STMicroelectronics has released a new series of 8-bit Flash microcontrollers, within the low-cost ST7Lite family, that feature up to 24 I/O (input/output) lines, further extending the range of cost-sensitive applications for the family. ST7Lite is designed specifically for simpler products such as security and lighting systems, power management, small appliances, sensors and motor control.
The new ST7LITE49M series, available in an LQFP32 package for mass production and in SDIP32 for prototyping, will enlarge the Lite family by offering small memory MCUs, up to 4 KB, with up to 24 high-sink-current I/O lines, in combination with the well established ST7Lite feature set. In practice, many embedded designs for simple and low-cost applications require a small firmware size, coupled with high flexibility in terms of bidirectional I/O lines; the new ST7LITE49M family is intended to satisfy these requirements, offering cost effective devices, in both Flash and pre-programmed versions, with 128 bytes of true EEPROM memory on board.
A powerful timer set is integrated on the chip, including a configurable watchdog timer, dual 8-bit Lite timers with prescaler, and dual 12-bit Auto-Reload timers, which operate over the 250 Hz to 4 MHz range and provide four PWM signals with output compare function, input capture, dead-time generation, and one-pulse mode. In particular, the 12-bit timer is specifically optimised for lighting and motor control applications, such as in e-bike or airconditioning.
Other on-chip functions - including a precise internal 8 MHz RC oscillator, 32 kHz auto-wake up oscillator, a fast, 10-channel, 10-bit ADC, five power saving modes and a trimmable Reset circuit with low voltage detection - simplify system design and reduce design effort by eliminating the need for external circuitry for these functions. In addition, an I2C communication interface is integrated on chip.
A wide development platform is available for the family, with a complete set of hardware and software tool chains from ST and from third parties. From low cost tools such as ST's Stick Programmer, and Raisonance's Reva Evaluation kit and R-link USB Debugging and Programming Tool, to the high end STice emulator common to most ST microcontroller platforms (STM7, STM79, STM32), ST's solutions enable developers to create, build and debug both low-cost and advanced MCU-based systems. These platform tools are easily accessible with the free ST7 C compiler (up to 16 KB code size free of charge), and are supported free of charge by ST's STVD7 Software IDE.
ST's ST7Lite family is a full range of entry level 8-bit Flash microcontrollers intended for cost-sensitive applications, and is now available in 8-pin to 32-pin packages.
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