Atmel first ARM9-based microcontroller: AT91SAM9260

Atmel released their first member of ARM9-based microcontroller: the AT91SAM9260. This chip integrates a 200 MIPS ARM926EJ-S core, support deterministic, real-time operation, offers supervisory functions, and has third-party RTOS support.

Key features:

• A camera interface
• Seven USARTs
• 10/100 Ethernet MAC
• 12 Mbps USB device and host controller with on-chip transceivers
• External bus interface support: SDRAM, Flash, NAND Flash with built-in ECC, SD, SDIO, and Multimedia Card interface (MMC)
• Three synchronous serial controllers (SSC)
• Two master/slave Serial Peripheral Interfaces (SPI)
• A three-channel 16-bit timer/counter;
• Two-wire interface (TWI);
• IEEE 1149.1 JTAG Boundary Scan on all digital pins
• 24 DMA channels and a five-layer high-speed bus matrix

System controller provides a full complement of supervisory functions that includes an 8-level priority interrupt controller, RC-oscillator, PLLs, real-time periodic interval and watchdog timers, reset and shutdown controllers, and backup registers. In  ultra-low power mode, this chip only need  typically less than 10 uA.

Development:

The AT91SAM9260 has third-party RTOS support from Green Hills Software, Mentor Graphics and Micrium. Compiler/debuggers are available from Green Hills Software, ARM, Keil, IAR Systems and any compliant ARM926EJ-S compiler. Windows CE and Linux operating system support is also provided.
 

The AT91SAM9260 is available now in a 217-ball LFBGA RoHS-compliant package and in a 208-pin Green QFP package, and is priced at or near $6 in quantities of 100,000.