ST unveils STM32L ultra-low-power ARM Cortex-M3 based MCUs for 'Energy-Lite' apps

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: STMicroelectronics has announced sampling of the STM32L series to lead customers. It is said to be the industry's first ultra-low-power ARM Cortex-M3 microcontrollers available from a top-10 silicon supplier.

The STM32L series combines a dedicated low-leakage 130nm process technology and optimized power-saving architecture that are unique to ST, to deliver industry-leading energy-saving performance.

The new STM32L series is part of ST's EnergyLite platform of ultra low-power products enabling designers to optimize performance, functionality and battery life, and to meet efficiency-related criteria such as eco-design targets.

"The STM32L series delivers the optimal balance between power consumption and performance of any device from a global semiconductor provider," said Michel Buffa, General Manager of ST's Microcontroller Division. "The STM32L will become the microcontroller of choice for energy-lite applications in markets such as consumer, industrial, medical or metering."

In addition to its extreme energy efficiency, the STM32L series also has many features promoting data security and safe system operation, including flexible Brown-Out Reset; on-board Flash with Error Correction Code (ECC) support; a Memory Protection Unit (MPU); and JTAG fuse.

These features are recommended for all applications that require safe product behavior and highly secure code and user-data management. Integrated USB 2.0 Full Speed support also makes the devices 'handset ready'. Additionally, the MCU's embedded LCD drivers enable easier, cheaper and smaller application designs.

Joining the extensive STM32 family, which now has over 135 variants offering complete pin, software, and peripherals compatibility for maximum flexibility, the STM32L offers 33DMIPS at 32MHz (max) and offers integrated Flash densities from 64Kbyte to 128Kbyte.

The STM32L series is sampling now to lead customers, and is priced from $1.86 for the STM32L151 with 64Kbyte Flash in the LQFP48 package to $2.81 for the STM32L152 with 128Kbyte in LQFP100, for orders over 10,000 pieces. Volume production will begin in Q4 2010.