Cortex-M4 MCUs have built-in operational amplifiers for motor control tasks

ARTERY Technology released the brand new AT32F4212 series value line Cortex-M4 MCUs, which are designed with dual on-board operational amplifiers (OPAs) based on the AT32F421 MCU to effectively simplify circuit design and save material costs. With current amplification and short-circuit protection functions, the OPA can be used for current detection, field-oriented control (FOC) or network current detection to determine if a fault (such as a locked rotor) occurs (if there is one, turn off in time to prevent hardware damage). In addition, it features open-source high gain, high input impedance and low output impedance, provides excellent low-level signal, and outputs high voltage and large current to drive various loads, making it suitable for power tools, garden machinery, E-bike, washing machine, UAV, mechanical arm, high-speed air duct, vacuum cleaner, exhaust fan, kitchen fan and other motor-driven applications.

The AT32F4212 inherits the excellent performance of the AT32F421, featuring up to a 120 MHz CPU, high-speed on-board memory (up to 64 KB Flash and 16 KB SRAM) and an on-board digital signal processor (DSP). It is the most cost-effective MCU product on the current market and can be used in an operating temperature of -40~105°C with 2.4~3.6V power supply, meeting the requirements of low-power applications in low-power modes.

The AT32F4212 series MCUs are designed with rich interfaces to enhance connectivity and include two USARTs, two SPI (multiplexed I²S), two I²Cs, one 16-bit extended timer, five 16-bit common timers, and a five-channel DMA controller. Such rich on-chip resources, high degree of integration and high-cost performance create the main competitiveness of AT32F4212 MCU. In addition, ARTERY extended two high-speed input-output analog voltage comparators, one 12-bit 2 MSPS ADC (including 12 external channels and 5 internal channels) and two OPAs, which fully meet the requirements for high – fast acquisition of data, mixed signal processing, industrial control and motor applications. The AT32F4212 series also offers fast I/O, nearly 5V-tolerant and port forwarding support, making it more flexible and convenient for users to develop application solutions such as motor control, healthcare devices, IoT node, industrial automation, security, household appliances, electronic toys and robots.

Artery AT32F4212 series MCUs are designed to improve and replace traditional Cortex-M0/M3 product solutions, import Cortex-M4-based high-speed core platform, and contain a security library (sLib) that is developed by ARTERY Technology and protected by defined area by code in main memory. Solution providers can program core algorithms in this area for secondary development. It enhances the safety, reliability and convenience of the AT32F4212 series MCU secondary development and has the advantages of low cost, high power efficiency and flexibility. The AT32F4212 series MCUs come in an LQFP48 7×7 package, and samples are available from October 2022.