Chipmaker Freescale Semiconductor on Tuesday announced Kinetsis KL03, the world’s smallest-ever ARM-based microcontroller unit (MCU).
The KL03, claimed as “smaller than a golf ball dimple,” is almost 35 percent smaller than any other competing Cortex-M0+ microcontroller in the market.
The Kinetis KL03, which measures just 1.9 by 2 millimeters, has everything a body needs to be a basic tiny computer including a processor, RAM, ROM, clock and I/O control unit. The tiny MCU has 32KB of flash memory, 2KB of RAM, and 8K of ROM with an on-chip boot loader, with high-speed 12-bit ADC and a high-speed analog comparator.
It operates on a 1.71-3.6-volt charge and utilises low-power wake up and other low-power modes. The chip comes with a secure time clock, timers for applications including motor control, and it can operate in environments ranging from 85 °C to -40 °C.
Rajeev Kumar, director of worldwide marketing and business development for Freescale’s Microcontrollers business said “When size is no longer a barrier to incorporating microcontrollers into edge node devices, we can start to redefine what’s possible for the Internet of Things.”
“We see the miniaturization of MCUs as a key driver of IoT evolution. With the groundbreaking form factors of the new Kinetis KL03, systems designers for edge node products now have the technology they need to develop entirely new product categories capable, quite literally, of changing the world.”
Kumar said the new SoC can be embedded in a wide range of consumer, healthcare, as well as industrial market products and applications.
The chip maker will be showcasing its new MCU at Embedded World in Nuremburg, Germany this week. The MCU is expected to begin sampling in March with full production planned for June 2014. The cost for the microcontrollers will be $0.75 (USD) in 100K-unit quantities.
