ARM9 MCUs Seek ARM7 Migrations

The SAM9 family of microcontrollers assumes position as the industry’s first ARM9-based, real-time flash devices for applications outgrowing the ARM7 core. Based on ARM926EJ-S cores, the MCUs share common integration levels, peripheral sets, and programming models with SAM7 MCUs, simplifying migration between the two domains. They include a real-time clock, interrupt controller, watchdog timer, power-on-reset, brown-out-detect, RC-oscillator, and single-cycle instruction fetch from on-chip memory. The devices are also the only flash-based ARM9 microcontrollers available with third party, small-footprint RTOS support. Like the ARM7 MCUs, the SAM9 group includes peripheral DMA controllers that off-load data transfers between peripherals and memories from the CPU. The first SAM9 chip, the AT91SAM9260, is available now in a 208-pin green QFP and a 217-ball, RoHS-compliant LFBGA package, priced near $6 each/100,000. ATMEL CORP., San Jose, CA. (408) 441-0311