MPUs for open-source software-based designs - 29 May 2019 - Altron Arrow

MPUs for open-source software-based designs
29 May 2019, DSP, Micros & Memory

STMicroelectronics is applying its Arm Cortex expertise to expand the capabilities of its STM32 microcontroller (MCU) portfolio to applications requiring even more performance, resources and large open-source software. The introduction of the STM32MP1 multicore microprocessor series with compute and graphics support facilitates development of high-performance solutions for industrial, consumer, smart home, health and wellness applications.

STM32MP1 series microprocessor (MPU) products leverage the STM32 ecosystem from ST and its partners, including tools and technical support. Moreover, with the release of OpenSTLinux as a mainlined, open-source Linux distribution, it extends the STM32 family to address important customer requirements for real-time, power-constrained applications.

The flexible MPU architecture, which combines Arm Cortex-A and Cortex-M cores, performs fast processing and real-time tasks on a single chip, always optimised for power efficiency. For example, by stopping Cortex-A7 execution and running only from the more efficient Cortex-M4, power can typically be reduced to 25%. From this mode, going to standby further cuts power by 2500 times, while still supporting the resumption of Linux execution in 1 to 3 seconds, depending on the application.

The STM32MP1 embeds a 3D graphics processor unit (GPU) to support human machine interface (HMI) displays, and supports a wide range of external DDR SDRAM and Flash memories. The chip integrates a large set of peripherals that can be allocated either to Cortex-A/Linux or Cortex-M/real-time activities.

To accelerate development, ST also released OpenSTLinux Distribution as a mainlined open-source Linux distribution. OpenSTLinux has already been reviewed and accepted by the Linux Foundation, Yocto project and Linaro. The distribution contains all the essential building blocks for running software on the application-processor cores.

Enhanced STM32Cube tools, specially upgraded from the STM32Cube package for Cortex-M microcontrollers, can accelerate microprocessor development in terms of setting up MPU projects and configuring the on-chip resources.

The STM32MP1 series is available in a range of BGA packages. Two evaluation boards (STM32MP157A-EV1 and STM32MP157C-EV1) and two discovery kits (STM32MP157A-DK1 and STM32MP157C-DK2) are available.

For more information contact Robin Scholes, Altron Arrow, +27 11 923 9600, rscholes@arrow.altech.co.za, www.altron.arrow.com