Arduino Zero is an official Arduino board based on UNO r3 form factor but using Atmel SAMD21G18 ARM Cortex M0+ MCU instead of an AVR MCU. Albert van Dalen has decided to design a compatible module based on the same MCU, and called SAM 15×15, as its size can be trimmed down to as low as 15×15 mm.
SAM 15×15 comparison with Arduino Zero and Uno boards.
SAM 15×15 | Arduino Zero | Arduino Uno | |
Microcontroller | ATSAMD21G18A | ATSAMD21G18A | ATmega328P |
Digital I/O Pins digitalWrite digitalRead | 34 | 20 | 14 |
Analog Output Pins (PWM) analogWrite | 24 | 10 | 6 |
Analog Input Pins (ADC) analogRead | 14 | 6 | 6 |
ADC resolution | 12-bit | 12-bit | 10-bit |
10-bit DACs | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Flash Memory | 256KB | 256KB | 32KB |
SRAM | 32KB | 32KB | 2KB |
EEPROM | 32KB (emulated in Flash) | 32KB (emulated in Flash) | 1KB |
CPU Speed | 48MHz | 48MHz | 16MHz |
The board allows for three form factors to match your specific needs:
- 28 x 28mm – 40 pins with 2.54mm pitch; fits on a breadboard
- 22 x 22mm – Smaller version of the 28 x 28mm board with less 2.54mm pitch
- 15 x 15mm – 40 pins with 1.27mm pitch
While SAM 15×15 modules are much smaller than Arduino Zero, they come with 34 I/Os instead of just 21 I/Os on Zero board.
You can program the board with the Arduino IDE just like you’d do with an Arduino Zero, except you’ll need to solder a USB header as shown in the picture below, and use a special, yet cheap, 5-pin female to USB male cable to program it.
Thanks to Nanik for the tip.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
Another similar board but compatible with Arduino Mega 2560 called the Naked Mega: http://blog.tindie.com/2017/01/small-arduino-mega-2560-compatible-board/