I saw this come up a few times with little resolution. I have a need for the 4 U(S)ARTs on the Due, but I need a much smaller form factor -- 36mm square. Further, I do not have a current use for I/O pins. I'd like to build a Due compatible board around the ATSAM3X8C in order to pickup some space savings. Can I just swap out the 8E for an 8C in the reference design? Will I still be able to use the Arduino IDE (or PlatformIO for that matter)? Thanks!
Where did you get that size from? I suspect the device is somewhat compatible given that they share the same datasheet, all the registers seem to be in the same places.
However, the size difference between a 100 pin BGA and 144 pin BGA is only 1mm extra in each direction (up from 9x9 to 10x10, from 81mm2 to 100mm2) so you may as well go with the 3X8E.
Hi davidbitton,
If you're looking for a fast microcontroller with Arduino compatibility it might also be worth considering the SAMD51. It's a 120MHz, ARM Cortex M4F processor with a single precision hardware Floating Point Unit (FPU).
Adafruit have been working on coverting Arduino Zero's SAMD21 core over to the SAMD51 for their forthcoming Metro M4 board: Adafruit Metro M4 feat. Microchip ATSAMD51 : ID 3382 : $27.50 : Adafruit Industries, Unique & fun DIY electronics and kits. The board is compatible with the Arduino IDE.
I believe the Metro M4 will use the SAMD51J19A device with 64 pins, 512KB flash 192KB RAM. It has six SERCOM (serial communication) modules that can be configured for either Serial, SPI or I2C.
I'm currently using the 64-pin SAMD51J20A, with 1MB flash, 256KB RAM on my custom board, using its native USB port to upload sketches with the Arduino IDE. I've configured it for 4 UARTs, plus a single SPI and I2C port.
It's also available in a range of QFN and TQFP packages from 48, 64, 100 and 128 pins, (although Arduino IDE support for the 100 and 128 pin devices might not be available).
The PCB layout requirements are pretty straightforward, much like the SAMD21 on the Arduino Zero.
MartinL,
Thanks for the heads up. I spend the last week or 2 going down the PIC32MZ rabbit hole. I found that unless the board has specifically been setup for chipKit-core, it's tough getting things working. I do like this idea of the SAMD51. My need is SERCOM modules. The more, the better. I see that this chip does not have Ethernet or CAN as does the 3X8E. I'll go try and find a reference implementation of the SAMD51 and see what it entails. Thanks!
My need is SERCOM modules. The more, the better.
For which serial protocols? There are a couple TI LaunchPads (Supported by Engergia, which is an Arduino clone) now that have 8 UARTS plus (multiple) SPI and I2C (though I haven't checked whether they're all available at the same time.)
EK-TM4C1294XL Evaluation board | TI.com MSP-EXP432E401Y Development kit | TI.com (Hmm. No Energia yet for this one. But 8 UARTS, 10 I2C, and 4 QSPI !)