Energy Micro has announced it is making its EFM32 Gecko and Tiny Gecko product lines available in the space-saving QFP48 package. The smaller 48-pin ARM Cortex-M3 based microcontroller options will enable manufacturers to take device footprint down to 7mm x 7mm at a pin pitch of 0.5mm.
The QFP48 Gecko product offers the same range of low energy peripherals as its larger QFP100 packaged variant, including a multiple sensor interface, UARTs, LCD Controller, 12-bit ADC and AES encryption/decryption engine. Energy sensitive target applications for the device span smart metering, building automation, security systems and portable medical and lifestyle equipment.
According to Andreas Koller, VP of World-Wide Sales and Marketing at Energy Micro, "The new QFP48 package options make the EFM32 even more accessible to designers facing strict microcontroller size and energy constraints, and are a perfect complement to an already comprehensive choice of package and memory sizes."
The QFP48 packaged EFM32 Gecko and Tiny Gecko microcontrollers will be available from April 2011.
Consuming a quarter of the energy needed by other 8, 16 and 32-bit microcontrollers, Energy Micro's first product, the ultra low power EFM32 Gecko microcontroller family was launched in 2009.
