600 MHz STM32H7R/S Cortex-M7 MCUs feature 620KB SRAM, 64KB boot flash, optional NeoChrom GPU

STMicro has launched the high-performance 600 MHz STM32H7R/S Arm Cortex-M7 microcontrollers: the STM32H7R3/S3 General-purpose MCU lines, and STM32H7R7/S7 graphics MCU lines adding a NeoChrom 2.5D GPU. Both ship with a large 620KB SRAM and a small 64KB boot flash.

The reason for the small boot flash is to have the application code and data stored off-chip memory ICs to provide more flexibility to customers when it comes to the choice of memory type and capacity to fulfill the application requirements and lower the BoM cost. The “S” in the STM32H7S microcontrollers stands for Security with a crypto/hash engine that can help the final product achieve SESIP Level 3 and/or PSA Certified Level 3 certifications.

Many of the specifications are similar to the STM32H7 microcontrollers, but performance is better going slightly faster than the 550MHz STM32H7 MCUs added in 2020, and the STM32H7R/S adds some new features:

• 200 MHz Hexadeca SPI with PHY and DTR-mode for external flash (NOR, NAND) or PSRAM
• NeoChrom 2.5D GPU, JPEG Codec, and LCD-TFT display controller (LTDC) enabling 3D-like GUI performance similar to what’s possible on microprocessors
• Code execution from external/internal memory
• Secure internal & external code & data; memory crypto engines (MCE) to encrypt and decrypt coded data on-the-fly the S parts
• Peripherals
  • I3C with DMA
  • 2x USB HS/FS with PHY & UCPD

There are currently 28 STM32H7R/S microcontrollers with different packages (68-pin VQFN, 100-pin LQFP, 144-pin UFBGA, etc… up to 225-pin TFGA), optional hardware crypto/hash engine, optional 16-bit serial high-speed PHY/32-bit FMC, and optional NeoChrom GPU with LTDC display controller.

STMicro says the STM32Cube software and tools can help developers set up the boot system on the 64KB internal flash and locate their code in external memories, so it should be pretty much the same as for parts where everything runs out of the internal flash. The STM32H7S7 and ST32H7R7 microcontrollers with a built NeoChrom GPU are supported by STMicro’s TouchGFX GUI development framework. It is demonstrated in the interesting video embedded below with various user interfaces and JPEG video decoding with and without NeoChrom GPU acceleration on an STM32H7S7 development kit (STM32H7S78-DK) to show how the CPU usage and frame rates are impacted.

STMicro will provide two evaluation and development platforms for the new 600 MHz STM32H7 MCU family:

• $35 NUCLEO-H7S3L8 with 256 Mbit Octo-SPI NOR Flash, Ethernet, USB, STLINK debugger, Arduino UNO extension interface
• $99 STM32H7S78-DK STM32H7S discovery kit with 1 Gbit Octo-SPI NOR Flash, 256Mbit Octo-SPI PSRAM, WVGA TFT display, Ethernet, USB, microSD, audio, microphone mems, STLINK debugger, Arduino UNO, and camera extension interfaces

The STM32CubeMX program helps developers get started with the STM32H7S Nucleo board, and the company also provides full project templates with BSP and “ready-to call services”, as well as preconfigured STM32 clocks, pinout, and peripherals.

The new STM32H7 MCUs will enter mass production in April 2024, but somehow there’s no product page just yet, and most information can be found in a PDF presentation and the press release. Sample requests and pricing information can be obtained from STMicro sales offices. I’d expect the two development boards to be available online very soon on STMicro’s e-store and through distributors.

Thanks to TLS for the tip.

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