The embedded market is growing rapidly and continues to develop, developers are trying to improve their product development or may have to change from microcontrollers (MCU) to an microprocessor (MPU) to meet the increasing processing demands. To assist developers in this change and to reduce the complexity of designing, Microchip Technology Inc. (Nasdaq Microchip Technology Inc., NASDAQ: MCHP) today announces it has expanded its range of MPU-based System-onModules (SOMs) by introducing SAM9X60D1G-SOM, an SAM9X60D1G ARM926EJ-S(tm)-based embedded processor capable of running at up to 600 MHz. Software for the SAM9X60D1G can be purchased with the option of bare metal or RTOS via MPLAB (r)Harmony 3 or the complete Linux (r) mainlined distributions.
The SOM, which is based upon the SAM9X60D1G Systems in Package (SiP) It is a tiny 28 mm x 28mm hand-solderable device that houses an MPU as well as DDR within one package, together with clocks, power supplies as well as memory storage. The SAM9X60D1G is Microchip’s first SOM with 4GB SLC NAND Flash that can maximize memory storage for data in applications, and the integrated DDR decreases the risk of supply and cost that are associated with memory chips. The SAM9X60D1G-SOM with a small form factor features an MCP16501 power Management IC (PMIC), which reduces the power design process to one 5V voltage rail for lower-power systems.
To give the features that the Ethernet-connected system may require to provide, the SAM9X60D1G comes with the KSZ8081 10/100 Ethernet PHY as well as 1 KB of Serial EEPROM with a pre-programmed address for MAC (EUI-48). Customers can also customize their designs according to the degree of security required, including secure boot, Secure Key Storage on Chip (OTP) and a the hardware-based encryption engines (TDES AES, TDES, as well as SHA) and TRNG. (TRNG).
“With the SAM9X60D1G-SOM, designers can take advantage of a mid-level performance MPU and significantly reduce design complexities,” said Rod Drake, vice president of Microchip’s 32-bit business unit for MPU. “This latest SOM provides customers a small-form factor solution directly from Microchip and eases the logistics burden of separately procuring each of the six active components and numerous passives on the SOM.”
The SAM9X60D1G is the latest version of the existing range of MPU-based SOMs that are built with an identical set of Microchip components that can simplify design and lower the overall cost of PCBs. In particular, since these devices are linked to the SOM and the customers are able to develop their products using an inexpensive, four-layer PCB.
It is important to note that the SOM along with its component are supported by Microchip’s practice of client-driven obsolescence of providing the product the duration of time that there is demand for the product. This is crucial in the present semiconductor market of shortages and high demand.
The SAM9X60D1G is designed to support numerous MPU32-based end applications in various industries , including healthcare equipment, automobile telematics, infotainment systems for electric vehicles, chargers, industrial and automated control, and much more. It is especially suitable for devices designed for offering computing capabilities that include various communication interfaces, which can be tested once before being modified for different projects.
Development Tools
Microchip provides both hardware as well as software development tools for the SAM9X60D1G as well as the SAM9X60D1G Curiosity Evaluation Kit (CPN: the EV40E67A) with three Linux distributions: BuildRoot, Yocto and OpenWRT. The bare-metal or RTOS-based system is supported by MPLAB Harmony 3 embedded software framework, MPLAB X Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and MPLAB XC32 compiler.
