The SAM D5/E5 microcontrollers combine the capabilities of an ARM® Cortex®-M4 processor and a Floating Point Unit (FPU). This combination offloads the CPU, increases system efficiency, and enables compute-intensive applications to run on a low-power platform. Operating at up to 120 MHz, the D5x and E5x microcontrollers incorporate up to 1 MB of dual-pane Flash with Error Correction Code (ECC), facilitating instant updates without interrupting system operation. Furthermore, these families are supplied with up to 256 KB of ECC SRAM, vital for critical applications such as medical devices or server systems.
These new microcontrollers feature multiple interfaces that provide design flexibility, even for the most demanding connectivity needs. Both families incorporate a QSPI (Quad Serial Peripheral Interface) with XIP (Execute in Place) functionality. This allows the system to utilize high-performance, small, and cost-effective serial Flash memories compared to traditional parallel-pin Flash memory to meet external memory requirements. The SAM D5/E5 devices also include an SDHC (Secure Digital Host Controller) for data logging, a Peripheral Touch Controller (PTC) for capacitive touch sensing, and best-in-class active power performance (65 µA/MHz) for applications requiring efficient power consumption. Furthermore, the SAM E5 family includes two CAN-FD ports and a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet Media Access Controller (MAC) compliant with IEEE 1588, making it suitable for industrial automation, smart homes, and other Internet of Things applications.
The SAM D5x and E5x families offer comprehensive cryptographic hardware and software support, enabling developers to incorporate security measures from the design stage. Hardware-based security features include a Public Key Cryptographic Controller (PUKCC) that supports Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) and RSA, as well as AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) and SHA (Secure Hash Algorithms) encryption.
The available SAM E54 Xplained Pro evaluation kit helps expedite development. This kit includes a debugger and additional peripherals to further simplify the design process. All SAM D5x/E5x microcontrollers are supported by the Atmel Studio 7 integrated development environment, as well as Atmel START, a free online tool for configuring peripherals and software to accelerate development.
The SAM D5x and SAM E5x devices are now available and are supplied in packages with different pin counts in quantities suitable for volume production. The SAM E54 Xplained Pro evaluation kit is priced at $84.99 per unit.
