ON Semiconductor has launched a series of mixed-signal microcontrollers that provide accurate measurement and monitoring functions. The first in this series is the Q32M210, which is driven by the ARM Cortex-M3 processor and can be used where high precision portable sensing is required.
The Q32M210 comes with dual 16-bit ADCs, 32-bit core, triple 10-bit DACs and a precise voltage reference. It offers predictable operation and consumes minimum power. Medical portable devices such as wireless ECGs, blood glucose monitors and patient monitors are some of the applications where predictable operation is a must.
The Q32M210 is capable of providing predictable operation irrespective of the battery condition as it is equipped with brown-out protection circuitry and on-chip power supervision. Error checking and correction mechanisms are incorporated into the microcontroller. The microcontroller requires less than 400 µA / MHz for operation. Additional features such as flexible clocking architecture, intelligent power-supply monitoring and multiple operating modes increase the power efficiency of the controller.
The Q32M210 is suitable for all single chip applications since all the features are integrated onto the chip. The controller has an analog front end that can be easily configured. The 32-bit core, 256 kbyte of flash memory and critical functions such as real-time clock, on-chip low resistance switches, op-amps, 112-segment LCD interface and RC oscillator are integrated on the chip. A wide range of data interfaces such as UART, USB 2.0, 12 C, 12 S and dual-SPI/SQ are supported by the microcontroller.
The microcontroller comes with a development and evaluation kit along with a software and a hardware board. Additionally, the KickStart edition of IAR Embedded Workbench is supplied for development and debugging applications.