On Semi enters ARM-based 32-bit sector

SAN JOSE, Calif. – ON Semiconductor Inc. has developed its first ARM-based 32-bit microcontroller to expand the group's range of MCUs which includes the 8- and 16-bit devices supplied by Sanyo Semiconductor which was acquired in July 2010.

The Q32M210 precision mixed-signal 32-bit MCU has been developed by On Semi's medical division and will initially find applications in portable precision sensing devices.

Based around a programmable ARM Cortex-M3 processor that enables code portability, the Q32M210 microcontroller integrates a configurable, low-noise analog front-end.

Peripheral interfaces enable Q32M210 to drive displays, user interfaces and support data connections including USB. Its flash memory with integrated error checking and correction provides significant code space for advanced algorithms and user data storage.

The MCUs performance is provided by a combination of dual 16-bit ADCs, a accurate voltage reference, triple 10-bit DACs and the Cortex-M3 processor. The  ADCs true 16-bit performance avoid nonlinearity and noise which can reduce the number of effective bits.

On-chip power supervision with dedicated brownout protection circuitry and low battery detection, Q32M210 provides predictable operation under all battery conditions. Integrated error checking and correction circuitry monitors the on-chip flash memory, detecting and correcting single-bit errors and alerting when larger errors are detected.

The ARM Cortex-M3 processor-based mixed-signal data acquisition system is combined with 256 kB on-chip flash for program and user data storage, 48 kB on-chip SRAM for storage of intermediate data during operation, and no external voltage required for flash write operation.

Power is said to be less than 1 mA at 1 MHz core operation with basic sensor interface enabled, typical 3.0 V system supply voltage (2032 coin cell or similar), operation down to 1.8 V.  Smart power management  includes  low current sleep mode (real-time clock active) consuming 750 nA.

An on-chip pulse width modulation (PWM) capability combined with on-chip low on-resistance multi-switches eliminates the need for external driver MOSFETs. A flexible clocking architecture: supports speeds up to 16 MHz using either an internally or externally generated clock (USB interface operates at 48 MHz using a dedicated external crystal).

Configurable data interfaces include USB (2.0 full-speed compatible), PCM (including I2S mode), dual UARTs, dual SPI, SQI, I2C, and GPIOs. The MCU can interface with LCDs with up to 112 segments and an integrated backlight driver is provided via on-chip charge pump.