AT91SAM 32-bit ARM-based Microcontrollers - Overview

Atmel's AT91SAM7S, AT91SAM7X and AT91SAM9 Smart ARM®-based microcontrollers cover the entire spectrum from low-cost, low-pin-count devices based on the ARM7 processor to high-performance systems-on-chip based on the ARM9.

• Seamless migration from 10 to 260 MIPS with complete code compatibility
• Industry-standard ARM 32-bit RISC processor
• Fully supported with evaluation kits, operating systems, compilers and an extensive range of development tools from industry-leading third-party suppliers

AT91SAM7 Series

At the low end, the AT91SAM7S series of Flash microcontrollers based on the ARM7TDMI® processor bridges the gap between 8- (or 16-) and 32-bit microcontroller applications. Besides a jump in real-time performance over 8-bit microcontrollers, they integrate a complete set of secure operation functions. They focus on real-time control applications that require features traditionally incorporated into 8-bit MCUs together with the superior processing power and extended address space of 32-bit MCUs.

The AT91SAM7S family is extended by the AT91SAM7SE series that adds an external bus interface supporting Gigabyte-plus memory support like SDRAM and NAND Flash.

Additionally applications requiring any combination of Ethernet, USB, CAN and serial interfaces are served by the AT91SAM7X series. The AT91SAM7XC series adds AES and Triple-DES hardware encryption.

AT91SAM9 Series

At the high end, the AT91SAM9 series based on the 260+ MIPS ARM926EJ-S® processor, offers a flexible configuration of on- and off- chip memories together with an extensive set of peripherals for control, communication and data storage purposes. These include USB Host and Device and Ethernet 10/100 Base T MAC as well as interfaces for a variety of Flash cards including Atmel's DataFlash®. The AT91SAM9 series is Linux®- and WinCE®- enabled for applications requiring a full-feature operation system, but can also run efficiently using a simple RTOS.

A comprehensive view of AT91 product characteristics is available in the parametric table.