connectors give simple access to a
wide range of available expansion boards
• Tri-colour LED, ISP and WAKE buttons for
easy testing of software functionality
ARM
SOLUTIONS
FREE
BOARDS
Each of these NXP development
solutions can be requested via
the FTM Board Club.
Apply now at my-boardclub.com
Fast-track board request code: FTM56A
• LCD expansion connector with control signals
for touch screen interface
• MicroSD (µSD) interface and connector: both
MCI and SPI interface versions
• LCD Interface
• FFC/FPC interface connector for 4.3" and 5"
LCDs (displays sold separately)
• 16-bit colour depth supported
• Touch-screen interface controller (AR1021
from Microchip)
• Backlight voltage generator
ENERGY
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
• Compatible with development tools and
probes from NXP ecosystem partners
• Integrated JTAG debugger which can also be
used to debug external target
• LPCXpresso/mbed, Pmod™ and Arduino UNO
expansion connectors give simple access to a
wide range of available expansion boards
• Tri-colour LED, ISP and WAKE buttons for
easy testing of software functionality
ENERGY
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
150635:
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
For more information e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
VISIT THE ONLINE FTM MAGAZINE AT: WWW.My-FTM.COM
21
MCUs
AND
EMBEDDED
ARM
SOLUTIONS
Low-cost, low-power MCU offers
USB2.0 connectivity
STMICROELECTRONICS
The STM32L053 microcontroller from
STMicroelectronics offers very high
power efficiency thanks to a large
choice of internal and external clock
sources, an internal voltage-adaptation
scheme and several low-power modes.
The STM32L053 is based on the lowpower ARM® Cortex®-M0+ 32-bit RISC
core operating at a frequency of 32MHz.
The STM32L053 features a crystal-less USB2.0
interface. It also includes a memory protection
unit and high-speed Flash programme memory,
2kbytes of EEPROM data memory and
8kbytes of RAM.
Four variants of the STM32L053 are available:
the STM32L053C6, and STM32L053C8 are
housed in a 48-pin LQFP package and integrate
a 10-channel 12-bit ADC, with 32kbytes and
64kbytes of Flash respectively. The
STM32L053R6 and STM32L053R8 are housed in
64-pin LQFP or TFBGA packages, and combine
a 16-channel 12-bit ADC with 32kbytes and
64kbytes of Flash, respectively.
All the devices offer several analogue features,
including a DAC, two ultra low-power comparators,
several timers, and a real-time clock and a
SysTick, which can be used as time bases.
They also feature two watchdogs: one
watchdog has an independent clock and
window capability, and one window watchdog
is based on the bus clock.
An integrated LCD controller has a built-in
LCD voltage generator which can drive as
many as eight multiplexed LCDs, with contrast
independent of the supply voltage.
WORKING PARTNER ams’ AS-MLV-P2: page 6
ENERGY
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INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Utility meters
Industrial sensors
Healthcare and fitness equipment
Remote controls
PC peripherals
Gaming equipment
GPS equipment
Alarm systems
FEATURES
• 12-bit ADC operates at 1.65V (minimum)
• Low-power UART interface
• 16-bit ultra-low power timer
• Up to 24 capacitive sensing channels
• Operating temperature range:
-40°C to 125°C
150636:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
FREE
BOARDS
Ultra Low-power MCU Development
This STM32 Nucleo board requires no separate probe, as
it integrates the ST-LINK/V2-1 debugger/programmer.
Orderable Part Number: NUCLEO-L053R8
Apply now at my-boardclub.com
Fast-track board request code: FTM56A
STM32L053: capable of driving multiplexed LCDs
MCUs with ARM Cortex-M4 core benefit from larger
memory, more interfaces
STMICROELECTRONICS
STMicroelectronics has extended its
STM32F3 microcontroller series for
applications that require high
performance and innovative features at
an affordable cost.
Now with up to 512kbytes of Flash memory in
the STM32F303 and STM32F302 devices, the
F3 series can support even more sophisticated
applications than before. New features include
extra serial peripheral and I2C communication
interfaces, and a Flexible Memory Controller
(FMC) operating at 36MHz on an 8-/16-bit bus,
supporting off-chip storage and LCD modules.
The new F3 MCUs also provide as many as
three 144MHz 16-bit motor-control timers,
ideal for use in the multi-motor systems found
in home appliances, power tools and industrial
equipment. ST’s new Motor Ecosystem for
STM32, which comprises a softwaredevelopment kit (STSW-STM32100) and new
hardware, helps to make it faster and easier for
design teams to develop these applications.
The STM32F3 series is at the low end of
ST’s ARM® Cortex®-M4-based MCU portfolio.
22
The core offers a DSP
and floating-point unit
running at up to
72MHz. In the
STM32F3 series, it
executes deterministic
routines such as motorcontrol loops up to
43% faster than
comparable MCUs because of ST’s unique
‘Routine Booster’ function based on corecoupled memory.
The enhanced features are added to the rich
peripheral choices already offered in the
STM32F3 series. These include 12-bit ADCs
FREE
BOARDS
Digital Power Conversion
The full range of hardware features on the board can be
used to evaluate all the peripherals of the STM32F303VET6
MCU, including Full-Speed USB, USART, audio DAC and
ADC, TFT colour LCD, MicroSD card, motor-control
connectors, humidity sensor, high-brightness LED, CAN
interface and IR receiver.
Orderable Part Number: STM32303E-EVAL
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with class-leading 5Msamples/s performance,
true 16-bit sigma-delta ADCs, fast 25ns
comparators, high-resolution 217ps timers and
an uncommitted programmable gain amplifier.
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Biometric sensors
Smart meters
Lighting equipment
Welding equipment
Solar power generators
Motor-control systems
FEATURES
• 12kbytes of SRAM
• Sleep, Stop and Stand-by low-power modes
• Up to 51 fast I/O ports
• Seven-channel DMA controller
• Temperature sensor
• Up to 18 capacitive sensing channels
• Real-time clock and calendar
150637:
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info@my-ftm.com
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MCUs
AND
EMBEDDED
ARM
SOLUTIONS
ARM Cortex-M7-based
MCUs offer superior
memory architecture
and connectivity
Atmel | SMART ecosystem
Software development tools are available on
Atmel Studio, the ARM microcontroller
development kit and IAR Systems’ EWARM
platform. Operating system support includes
Keil® RTX, Segger embOS, FreeRTOS and
Express Logic Thread-X.
A comprehensive set of peripheral driver
examples and open-source middleware is
provided in Atmel’s software package for the
new MCUs. Additionally, the automotive SAM V
series comes with complete AUTOSAR support
and an Ethernet AVB stack.
ATMEL
Atmel has launched four new series of
high-performance microcontrollers
based on the ARM® Cortex®-M7
processor core.
The new series offer exceptional
memory and connectivity options,
giving developers great design
flexibility and making the devices ideal
for use in automotive, Internet of
Things and industrial-connectivity
applications.
All the devices allow customers to
scale-up performance easily, benefitting
from software re-use and the ease of
use of the ARM Cortex-M processor
family. The devices contain advanced
memory architectures, offering up to
384kbytes of multi-port SRAM, of
which 256kbytes can be configured as
tightly coupled memory delivering zero
wait-state access at 300MHz.
All devices also come with a Hispeed USB interface and an on-chip
Hi-speed USB PHY. Flash memory
provision is specified at 512kbytes,
1Mbytes or 2Mbytes.
Atmel’s SAM S70: 300MHz clock speed
Atmel® | SMART™ SAM E and SAM S series
Atmel’s SAM S70 series is based on the ARM
Cortex-M7 core plus a floating point unit,
extending the company’s general-purpose
product portfolio with maximum operating
speeds up to 300MHz, up to 2Mbytes of Flash,
dual 16kbyte cache memories and up to
384kbytes of SRAM.
The SAM S70 series also offers an extensive
peripheral set which includes Hi-speed USB host
and device functionality plus a Hi-speed PHy.
Interface options include:
• UART: up to eight interfaces
• I2S
• SD/MMC
• CMOS camera
• System control
• Analogue
Atmel’s SAM E70 series offers additional
features, including a 10/100 Ethernet MAC, and
dual Bosch CAN-FD interfaces with advanced
analogue features. The SAM E70 series is
upwards-compatible with Atmel’s SAM4E series.
Atmel | SMART SAM V series
The automotive-qualified SAM V70 and SAM
V71 series of MCUs offer various connectivity
options. These include support for Ethernet
AVB, as well as Hi-speed USB with an
integrated PHy. When combined with the ARM
Cortex-M7 DSP extensions, these make the
SAM V series parts ideal for infotainment and
audio applications.
The series also offers controllers supporting
the latest CAN 2.0 and CAN flexible data-rate
protocols for higher-bandwidth requirements.
WORKING PARTNER TE’s IP68 USB2.0: page 14
ENERGY
INDUSTRIAL
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MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
•
•
SAM E70 AND SAM S70
Connectivity
Industrial equipment
•
•
•
•
SAM V70, SAM V71
In-vehicle infotainment
Automotive audio amplifiers
Telematics systems
Head-unit control
FEATURES (SMA V70)
• Quad serial peripheral interface featuring
execute-in-place
• MediaLB three-wire interface
• True random number generator
• SHA-256 and AES-256 cryptographic
•
•
engines
12-bit ADC
12-bit DAC
150638:
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BOARDS
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See details of Board of the Month on page 25.
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23
MCUs
AND
EMBEDDED
ARM
SOLUTIONS
High-performance 32-bit MCUs
provide advanced display interfaces
STMICROELECTRONICS
The STM32F469 and STM32F479 are
two new microcontrollers from
STMicroelectronics offering high
performance from an ARM® Cortex®M4 processor core backed by large
memory provision and a rich set of
peripherals.
The STM32F469 and STM32F479 product
lines provide between 512kbytes and 2Mbytes
of Flash memory, and 384kbytes of SRAM.
They are housed in packages with between
168 and 216 pins, and measuring as little as
4.9mm x 5.7mm.
At 180MHz, the STM32F469 and
STM32F479 deliver 225DMIPS/608 CoreMark
performance executing from Flash memory.
The devices’ support for DSP instructions and
their floating-point unit enlarge the range of
addressable applications.
The new MCUs offer two ST technologies
which, when combined, enable the designer to
realise an advanced user interface while
granting enough resources for demanding real-
time processing. The ART Accelerator™ for
Flash memory and the Chrom-ART
Accelerator™ for graphics are backed by both
LCD-TFT and MIPI-DSI display interfaces. The
new MIPI display serial interface makes it
possible to connect a display using a small
number of pins while increasing the supported
display resolution.
Audio functionality is well provided for, with
two dedicated audio PLLs, two full-duplex I²S
interfaces, and one serial audio interface
supporting full-duplex I²S as well as a timedivision multiplex mode.
Cypress Semiconductor has introduced
an attractive, low-cost development kit
for its FM4 family of ARM® Cortex®-M4
microcontrollers.
The SK-FM4-176L-S6E2CC-ETH starter kit
features peripheral devices which demonstrate
the features of the on-board Spansion FM4
S6E2CCA microcontroller. It also has an
Arduino-compatible interface
for connection to external
shields, giving developers the
freedom to create a realistic
system prototype.
The kit’s S6E2CCA
microcontroller comes preprogrammed with an
interactive application to test all
of the on-board features using
a virtual communication port to
send message prompts, to
input test parameters and to output test
results. This document informs users about the
method for connecting quickly to the board
and running the demonstration.
24
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Motor drives
Medical equipment
PLCs
Inverters
Circuit breakers
Printers
Scanners
Alarm systems
Video intercoms
Home audio appliances
FEATURES
• 280µA/MHz Run mode current at
180MHz
• 120µA Stop mode current
• Two CAN interfaces
• Camera interface
• Two 12-bit DACs
• Three 2.4Msamples/s 12-bit ADCs
• Hardware cryptographic accelerator
150639:
Low-cost starter kit for ARM CortexM4 MCUs provides Arduino interface
CyPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR
The communication capabilities of the new
chips include an Ethernet MAC and Full-Speed
and Hi-Speed USB OTG interfaces with an onchip USB PHy.
The S6E2CCA series of MCUs supported by
the starter kit operates at 200MHz and
supports a diverse set of on-chip peripherals
which are ideal for high-performance humanmachine interfaces and for machine-tomachine communication.
The MCUs’ architecture allows for efficient
data movement, providing a 16kbyte Flash
accelerator which enables zero wait-state
execution. Peripheral-to-RAM and RAM-toperipheral data movement can be
accomplished
without CPU
intervention either
through an 8channel DMA, or
through a unique
descriptorsystem datatransfer
controller.
In addition,
SK-FM4-176L-S6E2CC-ETH:
the S6E2CCA
Arduino-compatible interface
series
provides up
to 2Mbytes Flash and 256kbytes of SRAM
memory, more than 12 communication and
memory interfaces, and built-in motor-control
functionality.
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Wireless communication hubs
Factory automation
Internet of Things devices
Motor-control systems
Office automation equipment
Building management systems
Smart meters
FEATURES
CMSIS-DAP JTAG adapter
Ethernet RJ45 (IEEE 802.3) interface
USB device interface
32Mbits quad SPI Flash memory
16Mbits external pseudo-SRAM memory
Stereo codec
Voice-enabled controller
Three-colour LED
Accelerometer
Photo-transistor
150640:
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FREE
BOARDS
Orderable Part Number: SK-FM4-176L-S6E2CC-ETH
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MCUs
AND
EMBEDDED
MCU with ARM Cortex-M7
core sets new performance
standard
STMICROELECTRONICS
The new STM32F756NG microcontroller
from STMicroelectronics draws on the
high performance of the new ARM®
Cortex®-M7 core to provide as much as
two times the processing and DSP
performance of previous generations of
ARM Cortex-M MCUs.
Manufactured on ST’s robust 90nm CMOS
process technology, the STM32F756NG
produces its high performance without
sacrificing power efficiency: in Run, Stop and
Stand-by modes, it draws the same low
current as the STM32 F4 series of MCUs.
Power usage is 120µA in Stop mode with all
context and SRAM content saved, and 1.7µA
in Stand-by mode
Peripherals include an SDMMC interface, a
flexible memory-control interface, and a camera
interface for CMOS sensors.
ARM
ENERGY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SOLUTIONS
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Motor drives
Medical equipment
PLCs
Inverters
Circuit breakers
Printers and scanners
Security systems
Home audio appliances
Internet of Things devices
Wearable devices
FEATURES
• 512kbyte and 1Mbyte embedded Flash
options
• Peripherals include an independent clock
domain
• Flexible external memory controller
• Dual quad serial peripheral interface
• Dual general-purpose DMA controllers
• Chrom-ART Accelerator hardware
The new MCU operates at up to 200MHz and
uses a six-stage super-scalar pipeline and
floating point unit to produce performance
rated at up to 1,000 CoreMarks.
Architectural innovations surrounding the
MCU boost performance and ease of use. ST
has included two independent mechanisms to
produce zero wait-state performance from both
internal and external memories: ST’s ART
Accelerator™ for internal embedded Flash, and
L1 cache for both execution and data access
from internal and external memories.
™
graphics engine
• Full-Speed and Hi-Speed USB2.0
interfaces with Full-Speed USB PHy
150641:
For samples or pricing e-mail
info@my-ftm.com
Future Electronics’ Board Club: supporting innovative electronics design
Europe’s electronics industry thrives on the application of innovation and creativity, and an essential
innovator’s tool in design projects is the development board. The Board Club website is a Future Electronics
resource for users of development boards. Here, and only here, Board Club members can gain access to
exclusive free development boards and development board offers.
If you would like to register for membership, please visit: www.my-boardclub.com/register.php
ATMEL
ENERGY
Kit speeds evaluation of ARM Cortex-M7 MCUs
The Atmel® | SMART™ SAM V71 Xplained Ultra evaluation kit is a hardware
platform for evaluating the ATSAMV71Q21 microcontroller, and other Atmel ARM®
Cortex®-M7-based MCUs in the SAM V70, SAM S70 and SAM E70 series.
Supported by the Atmel Studio
integrated development platform,
the kit provides easy access
to the features of the Atmel
ATSAMV71Q21 and
shows how to
integrate the device
in a custom
design.
The Xplained Ultra series
evaluation kits include an
on-board embedded debugger; no
external tools are necessary to programme or
debug the ATSAMV71Q21.
The Xplained Pro extension kits offer
additional peripherals to
supplement the features of the
board and to ease the development
of custom designs.
FREE
BOARDS
Orderable Part Number: ATSAMV71-XULT
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
INDUSTRIAL
LIGHTING
MEDICAL
AUTOMOTIVE SECURITY
CONSUMER TELECOMMS
APPLICATIONS
Connectivity
Industrial equipment
In-vehicle infotainment
Automotive audio amplifiers
Telematics systems
Head unit control
FEATURES
Mechanical reset button
Power button
Two mechanical user push-buttons
Two yellow user LEDs
Super-capacitor backup
12.0MHz crystal
32.768kHz crystal
2Mbytes SDRAM
2Mbytes QSPI Flash
150642:
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25
TECHNICAL
VIEW
Tips for designers using Lin
By Arnoldas Bagdonas
Field Applications Engineer, Future Electronics (Lithuania)
READ THIS ARTICLE TO FIND OUT ABOUT
• Why Linux is a popular choice of OS for new embedded system
Microcontroller manufacturers’ development boards, and the
example software projects that they provide with them, can
provide great assistance to engineers at the start of a new
design. Equally, the software that they provide can cause
problems as a design project goes beyond its early phases.
Designs using a real-time operating system as the platform for
application code also face the challenge of partitioning functionality into
concurrent tasks, designing bullet-proof inter-process communications,
and testing the whole package in hardware.
More and more OEMs are finding that the best way to avoid both of
the problems described above is to base new designs on an opensource, proven Operating System (OS) which is scalable and runs on
various hardware platforms: Linux. This OS has been ported to more
computer hardware platforms than any other. Its derivatives run on a
very wide range of embedded systems such as network routers, mobile
phones, building automation controls, televisions and video-game consoles.
Just because Linux is used successfully, however, does not mean that
it may always be used easily. The OS consists of more than one million
lines of code, and operates with a distinctive Linux philosophy that the
beginner may struggle to grasp quickly.
The main aim of this article, therefore, is to provide a five-step guide to
starting a new design project using the µClinux version of embedded
Linux. To illustrate the guidance, the article describes the implementation
of a µClinux project on an STM32F429 microcontroller from
STMicroelectronics with an ARM® Cortex®-M4 core running at 180MHz
and using Emcraft’s STM32F429 Discovery Linux Board Support
Package (BSP).
Step 1: Linux tools and project layout
Every embedded software design starts with the selection of the right tools.
A toolchain is a set of software development tools that are linked (or
chained) together, and it consists of components such as GNU Compiler
Collection (GCC), Binutils and GLIBC, as well as, in some cases, other
tools such as compilers and debuggers. The toolchain used for
embedded development is a cross-toolchain, more commonly known as
a cross-compiler.
The GNU Binutils is the first component of an embedded Linux
toolchain. GNU Binutils contains two important tools:
• ‘as’, the assembler, which turns assembly code generated by gcc into
binary
• ‘ld’, the linker, which links discrete object-code segments into a library,
or executable
The compiler is the second important component of a toolchain. In
embedded Linux, it is known as GCC, and supports a wide range of
MCU and processor architectures.
Next is the C library. This implements Linux’s traditional POSIX
Application Programming Interface (API), which can be used to develop
user-space applications. It interfaces with the kernel through system
calls, and provides higher-level services.
The engineer has several choices of C library:
• GLIBC is the C library available from the open-source GNU project. This
library is full-featured, portable, and conforms to the Linux standard.
• Embedded GLIBC (EGLIBC) is a variant optimised for embedded
systems. It has a reduced footprint, supports cross-compiling and
cross-testing, and maintains source and binary compatibility with
GLIBC.
• uClibc is another C library which may be used if Flash space is limited
and/or the memory footprint must be minimised.
The debugger is also usually part of the toolchain, as a cross-debugger
is needed to debug applications running on the target machine. In the
embedded Linux world, the usual debugger is GDB.
26
designs
• Common Linux tools and their functions
• The process for bringing up Linux quickly and easily on an
STM32F429 microcontroller and getting started with a development
project
Essential as these tools are, when used on their own it would take too
long to compile Linux source code and merge it into a final image.
Fortunately, the Buildroot tool automates the process of building a
complete embedded system, and eases cross-compilation by generating
any or all of:
• a cross-compilation toolchain
• a root file system
• a bootloader image
For embedded systems designers, it can also be convenient to use a
utility aggregator tool, such as BusyBox, which combines the most
commonly required utilities in one place.
One last essential tool is a BSP that is made specifically for the
motherboard carrying the project’s target MCU or processor. A BSP
includes pre-configured tools, and a bootloader which loads the OS to
the board. It also provides source code for the kernel and device drivers,
as shown in Figure 1.
Fig. 1: the main components of the Emcraft BSP for the STM32F429 Discovery board
Step 2: boot sequence, clock system, memory and serial interface
A typical embedded Linux boot-up sequence runs as follows:
1) Bootloader firmware (U-Boot in the example project) runs on the
target from integrated Flash with no external memory required and
performs all required initialisations after power-on/reset, including
setting-up serial ports and the memory controller for external memory
(RAM) accesses.
2) U-Boot may relocate the Linux image from external Flash to external
RAM, and passes control to the kernel entry point in RAM. The Linux
image can be compressed to save Flash storage space, at the cost of
decompression time during boot-up.
3) Linux proceeds to boot up and mount a RAM-based file system
(initramfs) as a root file system. Initramfs is populated with the
required files and directories at build time, and is then simply linked
into the kernel.
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ux in an embedded project
4) Execution of /sbin/init under the Linux kernel. The /sbin/init program
initialises the system following the description in the /etc/inittab
configuration file.
5) Once the init process completes the run-level execution and the
commands in /sbin/init, it will start a log-in process.
6) The boot-up process finishes with the execution of the shell
initialisation file’s /etc/profile.
Boot time may be decreased markedly, and overall performance may
be improved, by enabling Execute In Place (XIP), a method for executing
code from Flash.
The example project featured in this article is based on an
STM32F429 MCU for which STMicroelectronics has developed several
tools. One of the latest is the STM32CubeMX initialisation code
generator (part number UM1718). This tool covers every detail of
peripheral initialisation, shows warnings and errors, and alerts the user to
hardware conflicts while configuring peripherals.
The STM32F429 MCU has enough internal Flash memory for small
embedded Linux projects. It is important to remember that embedded
Linux projects use several binary images: boot loader, Linux kernel and
the root file system. These need to be aligned on Flash sector
boundaries. This avoids the risk that, by loading one image, a part of
another will be erased or corrupted.
Step 3: installing Linux on a host computer
To build an embedded Linux project, a Linux host is required. For a
Windows PC, it is advisable to install the Oracle® VirtualBox, creating a
new virtual machine with 512Mbytes of RAM and a 16Gbyte disk.
Many Linux distributions are available; Debian is, in the author’s
experience, compatible with the VirtualBox environment. This Linux host
must have access to the internet, so that the GNU cross-build tools for
the ARM Cortex-M target may be downloaded. The designer will then
create a tree structure similar to that shown in Figure 1, and extract
cross-build tools into the /tools folder.
At this point, it is necessary to create an ACTIVATE.sh script. Simply
use this code to do so. (<.......> is the path to the extracted GNU tools
folder):
export
export
export
export
export
export
INSTALL_ROOT=<.......>
PATH=$INSTALL_ROOT/bin:$PATH
CROSS_COMPILE=arm-uclinuxeabiCROSS_COMPILE_APPS=arm-uclinuxeabiMCU=STMDISCO
ARCH=arm
Installing GNU tools into a clean Linux system, however, is not on its
own sufficient to enable their use. Their operation is in fact dependent
on some other system components (such as the host C/C++ compiler,
standard C library headers, and some system utilities). One way to
provide these necessary components is to install the Eclipse Integrated
Development Environment (IDE) for C. As well as fixing this immediate
problem, the Eclipse IDE can help in many other aspects of the
development process, although it is outside the scope of this article to
describe its features.
Now, it is time to launch the Linux terminal utility: click ‘Applications’,
then ‘Accessories’ and ‘Terminal’, as shown in Figure 2. Terminal is the
main tool used to configure the Linux host and to build embedded Linux
applications. Type these commands to install Eclipse and other required
tools:
su [enter root user password]
apt-get install eclipse-cdt
apt-get install genromfs
apt-get install libncurses5-dev
apt-get install git
apt-get install mc
The last step in preparing Linux is to download the STM32F429
Discovery Buildroot and extract it to the /uclinux folder, see Figure 1.
Fig. 2: Linux includes the ‘Terminal’ utility and ‘Files’, a graphical utility similar to Windows Explorer
Step 4: building µClinux with Buildroot
Now it is necessary to close the previous terminal, which was using the
root user profile, and launch a new terminal. In the command line, type
‘mc’ and use the navigator to go to ‘Documents’, then ‘uclinux’. Press
Ctrl+O and activate a Linux ARM Cortex-M development session, and
run ‘.ACTIVATE.sh’. Again press Ctrl+O and enter the ‘stm32f429-linuxbuilder-master’ folder.
The user now has two options. If using the example project in
VirtualBox, follow the ‘make clean’ and ‘make all’ command sequence. If
preparing a brand new environment, use the ‘make’ command. Around
30 minutes later, the new µClinux images will be available, as follows:
out\uboot\u-boot.bin
out\kernel\arch\arm\boot\ xipuImage.bin
out\romfs.bin
Write these new images to Flash memory. Then connect the serial
console to the board and press the Reset button, and the µClinux
project will be live. The boot-up output will be shown in the console and
the display will show the Linux penguin.
Step 5: create a ‘Hello, world’ application
Now it is time to add a user application to the µClinux project. A code
example may be found at a pre-configured VirtualBox machine: visit this
author’s µClinux publications via the following link:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/arnoldasbagdonas.
Conclusion
This article shows that any engineer can begin a simple µClinux project
in just a few easy steps. The example project provides a good starting
point for more complex Linux designs.
In this author’s experience, the existence of open-source code and
projects offers a tremendous advantage to engineers who wish to
extend their capabilities and learn quickly how to implement designs in a
sophisticated hardware and software environment. The author began the
project with no knowledge of embedded Linux. It took only a few weeks
to get the ‘Hello, world’ application running on the Discovery board. In only
a few hours more, SD card support was added, a frame buffer viewer
project was embedded and a digital picture-frame prototype was ready.
This provides strong evidence of the value of starting from the huge
base of software provided by the open-source community.
150643:
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27
150644:
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