Low-Cost ARM-Based Microcontrollers Maintain Powerful Edge

March 17, 2003

The small-sized 32-bit ARM CPU core, coupled with a suite of on-chip peripherals and flash memory, has let OKI craft a new family of low-cost, general-purpose microcontrollers. Priced competitively with some high-end 8- and 16-bit MCUs, the ARM-based chips establish a new price/performance point for 32-bit embedded processors. The ML674001, MLQ674002, and MLQ674003 combine the ARM7TDMI core along with a broad array of peripheral functions.

Although the ML674001 contains no flash memory, like the other family members, it includes 32 kbytes of SRAM, a boot ROM, a four-channel 10-bit ADC, seven 16-bit timers, a dual-stage 16-bit watchdog timer, two DMA channels, and two 16-bit pulse-width modulated channels. It also incorporates up to 43 pins of general-purpose I/O, multiple serial interfaces (SIO, UART, USART, and I²C), 28 interrupt sources, and a memory controller to support external SDRAM and other memory types.

The controllers can operate at 33 MHz from -40°C to 85 ^oC. Because the core is a member of the ARM family, all software-development tools for the ARM can be used to develop application software for this family of MCUs.

In 10,000-unit lots, the flashless ML674001 costs less than $5, the 256-kbyte MLQ674002, costs from $6 to $7, and the 512-kbyte MLQ674003 costs under $8. Samples are available from stock.

OKI Semiconductor
www.okisemi.com/us
(408) 737-6206

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About the Author

Dave Bursky | Technologist

Dave Bursky, the founder of New Ideas in Communications, a publication website featuring the blog column Chipnastics – the Art and Science of Chip Design. He is also president of PRN Engineering, a technical writing and market consulting company. Prior to these organizations, he spent about a dozen years as a contributing editor to Chip Design magazine. Concurrent with Chip Design, he was also the technical editorial manager at Maxim Integrated Products, and prior to Maxim, Dave spent over 35 years working as an engineer for the U.S. Army Electronics Command and an editor with Electronic Design Magazine.