STMicroelectronics’ STM32MP21 microprocessor family combines a 1.5 GHz 64-bit Arm Cortex-A35 application core with a 300 MHz 32-bit Arm Cortex-M33 core for real-time processing. It is designed for “cost-aware” edge applications in smart factories, smart homes, and smart cities.
The new STM32MP21 is a cost-optimized version of the earlier STM32MP23 and STM32MP25 that does without an AI accelerator (yes, those still exist!), GPU, H.264 decoder and encoder, or PCIe Gen2 / USB 3.0 interfaces. It still offers a MIPI CSI-2 camera interface, two Gigabit Ethernet interfaces with Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), and strong security targeting SESIP Level 3 and PCI pre-certification.
STM32MP21 specifications:
- CPU – Arm Cortex-A35 core running at up to 1.2 or 1.5 GHz with 128KB L2 cache
- Real-time MCU – Arm Cortex-M33 core with FPU/MPU running at up to 300 MHz
- GPU – None
- VPU – None
- AI accelerator – None
- Memory
- 456 KB SRAM
- 256KB AXI SYSRAM
- 64KB AHB SRAM
- 128KB AHB SRAM with ECC in backup domain
8KB SRAM with ECC in backup domain - Up to 4GB 16-bit DDR3L-1600, DDR4-16000, or LPDDR4-1600
- Storage
- Octo-SPI memory interface
- Flexible external memory controller (FMC) with up to 16-bit data bus: parallel interface to connect external ICs, and SLC NAND memories with up to 8-bit ECC
- 3x SDMMC up to 8-bit
- Display I/F – LCD-TFT (RGB) interface up to 1920×1080 @ 60 Hz
- Camera I/F
- I/F 1 up to 5MP @ 30 FPS
- 2-lane MIPI CSI-2 camera interface up to 2.5 Gbps per lane
- 8-bit to 16-bitparallel interface up to 120 MHz
- I/F 2 – 8-bit to 14-bit parallel camera interface up to 80 MHz, 1MP @ 15 FPS
- I/F 1 up to 5MP @ 30 FPS
- Networking
- Up to 2x Gigabit Ethernet interfaces with TSN support
- Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN)
- Audio I/F
- 4x SAI serial audio interfaces (I2S, PDM, SPDIF Tx)
- SPDIF Rx interface with four inputs
- USB
- USB 2.0 Host with embedded 480 Mbps PHY
- USB 2.0 dual-role data with embedded 480 Mbps PHY
- Other Peripherals
- Up to 123x secure I/O ports with up to 6x wake-up interrupt, up to 7x tamper input pins
- Up to 3x I2C, 3x I3C, 6x SPI (including 3x I2S)
- Up to 4x USARTs, 3x UART, 1x low-power UART (LPUART)
- 2x CAN FD interfaces, including one supporting TTCAN mode
- 2x 12-bit ADC up to 5 Msps each
- Internal temperature sensor
- Digital parallel interface up to 16-bit input or output
- Timers
- 10x 16-bit general-purpose timers
- 4x 32‑bit general-purpose timers
- 2x 16-bit advanced motor control timers
- 5x low-power timers
- Secure RTC
- 2x SysTick timers
- 5x watchdogs
- Security
- SESIP Level 3 pre-certification
- Secure boot
- Arm TrustZone on Cortex-A and Cortex-M cores
- Secure key storage
- Active Tamper
- Hardware cryptographic accelerators
- Environmental monitors
- Resource isolation framework
- Power Management
- 1.71 to 1.95 V and 2.7/3.0 to 3.6 V multiple-section I/O supply
- POR, PDR, PVD, and BOR
- On-chip LDO and power switches for RETRAM, BKPSRAM, and VSW
- Dedicated supplies for Cortex-A35
- Low-power modes: Sleep, Stop, and Standby
- DDR memory retention in Standby mode
- Controls for PMIC companion chip
- Packages
- VFBGA225 8x8mm (0.5mm pitch); best for 6-layer boards
- VFBGA273 11x11mm (0.5mm pitch); suitable for 4-layer boards
- TFBGA289 14x14mm (0.8mm pitch); suitable for 4-layer boards
- VFBGA361 10x10mm pitch (0.5mm pitch); best for 6-layer boards; pin-to-pin compatible across the entire STM32MP2 series.
- Temperature Range – -40 to +125°C
- 10-year longevity program
Sixteen SKUs are available with different packages, maximum Cortex-A35 frequencies, and hardware crypto options. The STM32MP21 MPU family is supported by the ST Edge AI desktop and cloud tools, OpenSTLinux mainlined Linux distribution (Yocto and Buildroot flavors), and STM32CubeMP2 software with examples using the STM32Cube IDE as a development environment. Bare metal support is also coming for the STM32MP2 series later this year, in the same way it is available for the STM32MP13 Series.
To quickly evaluate the new MPU family and for early software development, the company also provides the STM32MP215F-DK Discovery Kit and adapter boards. The development board is based on the STM32MP215FAN3 microprocessor (Cortex‑A35 up to 1.5 GHz, Cortex‑M33 at 300 MHz) offered in a VFBGA273 package, features an STPMIC2L power management chip, 16 Gbit (2GB) of LPDDR4 RAM, 100 Mbps Ethernet, a USB 2.0 port, a microSD card slot, a MIPI CSI-2 camera connector, an LTDC display connector, an M.2 E-Key connector for WiFI and Bluetooth SDIO modules, as well as GPIO expansion and JTAG and STDC14 debug connectors.
The STM32MP21 microprocessors are sold for $5.70 to $8.50 for orders of 1000 units, depending on the selected SKU. As industrial products, all STM32 MPUs are part of the company’s 10-year longevity program. The STM32MP215F-DK Discovery Kit is sold for $69.83 direct for ST’s eStore. Additional details about the MPUs and devkit can be found on the STM32MP2 Series page.
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.
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