ST Microelectronics offers micro controllers in 5 main series,
STM8A – Micro controllers designed for use in Automotive domain.
STM8S – General purpose very robust micro controllers with the value line device costing from as low as Rs.30/- in India.
STM8L – Ultra low power micro controllers for using in Battery powered applications with current consumption as low as 560 uA.
STM32F – Vast collection of ARM cortex-M core powered micro controllers with extensive and rich set of peripheral options for general purpose use.
STM32L – These controllers are optimized for ultra low power consumption combined with the performance and features of ARM Cortex-M core for battery powered applications.
Now why i prefer ST Microelectronics chips?
– Operating range: STM8S operates from 2.6V to 5V and can be used at 3.3V and 5V standard voltages.
– Easily hand solderable packages are available like TSSOP-20, LQFP32 helpful in doing prototype boards.
– Very low cost devices from the value line series in each of the family which will help you in building a very low cost product. For example, The STM8S003 device is available for as low as Rs.50/- in India at element14.com
– Very low cost debugger/programmer ST-LINK/V2 available for the entire STM microcontroller family. ST-LINK/V2 is available for purchase in India at Rs.2,263/- at element14.com. Using this debugger you can program and debug the STM8A, STM8S, STM8L, STM32F, STM32L microcontrollers.
– Simple one wire interface for debugging and programming using SWIM protocol for STM8 and a simple two wire SWD protocol for programming and debugging the STM32 ARM cortex family.
– Continuously growing product family gives you the flexibility to select any chip suiting your application and no need to look for another manufacturer as everything is offered by ST.
– All the necessary Peripheral Programming Library is provided by ST free of cost which saves a lot of time when starting a project.
– Supported by IAR Embedded workbench IDE and free Kick Start versions are available for evaluation.
– Very low cost and famous Development boards called the STM8S-Discovery and STM32Discovery boards available in India for as low as Rs.900/-
IAR Embedded Workbench showing the Libraries provided by ST:
STM8 TSSOP-20 microcontroller on a product board:
STM8 LQFP-32 microcontroller on a Prototype board:
Also see:
- Calculating the range of a Wireless device
- Best discussion forums for Embedded systems
- How to order components from Digikey to India without Shipping charges
- Cheapest ARM debugger
