ATSAM4LS2AA-AU - 48MHz Cortex-M4 128KB Flash MCU | Microchip
MPN: ATSAM4LS2AA-AU β Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $6.74 | $6.74 |
| 10 | $6.41 | $64.10 |
| 100 | $6.07 | $607.00 |
| 500 | $5.73 | $2,865.00 |
| 1,000 | $5.39 | $5,390.00 |
ATSAM4LS2AA-AU Overview
A microcontroller (MCU) is a single-chip computer that integrates a processor core, memory, and programmable peripherals into one integrated circuit, sitting at the device level of the embedded systems hierarchy (semiconductor -> integrated circuit -> microcontroller -> ARM-based flash MCU). The SAM4L series belongs to Microchip's (formerly Atmel's) ARM Cortex-M family, which uses the widely supported ARMv7E-M instruction set and toolchain ecosystem.
The defining strength of the ATSAM4LS2A is ultra-low power consumption: it achieves 90uA/MHz in active mode, 1.5uA in sleep mode, and the shortest wake-up time in a Cortex-M4 device at down to 1.5us, according to the Microchip product page. On-board features include a USB device controller, a peripheral event system that routes signals between peripherals without CPU intervention, and the SleepWalking capability that lets peripherals wake the CPU only when needed. Mouser lists the part as green, industrial temperature, with crypto support.
Architecturally, the Cortex-M4 core provides single-cycle multiply and hardware divide with deterministic interrupt handling, well suited to real-time battery-operated firmware. The 128KB Flash accommodates application code plus over-the-air update headroom, while 32KB SRAM supports buffers for communication stacks.
Typical applications include battery-powered sensor nodes, portable medical monitoring devices, utility metering, and low-power industrial end points where wake-up latency and sleep current dominate battery life calculations.
Design consideration: minimize active duty cycle by exploiting SleepWalking so peripherals service events autonomously; every 1MHz of avoided active time saves roughly 90uA.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in alternatives, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for ATSAM4LS2AA-AU β 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 ATSAM4LS2AA-AU (same form factor and footprint) β differing in Package, Operating Temperature, Wake-up Time, Core Processor, Core Size.
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
No drop-in alternatives available for this product.
Request AlternativesATSAM4LS2AA-AU Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Core Processor | ARM Cortex-M4 (32-bit) |
| Core Size | 32-bit |
| Max Clock Frequency | 48 MHz |
| Flash Memory | 128 KB |
| SRAM | 32 KB |
| Supply Voltage | 3.3 V |
| Active Mode Current | 90 uA/MHz |
| Sleep Mode Current | 1.5 uA |
| Wake-up Time | 1.5 us (min) |
| Number of Pins | 48 |
| Package | 48-TQFP |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Technology | CMOS |
| USB | USB device |
| Peripheral Event System | Yes |
| SleepWalking | Yes |
| Cryptography Support | Yes (per distributor listing) |
ATSAM4LS2AA-AU 48-tqfp Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for ATSAM4LS2AA-AU (48-tqfp 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 ATSAM4LS2AA-AU.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
ATSAM4LS2AA-AU is suitable for 6 applications: Battery-Powered IoT Sensor Nodes, Portable Medical Monitoring Devices, Utility Metering (Energy/Water/Gas), Wearable Electronics, Industrial Low-Power End Points, Consumer Electronics and Handheld Instruments.
Battery-Powered IoT Sensor Nodes
The ATSAM4LS2AA-AU is an excellent fit for battery-powered IoT sensor nodes where average current dictates battery replacement intervals. Its 90uA/MHz active current and 1.5uA sleep current allow the node to wake from the 1.5us wake-up state, read a sensor via the peripheral event system, and return to sleep within microseconds, keeping the duty-cycle average in the low microamp range. SleepWalking lets serial peripherals or the ADC service scheduled events without CPU involvement, so the Cortex-M4 core only executes for data processing and radio hand-off. Combined with a 3.3V coin cell or primary lithium cell, multi-year operation is achievable; the USB device interface also simplifies factory programming and field data retrieval.
Recommended
Portable Medical Monitoring Devices
Portable medical monitors such as pulse oximeters, glucose loggers, and wearable vitals recorders benefit directly from the ATSAM4LS2AA-AU parameter set. The Cortex-M4 core provides single-cycle multiply and hardware divide needed for digital filtering of physiological signals, while 128KB Flash holds signal-processing firmware plus logging routines and 32KB SRAM buffers sample streams. The 1.5us wake-up means the MCU can respond instantly to patient-event interrupts without keeping the core active, and 90uA/MHz active current preserves battery life between charging cycles. The USB device controller supports clinic-side data offload without additional interface ICs, and the crypto features aid basic data protection in health-data contexts.
Recommended
Utility Metering (Energy/Water/Gas)
Metering end points run for a decade or more on primary batteries, making the ATSAM4LS2AA-AU's 1.5uA sleep current and 90uA/MHz active power decisive selection criteria. The device can sleep between measurement intervals, wake via the peripheral event system on a periodic timer or tamper detect, integrate sensor readings with M4 arithmetic, and return to sleep - all with minimal energy per cycle. SleepWalking permits the RTC and serial peripherals to buffer metering data autonomously. The 48-TQFP package offers enough GPIO for optical, pulse, and communication interfaces (M-Bus, RS-485 via external transceivers), while industrial temperature rating accommodates outdoor meter enclosures across climates.
Recommended
Wearable Electronics
Wearables demand the shortest possible active windows because every microsecond of CPU time costs battery capacity. The ATSAM4LS2AA-AU's 1.5us wake-up is among the fastest for Cortex-M4 devices, letting the MCU service accelerometer taps, button presses, or BLE-module interrupts immediately and then drop back to 1.5uA sleep. The 48MHz M4 core handles sensor-fusion arithmetic, while 32KB SRAM accommodates small motion buffers. The peripheral event system routes timer, ADC, and serial triggers in hardware, and the USB device port provides convenient charging-adjacent data synchronization when docked. The compact 48-TQFP footprint fits small wearable PCBs while remaining hand-assemblable for prototypes.
Recommended
Industrial Low-Power End Points
Industrial end points such as condition-monitoring probes, valve-position transmitters, and environmental loggers must survive harsh temperature and power constraints. The ATSAM4LS2AA-AU is offered in industrial temperature grade with green packaging per Mouser's listing, and its CMOS low-power design keeps standby draw at 1.5uA - critical for loop-powered or battery-backed installations. The M4 core performs FFT-based vibration analysis locally, sending only conclusions over the network, and 128KB Flash retains firmware plus calibration tables through power loss. The USB device interface eases in-situ configuration, and the peripheral event system enables autonomous threshold detection that wakes the CPU only when a fault condition arises.
Recommended
Consumer Electronics and Handheld Instruments
Handheld instruments - diagnostic tools, remote controls with displays, educational devices - use the ATSAM4LS2AA-AU where responsiveness matters but the bill of materials must stay lean. The single-chip integration of Cortex-M4, 128KB Flash, 32KB SRAM, and USB device eliminates the need for separate interface or storage ICs in many designs. Instant wake-up from sleep makes button presses feel immediate, while 90uA/MHz keeps an alkaline-cell budget realistic. The peripheral event system offloads display refresh timing and key-scanning from the CPU, and hardware crypto support listed by distributors assists in basic anti-cloning schemes for consumer products. The 48-TQFP package suits cost-effective two-layer and four-layer consumer PCBs.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for ATSAM4LS2AA-AU β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | ATSAM4LC2AA-AU | ATSAM4LS2BA-AU | ATSAM4LS2CA-AU | ATSAMD21G18A-AUT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 48-TQFP | 48-TQFP - same | 48-TQFP - same | 48-TQFP - same | 48-TQFP - same |
| Brand | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology |
| Core | ARM Cortex-M4 | ARM Cortex-M4 | ARM Cortex-M4 | ARM Cortex-M4 | ARM Cortex-M0+ |
| Max Clock Frequency | 48 MHz | 48 MHz | 48 MHz | 48 MHz | 48 MHz |
| Flash Memory | 128 KB | 128 KB | 256 KB | 512 KB | 256 KB |
| SRAM | 32 KB | 32 KB | 32 KB | 64 KB | 32 KB |
| USB | USB device | USB device | USB device | USB device | USB device/host |
Key Differentiators
- Fastest wake-up in its Cortex-M4 class (vs ATSAMD21G18A-AUT)
- Full Cortex-M4 DSP capability at ultra-low power (vs ATSAMD21G18A-AUT)
- Seamless memory upgrade path on the same footprint (vs ATSAM4LS2BA-AU)
Design Notes
Exploit the SAM4L power architecture: the headline 90uA/MHz active and 1.5uA sleep figures only materialize if unused peripheral clocks are gated and the core spends most time in the deepest sleep states. Use the SleepWalking feature so the RTC, ADC, or serial peripherals can service events without waking the Cortex-M4 core, and schedule radio transmissions in bursts. Estimated: a node waking for 2ms every 10s at 48MHz averages roughly (2ms/10s)*90uA/MHz*48 + duty-cycle-scaled sleep current, i.e. under 10uA average before radio load - verify with your actual duty cycle and the datasheet current tables.
Decouple all VDD/VDDIO pins with 100nF ceramic capacitors placed within 2mm of each pin pair, plus one bulk 4.7uF-10uF capacitor near the supply entry. Keep the USB D+/D- traces as a 90-ohm differential pair with length matching if the device interface is used. Provide ground vias close to each decoupling capacitor and use a solid ground plane. Follow the layout guidance in the SAM4L datasheet and the Microchip SAM4L Xplained Pro reference design, which demonstrates proven placement for the 48-pin TQFP footprint.
Do not confuse the SAM4L (Cortex-M4) with the older SAM3/ATSAMD families when swapping footprints: while the 48-TQFP land pattern may be shared within the family, peripheral mappings and register maps differ, and the ATSAMD21G18A uses a Cortex-M0+ with different pin multiplexing - verify the datasheet pinout table before any second-source layout. Also confirm the exact memory configuration at order time: the LS2A (128KB), LS2B (256KB), and LS2C (512KB) share a pinout but differ in Flash/SRAM, and firmware exceeding 128KB will not fit on the AA density variant.
Compliance Information
Mouser lists the part as 'TQFP, Green, IND TEMP, CRYPTO' indicating green (lead-free/halogen-restricted) packaging; formal REACH and conflict-minerals declarations should be obtained from Microchip.
