SAMA5D2 Based SiPs Combine ARM Cortex-A5 Processor With Up to 128MB DDR2

Atmel SAMA5D2 ARM Cortex-A5 processor was released about two years ago with extended temperature range and lower power consumption compared to previous SAMAD5 processors, with the new SoC still targeting industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), wearables and point of sale applications.

In recent years, we’ve seen companies packing main components into systems-in-package (SiP) with products such as Octavo Systems OSD3358 and Espressif Systems ESP32-PICO-D4 with integrate an existing processor with memory, storage, and/or PMIC. Microchip (previously Atmel) has now done the same for their SAMA5D2 processors with SiPs combining the Cortex A5 SoC with DDR2 memory.

Four SAMA5D2 SiPs have been launched:

• ATSAMA5D225C-D1M based on ATSAMA5D22C MPU with extra SD/SDIO, QSPI, FLEXCOMs (2x), I2S, and timers (2x) and:
  • 128 Mb (16 MB) DDR2 DRAM
  • 90 Peripheral I/Os
  • 196 BGA Package
  • Designed for RTOS/bare metal development
• ATSAMA5D27C-D5M based on ATSAMA5D27C MPU with:
  • 512 Mb (64 MB) DDR2 DRAM
  • 128 Peripheral I/Os
  • 289 BGA Package
  • Designed for small Linux OS applications
• ATSAMA5D27C-D1G based on ATSAMA5D27C MPU with
  • 1 Gb (128 MB) DDR2 DRAM
  • 128 Peripheral I/Os
  • 289 BGA Package
  • Designed for large Linux OS applications
• ATSAMA5D28C-D1G based on ATSAMA5D28C MPU with:
  • 1 Gb (128 MB) DDR2 DRAM
  • 128 Peripheral I/Os
  • 289 BGA Package
  • PCI-pre-certified security
  • Designed for large Linux OS applications

Microchip provides software and hardware development tools for the SiP including ATSAMA5D27-SOM1-EK1 is a fast prototyping and evaluation platform together with SAMA5D27-SOM1. The kit’s main features include:

• ATSAMA5D27-SOM1 module:
  • • SiP – Microchip ATSAMA5D27C-D1G SiP with Cortex-A5 MPU @ 500 MHz, 128 MB DDR2 DRAM
  • Storage
    • Microchip SST26VF064B-104I/MF 64Mb Serial Quad I/O (QSPI) flash memory for boot code (Linux kernel or RTOS)
    • Microchip 24AA02E48T-I/OT 2Kb Serial EEPROM with EUI-48 Note Identity for the Ethernet MAC address
  • Connectivity – Microchip KSZ8081RNAIA 10Base-T/100Base-TX Ethernet PHY for wired Ethernet connection
  • Power Management – Microchip MIC2800-G4JYML Power Management IC (PMIC) providing 3 power rails for the CPU, VDD I/O and the SDRAM
• External Storage – 1x standard SD card interface, 1x microSD card interface
• onnectivity – 10/100M Ethernet (RJ45 connector)
• Display I/F – LCD RGB 24-bit interface (50-pin FPC connector)
• Camera I/F – 12-bit camera interface (2×15 male connector)
• USB – 1x USB host, 1x USB device, 1x USB HSIC (jumper not populated)
• Expansion – 1x CAN interface ATA6561, 1x PMOD connector, 2x mikroBUS connector
• Debugging – 1x JLINK-OB and JLINK-CDC, x1 JTAG interface
• Security – 1x ATECC508 CryptoAuthentication device  (populated but not provisioned), 1x tamper connector
• Misc – 1x RGB LED, 4x push button switches
• Power Supply – From USB A and USB JLINK-OB; SuperCap for power saving

SAMA5D2-based SiPs are available now starting at $9.03 per unit for 5K orders, and the development kit is sold for $245. More details, including some documentation, can be found via the product page.

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.

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