By combining these 3 ingredients\u2014like Professor Atomus\u2014we get the STM32U5 microcontroller family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We get a microcontroller with a serious core: Cortex-M33. This core is very welcome in IoT, smart, wearables, or personal medical devices. Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Cortex-M33 core has implemented TrustZone<\/strong>\u00ae<\/strong>, which in short\u2014allows for isolation of secrets<\/strong>. All private keys and other important data that should not leak outside the device. An example of such a device with private keys could be a cryptocurrency wallet.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Alongside TrustZone<\/strong>\u00ae <\/strong>we also deal with “Secure Peripherals<\/strong>” and “Secure DMA<\/strong>“. There\u2019s quite a lot of it.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, ST equipped STM32U5 with other security features such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n And what about performance?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The core can run up to 160 MHz. Quite a lot, but it still doesn\u2019t say that much. There is something called a Coremark score, which takes overall performance into account. Against other low-power MCUs from ST, the U5 family looks very good.<\/p>\n\n\n This looks really nice, but how does it compare to other cores<\/strong>? For example compared to the typically high-performance ones? ST doesn\u2019t brag about such a comparison, and it should. I gathered data from websites and presentations and here\u2019s the result.<\/p>\n\n\n As we can see\u2014it\u2019s good. This means the U5 is really powerful. The H7 pulls ahead, but that\u2019s a typical High-Performance series. There are no compromises on power consumption there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also see this in the available peripherals in STM32U5. We have goodies such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are quite a few things related to multimedia and signal processing. What can this be useful for? IoT and artificial intelligence<\/strong>. Such a microcontroller can successfully recognize images or sounds<\/strong>. And at a decent pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To start, we got two boards on which we can prototype our applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first is the Discovery B-U585I-IOT02A<\/strong><\/a> kit with the STM32U585AII6Q<\/strong> microcontroller. This one is worth paying the most attention to, because it offers huge possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First of all, ST finally ditched the inconvenient plastic blisters. The new STM32U5 boards come in cardboard boxes.<\/p>\n\n\n After taking it out of the package, the board is packed in special reusable ESD film. After removing the kit, we get a view like this.<\/p>\n\n\n On the Discovery, there\u2019s so much that you can get lost.<\/strong> What\u2019s more! You can also miss some chips. While taking photos of them, I checked the schematic to see whether I found everything. Let\u2019s go through what we have available, step by step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First of all, the microcontroller. One of the more capable chips from the STM32U5 family is installed here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have as much as 2 MB of Flash memory<\/strong>, 784 kB SRAM<\/strong>, and 2 kB Backup SRAM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The core can be clocked up to 160 MHz<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In terms of peripherals, we have everything needed and the best of it. SDMMC, 3x SPI, 4x I2C, 1x CAN, 2x OctoSPI, 3x USART, 1x LPUART, Camera Interface<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For signal processing: digital and audio filters<\/strong>, CORDIC coprocessor<\/strong>, and FMAC<\/strong> (Filter Mathematical Accelerator).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, security elements couldn\u2019t be missing: TRNG, AES, PKA, HASG, on-the-fly decryption over Octo SPI, CRC<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have a Bluetooth Low E<\/strong>nergy module available. This is no ordinary module! It\u2019s another STM32WB55 microcontroller<\/strong>, which has built-in BLE communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was packaged in a convenient module together with an appropriate antenna path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have 3 types of external memory. 512 Mbit Flash<\/strong> and 64 Mbit SRAM<\/strong> connected using the Octo SPI<\/strong> interface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is also an EEPROM<\/strong> over I2C with a capacity of 256 kbit<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n In addition to the standard microUSB connector through which we program and debug the microcontroller, there is also space for USB-C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This connector allows testing USB-C Power Delivery<\/strong> applications. STM32U5 chips are equipped with a PD controller. On the Discovery board, we can create a Sink and Source device up to 2.5 W.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another available module is WiFi<\/strong>. A chip from MXCHIP<\/strong> was used. Communication in the 802.11 b\/g\/n standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Discovery B-U585I-IOT02A has plenty of MEMS sensors. Really a lot! This is something I want to test in the near future. What do we get?<\/p>\n\n\n 2 omnidirectional MP34DT01 microphones<\/strong> from ST. These microphones are interestingly designed because sound enters through a small hole \u201cunder\u201d the microphone on the other side of the PCB. The microphones are connected via the MDF interface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Temperature and humidity<\/span> sensor<\/strong> <\/span>HTS221<\/strong> on the I2C interface.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Ultra-high-performance 3-axis <\/span>accelerometer and gyroscope ISM330DHCX<\/strong> on the I2C interface.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Ultra-high-performance 3-axis <\/span>IIS2MDCTR magnetometer<\/strong> on the I2C interface.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n LPS22HB barometer <\/strong>with a range of 260\u20131260 hPa on the I2C interface.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Laser-based <\/span>ToF distance and gesture sensor<\/strong> <\/span>VL53L5 <\/strong>on the I2C interface.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Ambient light sensor VEML6030 <\/strong>on the I2C interface.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Authentication and security chip STSAFE-A110<\/strong> on the I2C interface.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n The STM32U5 family looks very promising. I will definitely focus more on it and test the chips found on the Discovery platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Discovery B-U585I-IOT02A<\/a> board, as well as the Nucleo with the STM32U5 chip, are available in my store. By buying from me, you support the development of the blog.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/msalamon.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Coremark-Low-Power.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nEvaluation kits with STM32U5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/figure>\nSummary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n