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MPU Performance Boost, Enhancements Bolster Ecosystem Support

Feb. 28, 2020

With a bump in clock speed to 800 MHz, dual Arm Cortex-A7 cores, and OpenSTLinux programming support, STMicro’s STM32MP1 microprocessors are primed for industrial, consumer, and smart-home tasks.

David Maliniak

Thanks to new software functionalities, a significant performance bump, and new authorized partners, STMicroelectronics’s STM32MP1 32-bit microprocessor (MPU) family has been expanded to serve more demanding applications in smart homes, industrial systems, health and wellness systems, etc. The latest STM32MP1 MPUs now run at clock speeds of 800 MHz while maintaining software and pin-to-pin compatibility with earlier 650-MHz devices.

Now running dual Arm Cortex-A7 application processor cores at 800 MHz and the Cortex-M4 core at 209 MHz, the new STM32MP1 MPUs deliver more performance in voice and audio processing, video-decoding quality at HD levels, more powerful artificial-intelligence capabilities in neural-network and machine-earning applications, and a better user experience in Android systems. The devices feature compute Land 3D graphics accelerators combined with power-efficient, real-time control and high feature integration.

The popular human-machine interface (HMI) toolkit, Qt, and its QML-based GUI applications, can be deployed on STM32 MCUs as well as on the STM32MP1 platform, drastically reducing development costs while accelerating customer product delivery. The scalability provided by both STMicroelectronics and Qt’s tool suite can easily leverage the resources of the STM32MP1 MCUs, especially the 3D HW GPU accelerator to optimize a smooth rendering for HMI industrial/IoT applications.

Capitalizing on the flexible STM32MP1 architecture, security has been enhanced to protect the customer’s code through features like secure boot by authentication, available one-time-programmable fuses for customers, and a secure operating system (Open Portable Trusted Execution Environment, or OP-TEE). A complete security toolset including Keys Generator, Signing Tools, STM32CubeProgrammer, and Hardware Security Module (STM32HSM) allows for secure provisioning of customers’ code into the device.

The OpenSTLinux distribution, a mainlined open-source Linux with all of the essential building blocks for running software on the application-processor cores, is now supplemented with Android developer packages and cloud support to accelerate customer development.

STMicroelectronics’s authorized partners greatly expand users’ capabilities and speed their development progress using the STM32MP1 MPUs. In addition to embedded software and software-development tools, partners contribute expertise in training and engineering services. For example, ST works with multiple system-on-module makers, including Phytec, when local support and system flexibility is required, as well as system-in-package maker Octavo Systems for space-constrained application designs.

STM32MP1 MPUs are industrial-qualified with a junction temperature from −40 to 125°C combined with 100% activity rate over 10 years. Devices supporting Cortex-A7 at 800 MHz are in production now and start at $4.83 for orders of 10,000 pieces. Other pricing options are available.

STMicroelectronics, https://www.st.com/en/microcontrollers-microprocessors/stm32-arm-cortex-mpus.html?icmp=tt14221_gl_pron_feb2020

About the Author

David Maliniak | MWRF Executive Editor

In his long career in the B2B electronics-industry media, David Maliniak has held editorial roles as both generalist and specialist. As Components Editor and, later, as Editor in Chief of EE Product News, David gained breadth of experience in covering the industry at large. In serving as EDA/Test and Measurement Technology Editor at Electronic Design, he developed deep insight into those complex areas of technology. Most recently, David worked in technical marketing communications at Teledyne LeCroy. David earned a B.A. in journalism at New York University.