topic Re: NXP Ships World’s Fastest ARM Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M3 Microcontrollers in LPCXpresso IDE

NXP Ships World’s Fastest ARM Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M3 Microcontrollers

lpcware — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 00:36:34 GMT

Content originally posted in LPCWare by rmteo on Thu Dec 15 22:25:03 MST 2011
NXP Semiconductors N.V. today announced the availability of the LPC4300 Digital Signal Controller (DSC) – at 204 MHz, the world’s fastest ARM® Cortex™-M4 processor. The LPC4300 is the industry’s first asymmetrical dual-core DSC with a Cortex-M0 co-processor. Also today, NXP announced that it has increased the performance of its LPC1800 series to 180 MHz, extending its lead as the world’s fastest Cortex-M3-based microcontroller.

http://www.nxp.com/news/press-releases/2011/12/nxp-ships-world-s-fastest-arm-cortex-m4-and-cortex-m3-microcontrollers.html

Re: NXP Ships World’s Fastest ARM Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M3 Microcontrollers

lpcware — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 00:36:35 GMT

Content originally posted in LPCWare by Rob65 on Fri Dec 16 00:45:44 MST 2011
Nice,

Includes quad SPI interface for Flash, Floating Point Unit and MPU (no MMU ?)

there is just too much of the good stuff (tm) to play around with.
Just got a Motor Control Kit that I want to use for interfacing the lpc1769 to stepper and servo motors so the lpc4300 will have to wait - but I think I will not be able to resist the urge to add an lpc4300 Embedded Artists board to my EA collection though :D

The thing I like even more is this "break the 8/16 bits barrier" robot.

[IMG]http://ics.nxp.com/migration/advantages/images/robot.performance.jpg[/IMG]

If I could only have one of those to play around with ...

Rob

Re: NXP Ships World’s Fastest ARM Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M3 Microcontrollers

lpcware — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 00:36:36 GMT

Content originally posted in LPCWare by vasanth on Sun Dec 18 10:24:22 MST 2011
Hi all,

LPCXpresso LPC4300 will be shipped in Jan/Feb 2012. The MCU used will be in BGA Package. :)
Add to that, NxP also Ships World's Fastest Cortex-M0 at 204MHz...:)

Re: NXP Ships World’s Fastest ARM Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M3 Microcontrollers

lpcware — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 00:36:37 GMT

Content originally posted in LPCWare by rmteo on Sun Dec 18 11:48:27 MST 2011

Quote: vasanth
Hi all,

LPCXpresso LPC4300 will be shipped in Jan/Feb 2012. The MCU used will be in BGA Package. :)
Add to that, NxP also Ships World's Fastest Cortex-M0 at 204MHz...:)

Actually there are available here http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?lang=en&site=us&vendor=0&WT.z_cid=ref_findchips0311_dkc_buynow&mpart=LPC4350FET256,551
and here http://www.futureelectronics.com/en/technologies/semiconductors/microcontrollers/32-bit/Pages/3003708-LPC4350FET256,551.aspx right now.

Re: NXP Ships World’s Fastest ARM Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M3 Microcontrollers

lpcware — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 00:36:37 GMT

Content originally posted in LPCWare by vasanth on Mon Dec 19 06:00:30 MST 2011
LPCXpresso board for LPC4300 is not available with distributors as of now. Expect that in a month or two. :)

LPC4350 MCU is available with some distributors.
But i can't use that part (256 pin BGA package, Zero on-chip Flash memory) :(

Quote:

Actually there are available here http://search.digikey.com/scripts/Dk...4350FET256,551
and here http://www.futureelectronics.com/en/...ET256,551.aspx right now.

Hai rmteo, Have you noticed the speed of the LPC4350 in those links? (Digikey->180MHz & Futureelectronics->150MHz) :confused:

LPC4300 Evalution Board is available :D
http://www.findchips.com/avail?part=OM13031

Re: NXP Ships World’s Fastest ARM Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M3 Microcontrollers

lpcware — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 00:36:38 GMT

Content originally posted in LPCWare by Rob65 on Mon Dec 19 07:12:43 MST 2011
Hi vasanth,

have you looked at the price difference between the lpc4350 and the OM13031 board :eek:

There are other variants in the lpc43xx family that do have more Flash and RAM but due to silicon space you either have a large RAM or a large Flash. BGA is not something I could mount but the LQFP114 package is still doable; if you have some 15 minutes to spare you can place an LQFP144 on a board yourself (given that you have a proper SMD rework station).

But the LQFP devices are only the smaller ones. No LCD or ethernet interfaces I'm afraid. The LPC4322 has a nice Flash and RAM size and also features a USB interface.
Don't trust those shops for specs. FutureElectronics lists the specs for the 4320 as having Ethernet MAC and LCD interface :confused:

For now I still manage well with my lpc1754 design. My complete application with sensor network, logging to SD and UI still runs of a 4 MHz CCLK - I only need to mount a crystal and increase the clock for USB support.
I'll save the money of the OM13031 for when the lpc1100 robot is available :D

Rob

Re: NXP Ships World’s Fastest ARM Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M3 Microcontrollers

lpcware — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 00:36:38 GMT

Content originally posted in LPCWare by vasanth on Tue Dec 20 01:59:19 MST 2011
Hi Rob,

I've not said i will not use LPC43xx.

Actually i have been .......

while (LPCXpresso_LPC4300 != AVAILABLE)
     ;

Anyway, LQFP is not a problem (I am already doing LPC13xx && LPC11xx). Its only about the BGA package.

Why only LQFP144? There is LQFP208 :eek: available with LCD and Ethernet. See it here. Only it will take some 208*(15/144) min spare time (according to you):)
http://ics.nxp.com/products/lpc4000/lpc43xx/

Thanks for the warning to not to trust distributor specs.

Quote:

I'll save the money of the OM13031 for when the lpc1100 robot is available

I want to save the money too.

Cheers.

Re: NXP Ships World’s Fastest ARM Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M3 Microcontrollers

lpcware — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 00:36:39 GMT

Content originally posted in LPCWare by ktownsend on Wed Dec 21 14:27:39 MST 2011

Quote: vasanth
Hai rmteo, Have you noticed the speed of the LPC4350 in those links? (Digikey->180MHz & Futureelectronics->150MHz) :confused:

Early silicon was specced for those speeds, but this was later increased because the chips were able to support the higher speed. You should always use the manufacturers sites and latest datasheet for authoritative data. The people entering data on sites like Digikey do a good job, but mistakes still happen and they're more likely to get corrected on the manufacturer's site than in a distributor's database.

As with any new devices, they go through various revisions, and improvements are made along the way, though, including the discovery that these chips can apparently supported a higher maximum clock frequency than expected.

As for the packages, the BGA256 packages actually isn't that hard to work with since it's 1.0mm pitch, which is very forgiving even if the placement is less than surgically precise. If you put down a good paste layer (the most critical step for BGA) I can't imagine anyone getting much bridging, and there's still plenty of room for the vias doing the fanout. You'll still need at least a 6 layer board, though. Maybe (???) you could do it in 4 but the quality will be mediocre without a decent GND and power plane, so I wouldn't bother with less than 6.

But the only real issue is good PCB design. The actually assembly isn't that scary. BGA reflows well (with a good paste layer) down to 0.8mm pitch ... smaller than that it becomes more of a challenge to do the fanout, and you risk getting bridges underneath if you're sloppy (and obviously not many people have in house xray machines to test for this :) ).

Re: NXP Ships World’s Fastest ARM Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M3 Microcontrollers

lpcware — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 00:36:40 GMT

Content originally posted in LPCWare by Rob65 on Wed Dec 21 15:18:58 MST 2011

Quote: KTownsend

As for the packages, the BGA256 packages actually isn't that hard to work with since it's 1.0mm pitch, which is very forgiving even if the placement is less than surgically precise. If you put down a good paste layer (the most critical step for BGA) I can't imagine anyone getting much bridging, and there's still plenty of room for the vias doing the fanout. You'll still need at least a 6 layer board, though.

I try to stay away from BGA as long as I can. 6 layer boards are expensive (as a hobby) and I think a good reflow oven is also a must. At Ericsson we had a heater plate to do rework on mobile phones which was not that easy. The first chip our team had when I joined was a 500-something BGA and even the professional company that told us they could do this had problems with it; you could see a bubble on the board where the chip was mounted ...

But you are right; 1mm pitch BGAs are forgiving and 'easy' to mount. They indeed float into place just like the 0603 and 0805 resistors do when I solder my own boards. It is fun to watch this and it is even more fun when you see the results that look like real professional boards.
Not true ... I compared my board with two other boards I have (made by a professional company using real stainless steel stencils and a reflow oven). My boards look nicer :D

Quote: vasanth

Why only LQFP144? There is LQFP208 :eek: available with LCD and Ethernet. See it here. Only it will take some 208*(15/144) min spare time (according to you):)

Indeed - completely overlooked that one.
But soldering 208 pins does not take almost twice as long as 144 pins. It's about the same time.

My first board with an LQFP80 is shown on this page, it took me about 15 minutes to do this: just place 4 small worms on each side, carefully drop the chip in place and brush gently with my hot-air SMD soldering station. I had 2 or 3 shorts that were quickly fixed with desoldering braid. And yes the chip shown there is really my first soldering experience with LQFP using paste and a hot air station.
I guess that an LQFP208 will take along the same time. Once the paste is flowing on the board it almost does not matter if there are 20/36 or 52 pins per side.

Putting the paste on the board takes most of the time. I'd like to try one of those stencils once, that would make the job easier.

Rob

Re: NXP Ships World’s Fastest ARM Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M3 Microcontrollers

lpcware — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 00:36:40 GMT

Content originally posted in LPCWare by jdurand on Sun Dec 25 11:26:22 MST 2011
I see Code Red has "limited" M4 support, does anyone know if this covers using the FPU? I can't just test it because for some reason my LPC-link board doesn't like my LPC4350 board but both Keil and Real-View Ulink2 modules work fine with it. I don't have a Red Probe+ ... yet.

I tried using Keil MDK by both picking Cortex-M4 (with FPU) and also LPC4350 (with FPU). Both configurations compile fine then give errors that there are floating point instructions generated for a part without a floating point unit. Grrr...

I assume I'm correct in thinking the LPC43xx parts DO have an FPU, it's sort of critical to my design.