ATSAM4C32CA-AUR - Dual Cortex-M4 120MHz 2MB Flash MCU | Microchip
MPN: ATSAM4C32CA-AUR ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4.51 | $4.51 |
| 10 | $4.29 | $42.90 |
| 100 | $4.06 | $406.00 |
| 500 | $3.83 | $1,915.00 |
| 1,000 | $3.6 | $3,600.00 |
ATSAM4C32CA-AUR Overview
A microcontroller (MCU) is a system-on-chip that integrates a processor core, memory, and peripherals on a single die, sitting at the lowest level of the embedded-computing hierarchy above discrete logic and below application processors. The SAM4C family targets metering and smart-energy systems-on-chip, where two cores allow one processor to run the metrology/security stack while the other handles communications and UI.
Key features include dual 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 RISC cores with a maximum clock speed of 120 MHz, 2048 KB (2 MB) of embedded Flash, an integrated hardware crypto engine, and industrial temperature operation. The CA suffix denotes the variant with the second Cortex-M4 core plus cryptographic acceleration; the ATSAM4C32 family pairs this with rich analog and connectivity peripherals typical of the Atmel/Microchip SAM4C platform.
Technically, the device belongs to the SAM4C series described by Microchip as a complete system-on-chip solution for smart-energy applications built around two high-performance 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 processors. The 1.2 V core supply with 3.3 V I/O rails reflects a modern low-power process, while the 100-pin LQFP surface-mount package offers a 0.5 mm lead pitch suitable for automated assembly.
Typical applications include electricity meters, smart grid nodes, data concentrators, and industrial monitoring endpoints where on-chip cryptography protects billing and firmware integrity.
Design consideration: budget dual-core debug capacity and plan Flash partitioning between the two cores early, since the security/communication workload split strongly influences board-level power and EMC behavior.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in same-family alternatives, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet alone.
Drop-in alternatives for ATSAM4C32CA-AUR — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Variants in this series
Same-series models that are drop-in compatible with ATSAM4C32CA-AUR (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Core Processor, Packaging, RoHS Status, Package, Flash Memory.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
ATSAM4C16CA-AUR
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$5.74 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATSAM4C8CA-AUR
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$4.85 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATSAM4C4CA-AUR
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
ATSAM4C32CA-AU
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$9.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATSAM4C32CA-AUR Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Core Processor | ARM Cortex-M4 (dual core) |
| Core Architecture | 32-bit RISC |
| Maximum Clock Speed | 120 MHz |
| Flash Memory | 2 MB (2048 KB) |
| Supply Voltage (Core) | 1.2 V |
| Supply Voltage (I/O) | 3.3 V |
| Package | 100-LQFP |
| Pin Count | 100 |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Temperature Grade | Industrial (IND TEMP) |
| Security Features | Hardware cryptography (CRYPTO) |
| Target Application | Smart energy / metering SoC |
| Packaging | Tape & Reel (T&R), MRLA |
| RoHS Status | Green (RoHS compliant per Mouser listing) |
| Series | SAM4C |
ATSAM4C32CA-AUR 100-lqfp Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for ATSAM4C32CA-AUR (100-lqfp package). This digital IC includes GPIO, communication interfaces (UART, SPI, I2C), and power pins. Refer to the manufacturer datasheet for alternate pin functions and configuration options. Essential for embedded system design and PCB layout.
No detailed pinout data available for ATSAM4C32CA-AUR.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
ATSAM4C32CA-AUR is suitable for 6 applications: Smart Electricity Meters, Data Concentrators and Smart Grid Nodes, Gas and Water Metering, Industrial Monitoring and Control Nodes, Secure Payment and Prepaid Metering Terminals, Home Energy Management and IoT Gateways.
Smart Electricity Meters
The ATSAM4C32CA-AUR fits three-phase and single-phase smart meters because its dual 120 MHz Cortex-M4 cores allow the metrology engine and the security/billing firmware to run on separate processors with hardware-isolated workloads. The 2 MB Flash stores multiple firmware images, supporting field firmware updates with a rollback copy - a critical availability requirement when a meter is mounted on a pole for 15 years. The integrated cryptographic accelerator protects DLMS/COSEM communications and secures billing data at rest. Running one core at reduced frequency while the other handles peak metrology computation lowers average power, extending the life of the backup battery that maintains the real-time clock during power outages.
Recommended
Data Concentrators and Smart Grid Nodes
In smart-grid data concentrators that aggregate readings from hundreds of downstream meters, the ATSAM4C32CA-AUR dedicates one Cortex-M4 core to the upstream backhaul protocol (PLC, RF, or cellular modem management) while the second core services the downstream metering bus. The 120 MHz maximum clock provides the throughput to run protocol stacks, TLS sessions via the hardware crypto engine, and local buffering in the 2 MB Flash. The 100-pin LQFP supplies enough GPIO and serial peripherals (UART, SPI, I2C) to interface a modem, a real-time clock, and multiple communication PHYs simultaneously without external glue logic. Industrial temperature grade suits street-mounted and substation enclosures.
Recommended
Gas and Water Metering
Battery-powered gas and water meters demand ultra-low standby current and long service life. The ATSAM4C32CA-AUR addresses this with its 1.2 V core supply domain and Cortex-M4 low-power modes, letting one core sleep for years while the other wakes periodically to sample the flow sensor and update the register. The 2 MB Flash accommodates sophisticated tamper-detection and logging firmware, and the hardware crypto engine authenticates maintenance access and remote reading sessions required by utility security specifications. The LQFP-100's 0.5 mm pitch supports compact, conformally coated PCBs that fit within the meter's IP68 enclosure and survive condensing, corrosive environments for decades.
Recommended
Industrial Monitoring and Control Nodes
Factory sensing nodes, motor-monitoring endpoints, and process-control slaves benefit from the ATSAM4C32CA-AUR's combination of 120 MHz dual-core DSP-capable Cortex-M4 computation and rich on-chip peripherals. One core executes control loops with single-cycle MAC DSP instructions while the other manages Modbus, CAN, or Ethernet-adjacent communication and logging into the 2 MB Flash ring buffer. The industrial temperature rating matches panel and machinery environments, and the crypto engine enables secure firmware updates across a plant network - increasingly mandated against tampering and reverse engineering. The 100-pin LQFP offers enough I/O for analog front ends, encoder inputs, and multiple fieldbus transceivers on a single controller.
Recommended
Secure Payment and Prepaid Metering Terminals
Prepayment energy terminals and vending terminals require billing-grade security, which the ATSAM4C32CA-AUR provides through its integrated cryptographic accelerator protecting key storage, session authentication, and encrypted value-transfer records. The dual-core architecture enables a security-monitor core that can verify the application core's behavior, a common pattern in payment-rated designs. With 2 MB Flash, the terminal can host a GUI stack, a receipt printer driver, and a full secure protocol suite concurrently, both cores running at 120 MHz. The LQFP-100 package is readily available in industrial quantity from multiple distributors, supporting the multi-year production lifecycles typical of utility payment infrastructure projects.
Recommended
Home Energy Management and IoT Gateways
Residential energy-management gateways bridging smart meters, solar inverters, and cloud services use the ATSAM4C32CA-AUR's two 120 MHz Cortex-M4 cores to split local control logic from network protocol processing. The hardware crypto engine accelerates TLS handshakes for cloud telemetry and MQTT sessions, while the 2 MB Flash holds the communication stack, local scheduling engine, and an over-the-air update image. Its industrial temperature tolerance and LQFP-100 footprint keep the bill of materials compact and cost-effective for consumer-adjacent grid-edge hardware. The 3.3 V I/O rail connects directly to common RF module and Ethernet MAC PHY interfaces without level shifting.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for ATSAM4C32CA-AUR — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | ATSAM4C32CA-AU | ATSAM4C16CA-AUR | ATSAM4C8CA-AUR | ATSAM4C4CA-AUR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 100-LQFP | 100-LQFP - same | 100-LQFP - same | 100-LQFP - same | 100-LQFP - same |
| Brand | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology |
| Core | Dual ARM Cortex-M4 | Dual ARM Cortex-M4 | Dual ARM Cortex-M4 | Dual ARM Cortex-M4 | Dual ARM Cortex-M4 |
| Maximum Clock Speed | 120 MHz | 120 MHz | 120 MHz | 120 MHz | 120 MHz |
| Flash Memory | 2 MB | 2 MB | 1 MB | 512 KB | 256 KB |
| Supply Voltage | 1.2 V core / 3.3 V I/O | 1.2 V core / 3.3 V I/O | 1.2 V core / 3.3 V I/O | 1.2 V core / 3.3 V I/O | 1.2 V core / 3.3 V I/O |
| Hardware Crypto | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Packaging Format | Tape & Reel (T&R) | Tray | Tape & Reel | Tape & Reel | Tape & Reel |
Key Differentiators
- Largest Flash in the SAM4C CA family (vs ATSAM4C16CA-AUR)
- Identical silicon availability in tray format (vs ATSAM4C32CA-AU)
- Dual 120 MHz Cortex-M4 cores with hardware crypto (vs ATSAM4C4CA-AUR)
- Trade-off: higher unit price than smaller-Flash siblings (vs ATSAM4C8CA-AUR)
Design Notes
The SAM4C32 uses a 1.2 V core domain derived from the 3.3 V I/O rail via an on-chip regulator, so provide a clean 3.3 V main supply with local 100 nF decoupling on each VDD pin pair plus bulk capacitance near the device. When substituting a smaller-Flash SAM4C CA variant during a shortage, verify the current-consumption tables in each variant's datasheet, since Flash size affects active and programming currents. Estimated: a dual-core 120 MHz metering workload typically draws tens of milliamps; size the meter backup battery using measured current profiles, not datasheet typical values alone.
For the 100-pin LQFP (0.5 mm pitch), use standard non-solder-mask-defined footprints per IPC-7351-family practice and route the crystal traces short and shielded with a ground guard ring. The LQFP leads are fine-pitch enough that solder bridging is a real risk - specify a stencil with 0.1 mm trapezoid apertures or home-plate shaped pads per common 0.5 mm LQFP assembly guidelines. Provide at least one testpoint per JTAG/SWD signal of both cores; dual-core debugging needs simultaneous access, and probing after assembly is nearly impossible on LQFP.
Do not assume Flash-size variants are software-identical: the ATSAM4C16CA/8CA/4CA differ in Flash size and associated lock-region map, so a bootloader sized against the 2 MB ATSAM4C32CA-AUR may fail on smaller variants. Confirm the exact ordering-code suffix (AUR = Tape & Reel, AU = tray) against your assembly process, since reel vs tray changes feeder setup. Finally, the security/crypto features make this part export-controlled in some regions - verify trade-compliance classification before global distribution of your finished meter.
Compliance Information
Mouser lists the part as 'Green, IND TEMP, CRYPTO, MRLA, T&R', indicating Green/RoHS-consistent packaging. Detailed REACH, lead-free, halogen-free, AEC-Q100, and conflict-minerals declarations are not stated in the verified data.
