June 26, 2012 -- STMicroelectronics is now delivering the first samples of its new STM32 F3 series of microcontrollers to major OEM customers, enabling early evaluation of this important new line in ST's product family featuring the ARM Cortex-M core embedded.

STM32 F3 microcontrollers are based on the Cortex-M4 core with FPU, and are optimized for efficient handling and processing of mixed signals in circuits such as three-phase motor controls, biometrics and industrial sensor outputs or audio filters. They will help simplify design, cut power consumption and reduce pc-board size in consumer, medical, portable fitness, system monitoring and metering applications. The new F3 series extends the scope of ST's STM32 family by allowing designers to tackle mixed-signal control applications.

Featuring versatile analog circuitry and the ARM Cortex-M4 with FPU, the STM32 F3 series provides low to medium memory sizes at competitive cost. The Cortex-M4 with FPU core augments the proven Cortex-M3 CPU with additional digital signal processing (DSP) capability, optimized single-cycle and saturating arithmetic instructions, and floating-point unit (FPU), to boost performance over ST's STM32 F1 Cortex-M3 devices. It positions the new series between the STM32 F1 and the STM32 F4, which features the Cortex-M4 with FPU core and large memory capacity combined with high-speed 168-MHz maximum CPU frequency for complex applications.

"The new F3 series boosts our ARM Cortex-M4 portfolio to more than 70 devices, and will help our customers design even more powerful products leveraging the advantages of the STM32 family," said Michel Buffa, Microcontroller Division General Manager, STMicroelectronics. "Its advanced processor, high-quality advanced analog peripherals and mid-density memory present a strong combination unmatched by other Cortex-based or proprietary devices."

STM32 F3 series devices also incorporate ST's latest improvements to digital peripherals for its STM32 family, which is a further advantage of the compatibility between all ST''s ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers.

Additional technical information

The STM32 F3 family featuring the ARM Cortex-M4 with FPU comprises four product lines, differentiated according to on-chip memory density and integrated peripherals. The peripherals deliver extensive analog integration, offering best-in-class performance through functions such a 12-bit ADC offering 5MSps performance. The analog integration maximizes flexibility for designers to implement advanced system features and functions without adding extra components on the PC board.

STM32 F30x devices have seven fast comparators with 50-ns response time, four programmable gain amplifiers supporting four different gain settings with 1% accuracy, two 12-bit DACs, and four 12-bit 5MSps ADCs. This is the fastest ADC performance in any ARM Cortex-M microcontroller, achieving up to 18MSps in interleaved mode. The devices also have two advanced motor-control timers running at up to 144MHz. These allow one microcontroller to manage two motors plus power factor correction (PFC) via its on-chip analog peripherals, in equipment such as home appliances. Among other capabilities of the advanced timers, timing resolution better than 7ns allows new applications such as digital power supplies in telecom infrastructure or data servers, micro-inverters in solar installation and LED lighting to benefit from the scalability, low power consumption and cost-effective performance of the STM32 family.

To help developers optimize code-execution time, the STM32 F30x devices have 8kBytes of SRAM mapped to the instruction bus as Core Coupled Memory (CCM-SRAM). Critical routines loaded in the 8kByte CCM at start-up can be completed at full speed with zero wait states, achieving 94 Dhrystone MIPS at 72MHz. This compares with 62 DMIPS when executing from Flash or SRAM; equivalent to a 52% performance increase for critical routines. The STM32 F30x series also has up to 40kBytes of SRAM mapped on the data bus. The 8-kByte CCM-SRAM can also be used for data storage with no performance trade-off. Devices are pin-compatible with the STM32 F1 series, and also share the same API, which simplifies migration to higher-performing devices.

The STM32 F37x devices deliver a different blend of peripheral functions. They are the first microcontrollers from ST to integrate a 16-bit sigma-delta ADC on-chip, allowing the STM32 family to solve a wider range of precision-sensing applications and providing a single-chip solution capable of replacing a discrete general-purpose processor and separate ADC. Up to three 16-bit sigma-delta ADCs are integrated on-chip, with separate analog supply from 2.2V to 3.6V, up to 21 single or 11 differential channels, and seven programmable gains per channel.

Other STM32 F37x analog peripherals include two fast comparators, three 12-bit DACs, and one 12-bit 1-MSps ADC. There is also an enhanced CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) unit, making these devices ideal for consumer multimedia products. Compared to the STM32 F1 series, STM32 F37x devices provide a system-on-chip solution enabling developers to reduce bill-of-materials cost and simplify board designs.

Key common features of STM32 F30x/F37x

Availability

Both series are sampling now, to lead customers, and are scheduled to enter full production in Q3 2012. Prices for the STM32 F30x series start from $2.54 for the STM32F302 with 128-kByte Flash in LQFP48 package up to $3.86 for the 256-kByte STM32F303 in LQFP100, for orders over 1000 pieces. The STM32 F37x starts from $2.24 for the STM32F372 in LQFP48 with 64kByte, up to $3.69 for the STM32F373 LQFP100 with 256kBbyte.

Posted by: John Miklosz