Tag Archives: microcontroller

A head-to-head comparison of the ARM Cortex-M4 and –M0 processor cores by Jack Ganssle

Posted on September 17, 2012 by sleibson2

Jack Ganssle has just published the latest edition of his Embedded Muse newsletter with a very informative, hands-on look at the ARM Cortex-M4 and –M0 processor cores in the NXP LPC4350. In particular, Jack looked at processing speed and power … Continue reading →

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Would you like a guide to several new microcontrollers based on the ARM Cortex-M series of processor cores?

Posted on September 12, 2012 by sleibson2

Alban Rampon has just published a guide to many new developments surrounding the ARM Cortex-M series of microcontroller cores. The guide includes a discussion of Freescale Kinetis L microcontrollers based on the ARM Cortex-M0+ core; discussions of microcontrollers based on … Continue reading →

Posted in ARM, Cortex-M0, Cortex-M3, Cortex-M4, Silicon Realization, System Realization | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Great Googlie Mooglies! Kickstarter funds Arduino work-alike based on Freescale Kinetis K microcontroller (ARM Cortex-M4)

Posted on September 5, 2012 by sleibson2

Kickstarter, a funding force of nature in the cyberscape, is funding the small-scale production of an Arduino-like development board based on a Freescale Kinetis K microcontroller (ARM Cortex-M4 processor core inside). More than 500 backers have pledged nearly $23,000 $31,000 … Continue reading →

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TI Stellaris LaunchPad eval board features ARM Cortex-M4F. Intro price: $4.99. Get yours now.

Posted on September 4, 2012 by sleibson2

  Texas Instruments’ Stellaris LM4F120H5QRC microcontroller is based on an 80MHz copy of the ARM Cortex-M4F processor core with an integrated single-precision floating-point unit. It also includes 256Kbytes of Flash memory, 32Kbytes of SRAM, 2Kbytes of EEPROM, and a host … Continue reading →

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Friday Video: Freescale pits Kinetis L microcontroller against parts from Microchip, TI, and Renesas. Guess who wins the low-power derby?

Posted on June 22, 2012 by sleibson2

I’ve written a lot this week about the low-power Kinetis L microcontroller from Freescale, a low-power, mixed-signal IC design now shipping in alpha silicon. I have just found this new Freescale video, which was probably shot at this week’s Freescale … Continue reading →

Posted in ARM, Cortex-M0, EDA360, Low Power, Mixed Signal, Silicon Realization, SoC, SoC Realization | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

What effect does the ARM Cortex-M0 core have on mixed-signal microcontroller design?

Posted on June 21, 2012 by sleibson2

Earlier this month at DAC, ARM, NXP, and Cadence hosted a panel on mixed-signal design as it applies to microcontroller design. Richard Goering posted a great summary of the topics discussed at the panel, but I want to tease out … Continue reading →

Posted in ARM, Cortex-M0, EDA360, Low Power, Mixed Signal, SoC, SoC Realization, System Realization | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Freescale starts sampling $0.49 Kinetis L microcontrollers based on ARM Cortex-M0+ processor core

Posted on June 19, 2012 by sleibson2

There are two major reasons for reading this blog post: A 32-bit microcontroller that sells for as little as $0.49 in 10K quantities and consumes 50µA/MHz A $12.95 development board to be available late in September These are two of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cortex-M0, EDA360, Mixed Signal, Silicon Realization, SoC, SoC Realization, System Realization | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Microprocessor Report: 10 billion chips shipped in 2011 with licensed CPU cores and ARM’s share was 78%

Posted on June 7, 2012 by sleibson2

Last month, Microprocessor Report’s Linley Gwennap published an article titled “10 Billion Chips Use Licensed CPUs.” That’s billion with a “B.” The size of that number might surprise you, but the handset market alone consumes about a billion of those … Continue reading →

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Fujitsu adopts Cadence Chip Planning System for worldwide microcontroller design. Why? “It helps us build better chips faster.” Want one?

Posted on May 8, 2012 by sleibson2

Fujitsu is one of the world’s top 10 microcontroller vendors. To stay competitive in this crowded, $15 billion market (2011 estimate by Databeans), a microcontroller vendor must freshen its microcontroller offerings at a very rapid pace and any boost in … Continue reading →

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3 disruptive embedded hardware/software trends from Michael Barr

Posted on April 19, 2012 by sleibson2

Michael Barr was the Editor in Chief of Embedded Systems Programming magazine for several years; he has stayed connected to the wider world of embedded system development; and he’s definitely got an informed perspective on embedded development. Barr published a … Continue reading →

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Infineon launches microcontroller series based on ARM Cortex-M4 core, targets industrial drives, power and energy conversion, and automation

Posted on February 6, 2012 by sleibson2

Last month, Infineon introduced the XMC4000 series of microcontrollers based on the ARM Cortex-M4 processor core augmented with a floating-point unit. (Note: Don’t confuse the Infineon XMC4000 series with the NXP LPC4000 series of microcontrollers based on the ARM Cortex-M4 … Continue reading →

Posted in ARM, Cortex-M4, EDA360, Firmware, Silicon Realization, SoC, SoC Realization | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Asymmetric, dual-core NXP LPC4300 microcontrollers split tasks between ARM Cortex-M4 and -M0 cores, cost $3.75 and up

Posted on December 5, 2011 by sleibson2

NXP Semiconductors announced today that it is now shipping its first LPC4300 dual-core, ARM-based microcontroller—the LPC4350. This microcontroller family packs an asymmetrical pair of 32-bit RISC ARM Cores—an ARM Cortex-M4 and an ARM Cortex-M0—with both processors runing at 204MHz (up … Continue reading →

Posted in ARM, Cortex-M0, Cortex-M4, EDA360, Silicon Realization, SoC, SoC Realization | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Friday video: How low is low power? Energy Micro video puts “sleep mode” into question

Posted on April 22, 2011 by sleibson2

Time was, there was at most one sleep mode for a microcontroller and the only thing the micro did in that mode was pay attention to an interrupt. Energy Micro has extended its Gecko series of ARM-based microcontrollers with a … Continue reading →

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Between ASIC and microcontroller: It’s all about System Realization

Posted on October 13, 2010 by sleibson2

I’ve been saving on an article that appeared in EETimes for a couple of weeks because it makes some very cogent points about System Realization, even though it’s not written with System Realization, or SoC Realization, or even Silicon Realization … Continue reading →

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