Innovative ultra low-power microcontrollers integrate segment LCD controller

Atmel has announced it has expanded its popular family of secure, ARM Cortex M0+-based MCUs with the SAM L22 series. The Atmel | SMART SAM L series is the highest scoring product family in the EEMBC ULPbench, the leading independent low-power benchmark. The new devices offer an ultra-low power capacitive touch with a segment LCD controller that can deliver up to 320 segments, making the devices ideal for low-power applications including thermostats, electric / gas / water meters, home control, medical and access systems. The Internet of Things (IoT) is driving connectivity in various battery-powered devices making security and ultra-low power critical features in these devices. The SAM L22 series delivers advanced security features with 256-bit AES, cyclic redundancy check (CRC), true random number generator, Flash protection and tamper detection to ensure information is securely stored, delivered and accessible. To get the lowest possible power consumption, the devices use Atmel's proprietary picoPower technologies and smart low-power peripherals that work independently of the CPU in sleep modes, says the company. "As more devices in the consumer, industrial and home automation segments are becoming smarter and connected, these devices require a number of unique features including ultra-low power, security, touch capability with an LCD-all features that are currently provided in the SAM L22," said Oyvind Strom, senior director of MCUs, Atmel. "Atmel is already engaged with a number of alpha customers developing metering, thermostat and industrial automation solutions based on the new Atmel | SMART SAM L22 series." In addition to segment LCD supporting up to eight communication lines, capacitive touch sensing and built-in security measures, the SAM L22 series features up to 256kB of Flash and 32KB of SRAM, crystal less USB device, programmable Serial Communication modules (SERCOM) and Atmel's patented Event System and Sleepwalking technologies. To accelerate designs, the new SAM L22 Atmel Xplained Pro is available now - a professional evaluation board featuring an on-board debugger and standardized extension connectors. The SAM L22 Xplained Pro is fully supported by Atmel Studio, a free IDE that features power profiling tools for the SAM L22 board, making it easy to optimize the application and calculate average power consumption. Atmel Xplained development kits are low-cost, easy-to-use, fast prototyping and evaluation platforms for Atmel AVRR and Atmel | SMART ARM-based MCUs. The kit is ideal for demonstrating Atmel MCU/MPU features and capabilities, and can be customized with a wide range of expansion boards, says the company. The Atmel SAM L22 series is sampling now. To accelerate a design, development tools and application notes are also available.