New Tiva C Series TM4C123x MCUs from Texas Instruments are now in production and offer connectivity and sensor aggregation, along with tools and software for development.
Texas Instruments (TI) has announced its new Tiva ARMMCU platform. With more engineers developing their software on ARM architecture, TI is moving in and “investing in a big way,” says Matt Muse, TI MCU general manager.
The first devices in the new platform are the Tiva C Series TM4C123x ARM Cortex-M4 MCUs, which can monitor signals and take multiple measurements simultaneously, making it a very flexible processor for handling many tasks at once. Most importantly, the new platform can contain a vast amount of software in one chip.
Connectivity & Sensor Aggregation for Home, Building, & Industrial Automation
As more electronics are becoming connected, you can control them from different areas in your home or on the network. The Tiva C Series MCUfeatures on-board peripherals for a myriad of connected applications, including headroom for extended functionality, low power for portability, scalability for tailored product lines, and integration for cost-efficiency.
65 nm, Floating-Point Technology, & Analog Integration
The MCUs are the first Cortex-M-based MCUs to be built on 65 nm flash process technology, and with up to 24 different channels of analog conversion, the MCU is able to “monitor signals and take multiple measurements simultaneously, making it a very flexible processor for handling a lot of tasks all at once,” explains Muse. Other features include:
- An ARM Cortex-M4 floating-point core, operating at up to 80 MHz.
- Two high-performance 12-bit analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and three comparators.
- 12-bit ADC accuracy, achievable at the full 1 MSPS rating without any hardware averaging.
- On-chip connectivity options, including USB (host, device and On-The-Go), UARTs, I2C, SSI/SPI, and CAN.
- Support for high-endurance non-volatile storage of user interface or configuration parameters to reduce system cost using integrated EEPROM.
- Low-power – standby currents as low as 1.6 µA.
- Up to 256KB flash and 32KB SRAM.
- Wakeup times of 500 µs or less.
Tools, Software, & Support
The MCUs come with development tools, software, training, as well as design and development support. Evaluation tools and application kits enable users to realize their ideas faster, and at their price point “any university student, hobbyist, tinkerer, anybody who is trying to realize their ideas can get their hands on them,” says Muse. One of these tools is the Tiva C Series TM4C123G LaunchPad. “We call it the LaunchPad because we want people to launch their ideas from this point,” adds Muse.
The LaunchPad is a scalable ecosystem, and includes:
- The hardware and software needed to get started in 10 minutes or less.
- 40 easy-to-access pins that allow interface with external components or custom daughter boards.
- Programmable pushbuttons and LEDs.
- An on-board In-Circuit Debug Interface.
To back its offering of tools, TI provides software packages, and a community for 24/7 online support.
Software support packages include:
- TivaWare for no-OS software development.
- Code Composer Studio V5.
- TI-RTOS for consistent development across platforms.
- Libraries for specific applications.
24/7 online support includes:
- On demand video training.
- In-person workshops.
- 24/7 support via E2E online community and forums.
For more information, visit www.ti.com.
Filed Under: Rapid prototyping