NXP Unveils LPC84x ARM Cortex M0+ MCU Family, and LPCXpresso845-MAX Evaluation Board

NXP Semiconductors has expanded LPC800 series MCUs with the new LPC84x family of 32-bit ARM Cortex-M0+ microcontroller said to offer 10 times the performance, three times more power saving savings, and 50 percent smaller code-size than 8- or 16-bit microcontrollers.

Key features of LPC84x MCU family (LPC844 / LPC845):

MCU Core – ARM Cortex-M0+ core @ 30 MHz with advanced power optimization
RAM – 16 kB RAM (Logic for Bit banding across all of SRAM)
Storage – 64 kB Flash, small 64-byte page size suitable for EEPROM emulation
Peripherals
- Timers – 32-bit CTimer, WWDT, 4-channel multi-rate, SCTimer/PWM
- Serial Interfaces – Up to 4x I2C, 2x SPI, up to 5x UART
- Analog Interfaces – 12 ch, 12-bit ADC up to 1.2 Msps; 2x 10-bit DAC; comparator with external Vreg; 9-channel capacitive touch interface working in sleep and deep sleep modes
- Up to 54 GPIOs
- 25-ch DMA offloads core
Power Control
- Five power modes
- Power profile APIs for simple runtime power optimization
- Fast Access Initialization Memory (FAIM) for low power boot @ 1.5 MHz
Clock Generation Unit with Free Running Oscillator
Packages – LQFP64, LQFP48, HVQFN48 and HVQFN33

The LPC84x MCUs target applications typically making use of 8- or 16-bit MCUs such as sensor gateways, gaming controllers, motor control, fire & security, climate control, lighting, etc.. The company has already provided code samples that can be used in MCUXpresso, Keil, and IAR IDEs, as well as a datasheet, and a user guide for the microcontrollers on the product page.

NXP also unveiled LPCXPresso845-MAX development board (OM13097) to help quickly evaluating the new MCUs. The board comes with the following key features:

LPC845 MCU
On-board CMSIS-DAP (debug probe) with VCOM port, based on LPC11U35 MCU
Debug connector to allow debug of target MCU using an external probe
Red, green and blue user LEDs; Target ISP and user/wake buttons; Target reset button
LPCXpresso expansion connector
DAC output via speaker driver and speaker
Arduino connectors compatible with the “Arduino UNO” platform
Pmod compatible expansion header
Prototyping area

NXP did not disclose pricing for LPC84x MCUs, but it should be priced competitively against 8-bit micro-controllers. LPCXpresso845-MAX development board (OM13097) can be purchased for $19 directly on NXP website.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.