Instruments
Process instruments include the electronics required to measure process variables, such as temperature, pressure, level, flow, using a variety of sensors and methods. Power consumption in active mode is critical for these products, as most field instruments are powered though a 4-20mA current loop interface, which strongly limits the available power budget for the electronics. Process instruments must often be able to operate in hazardous areas, and cannot buffer energy.
Atmel® has become a leading supplier of microcontroller for the manufacturers of industrial process instruments.
Features and Benefits
- Atmel 32-bit microcontrollers can operate down to 1.62V and achieve sub 1mW/DMIPS power consumption figures.
- Process instruments often operate the microcontroller at low frequencies to reduce power consumption. Atmel has optimized the flash read accesses in these conditions, enabling.
- The Atmel Atmel AVR 32-bit microcontroller and the Cortex-M3-based AT91SAM3 family provide the designer with modern and efficient RISC architectures, supporting more complex signal.
- Embedded DSP functionalities (MAC, saturating arithmetic) and FPU, along with middleware libraries to support them, considerably simplify signal conditioning
- Complex signal algorithms, field bus or industrial Ethernet support, functional safety test routines, and multi-language menus, require increasingly large embedded flash support. Atmel offers 32-bit microcontrollers with embedded flash up to 512KB.
- Atmel microcontrollers integrates dedicated hardware mechanisms to support the implementation of the IEC61508 safety standard. Learn more about Atmel microcontroller safety functions here.
- Wireless communication is attractive for industrial sites with instruments dispersed over a large area. The Atmel Wireless microcontroller product line provides the required hardware platform to build products compatible with the popular Wireless HART protocol. The Atmel best in class RF properties help increase range and make RF links more robust, yet highly efficient.
- The Atmel CryptoAuthentication™ family of hardware security products provides cost effective, low standby power solutions for secure communication to/from process instruments.
The Atmel AT91SAM3, AT91SAM7 and the AVR UC3 32-bit families deliver unique combination of low power and excellent signal processing capabilities.
- Low power consumption
- Efficient signal processing (DSP and FPU)
- Wide flash size availability
- Sensor element and field bus connection
- Safety functions according to IEC61508
- Capacitive Touch
- Wireless microcontroller
Products
| Microcontroller | Touch | Secure Authentication | RF Microcontroller | Memory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
AVR UC3 B Series ARM-based Solutions: AT91SAM3S/7S AVR XMEGA |
Buttons, Sliders and Wheels QTouch library maXTouch™ Touchscreen controller |
CryptoAuthentication |
Single-chip (Microcontroller and Transceiver) Transceivers ZigBit Modules |
CryptoMemory: Secure EEPROM Serial EEPROM |
Overview of the Atmel Safety Features
| Features | SAM3 | Xmega | UC3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Code Integrity | Flash with write protection | Selectable flash regions | Application and boot section | Selectable flash regions |
| Dual Bank | Yes (AT91SAM3U) | |||
| Flash Checksum | CRC unit (AT91SAM3S) | CRC Unit | Software | |
| Watchdog | Running from an internal RC oscillator | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lock function | Locked after first write | Locked per fuse | Key protected | |
| Window mode | Yes | Yes | Yes (AVR UC3) | |
| Software Runaway | Memory Protection Unit | Yes | No | Yes |
| Lock function for the IO register | Yes, using the MPU | Yes | Yes, using the MPU | |
| Lock function for the Clock Configuration | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Lock Event System Configuration | N/A | Yes | Yes | |
| Clock Failure | Start-up from internal RC oscillator | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Main clock failure detection | Yes (AT91SAM3S) | Yes | Yes | |
| Automatic switch to the internal RC | Yes (AT91SAM3S) | Yes | Yes |
AVR and ARM Comparison
| CPU | AVR | ARM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product Family | AVR XMEGA 8/16-bit microcontroller | AVR UC3 32-bit microcontroller | AT91SAM3 microcontroller | AT91SAM9 MPU |
| CPU Feature | Best-in-class 8/16-bit RISC hardware multiplier | 32-bit RISC with DSP support (Single cycle MAC, saturation) | Cortex-M3 with MPU | ARM926-EJ |
| Active Mode | 0.5 mW/MHz | < 1mW/MHz | 1 mW/MHz | 0.125mW/MHz |
| Wait Mode | 0.55µA | 70µA | 4.6µA | 8mA |
| RTC Mode | 0.55µA | 1.6µA | 1.6µA | 9µA |
| Power Down | < 100nA | 100nA | 100nA | |
| Field Instrument | Temperature, Low-end Pressure & Flow | Temperature, Pressure, Flow, Level, Analysis | Temperature, Pressure, Flow, Level, Analysis | Level, Flow, Liquid Analysis |
Learn more about the Atmel solution Application Notes, Devices, and Tools and Software
