MAX32670 low-power Arm Cortex-M4 MCU for IoT

In many industrial and IoT applications, high energy particles and other environmental challenges present the danger of bombarding memory and creating bit flips during the normal course of operations – especially as process nodes drop to 40nm and lower. This can disrupt MCU operation and produce incorrect or even dangerous results. 

To prevent catastrophic ramifications like these, the MAX32670 protects its entire memory footprint (384kB flash and 128kB SRAM) with ECC to prevent bit flips and enhance reliability. With ECC, single-bit errors are detected and corrected by hardware, making it difficult for bit flip errors to have a negative impact on the application.

With just 40µW/MHz of active power consumption, the MAX32670 executes commands from flash at 40% lower power than the closest competitive industrial solution. It is the lowest power solution for battery-operated sensor applications. MAX32670 is also 50 percent smaller than the closest competitor, giving developers the opportunity to reduce solution size and material costs.

Key advantages

• High Reliability: ECC-protected flash and SRAM prevent bit flips for higher uptime; secure boot and crypto hardware enhance reliability.
• Low Power: 40µW/MHz of active power consumption – 40% lower than competition.
• Compact: comes in ultra-small 1.8x2.6mm WLP and 5x5mm TQFN.

“Bit flipping becomes a critical reliability concern as microcontrollers scale down to 40nm and below,” said Kris Ardis, Executive Director, Micros, Security and Software Business Unit at Maxim Integrated. “The MAX32670 is designed with a high degree of protection against these events so our customers have the reliability they can trust as they ready new systems in long lifetime and mission-critical applications.”

The MAX32670 is available at Maxim Integrated’s website for $1.44 (1000-up, FOB USA); also available from authorised distributors. The MAX32670EVKIT# evaluation kit is available for $25.