Can you name the 8- and 32-bit microcontroller families leading the “Smart Revolution”?
With ST having delivered more than 1 million STM32 development kits and 100,000 STM8 development kits, chances are good that if you’re reading this post, you’ve gotten at least one of them. The achievement of these milestones helps explain how ST has laid a solid foundation and is continuing to build on its microcontroller successes.
The first established semiconductor company to launch high-performance 32-bit microcontrollers using the hard-working and efficient ARM® Cortex®-M core, ST has also moved aggressively to fill out its portfolio to ensure there is a perfect STM32 MCU to match every application need. Its STM32L0 series is among the industry’s most frugal performers and its STM32H7 series is its highest performing–both according to standard Benchmarks offered by EEMBC benchmark consortium. The availability of more than 700 part numbers – across 10 different STM32 series – highlights the family’s versatility and scalability.
ST has also achieved success with the 8-bit MCU STM8 family, which includes more than 125 devices and is built on the same strategic approach as its 32-bit brother.
Of course, clock speed and hardware features are merely the easiest qualities of an MCU family to describe. Equally – or more – valuable is the family’s ecosystem including hardware and software development tools like the STM32 Open Development Environment. This is where the STM32 (and STM8) excel, as the dev-board-milestone successes demonstrate. Users have quickly recognized the economy, expandability, and ease of use of the STM32 and STM8 families and that has helped ST climb to the number 3 ranking in MCUs–and possibly the top spot among ARM Cortex-M manufacturers.
On top of the breadth of microcontroller development board options available, numerous plug-in expansion boards bring motion, environmental, audio, and touch sensing, motor control, connectivity, and other functions to the revolution. And with software drivers, algorithms, and function packs also freely available from ST, it’s easy to add surround your ideas with the brains, sensing, connectivity and power to do almost anything.
If you haven’t gotten an STM32 or STM8 development board, perhaps now is a good time to join the Smart Revolution.
