ATSAM4LS4AA-MUR - Cortex-M4 48MHz 256KB Flash MCU | Microchip
MPN: ATSAM4LS4AA-MUR ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5.42 | $5.42 |
| 10 | $4.88 | $48.80 |
| 100 | $4.35 | $435.00 |
| 500 | $3.92 | $1,960.00 |
| 1,000 | $3.55 | $3,550.00 |
ATSAM4LS4AA-MUR Overview
A microcontroller (MCU) is a single integrated circuit that combines a processor core, memory, and programmable peripherals into one chip, forming the lowest layer of the embedded systems hierarchy: MCU -> embedded processor -> SoC -> computing system. The SAM4L series belongs to Microchip's (formerly Atmel's) ARM-based Flash MCU portfolio, placing a Cortex-M4 core with DSP instructions inside a low-power peripheral set.
Key features include the lowest active-mode power in its class at 90 uA/MHz, sleep mode current down to 1.5 uA, and a wake-up time as short as 1.5 us, the fastest in any Cortex-M4 device according to Microchip. The integrated USB device controller, peripheral event system, and SleepWalking technology allow peripherals to operate and wake the core autonomously, minimizing CPU active time in battery-powered designs.
Architecturally, the SAM4L combines the 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 RISC processor with a multi-layer bus matrix, flexible event-driven peripherals, and 3.3V operation. The peripheral event system routes signals between peripherals without core intervention, while SleepWalking lets peripherals pre-process data in low-power sleep states, dramatically reducing average system power in duty-cycled applications.
Typical applications include battery-powered sensor nodes, portable medical devices, industrial data loggers, and USB-connected human interface devices, where the combination of 256 KB Flash, USB, and microamp sleep currents fits both connectivity and energy budgets.
Design consideration: budget the Flash wait-state configuration carefully at 48 MHz and use the SleepWalking event system to keep the Cortex-M4 core parked whenever possible.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in alternatives, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for ATSAM4LS4AA-MUR — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
ATSAM4LS8AA-MUR
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
ATSAM4LS2AA-MUR
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$2.98 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATSAM4LS4AA-MU
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$3.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATSAM4LS4AA-AUR
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$3.98 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATSAM4LC4AA-MUR
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$3.49 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATSAM4LS4AA-MUR Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Core Processor | ARM Cortex-M4 |
| Core Size | 32-Bit |
| Maximum Clock Frequency | 48 MHz |
| Flash Memory | 256 KB (256K x 8) |
| Supply Voltage | 3.3 V |
| Active Mode Current | 90 uA/MHz |
| Sleep Mode Current | 1.5 uA |
| Wake-up Time | 1.5 us (minimum) |
| Connectivity | USB Device |
| Special Features | Peripheral Event System, SleepWalking |
| Package | 48-QFN (7x7 mm) with Exposed Pad |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Operating Temperature | -40C to +85C (Industrial) |
| Packaging | Tape & Reel (MRL A) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant (Green package) |
ATSAM4LS4AA-MUR 48-qfn (7x7 mm) with exposed pad Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for ATSAM4LS4AA-MUR (48-qfn (7x7 mm) with exposed pad 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 ATSAM4LS4AA-MUR.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
ATSAM4LS4AA-MUR is suitable for 6 applications: Battery-Powered Sensor Nodes, USB Human Interface Devices, Portable Medical Monitoring, Industrial Data Loggers, Smart Meters and Building Automation, RF-Connected Remote Controls and Beacons.
Battery-Powered Sensor Nodes
The ATSAM4LS4AA-MUR's 90 uA/MHz active current, 1.5 uA sleep current, and 1.5 us wake-up time make it a leading choice for battery-powered IoT sensor nodes that must run for years on a coin cell or small lithium battery. In a typical wireless sensor node, the Cortex-M4 core wakes, reads an I2C or ADC sensor via the peripheral event system, formats data, and hands it to a radio, spending under a millisecond awake per sample. SleepWalking lets the RTC and peripherals operate while the core stays parked, so average system current can fall to single-digit microamps. The 256 KB Flash accommodates full protocol stacks plus OTA bootloader headroom.
Recommended
USB Human Interface Devices
The integrated USB device controller of the ATSAM4LS4AA-MUR supports HID class implementations for keyboards, mice, game controllers, and industrial control panels without an external USB interface chip. Running at 48 MHz, the Cortex-M4 core has ample headroom for USB interrupt handling plus HID report processing and even consumer-grade encryption for secure HID tokens. The 1.5 us wake-up time lets the MCU return to deep sleep between USB traffic bursts, meeting aggressive standby power targets in wireless dongles and battery peripherals. The 48-QFN 7x7 mm package fits compact dongle and peripheral PCBs, and Microchip's ASF software framework provides ready-made USB device class drivers to shorten development cycles.
Recommended
Portable Medical Monitoring
Portable medical devices such as glucose meters, pulse oximeters, and wearable vital-sign monitors benefit directly from the ATSAM4LS4AA-MUR low-power profile. The Cortex-M4 core with DSP instructions accelerates digital filtering of biosignals, while the 256 KB Flash holds signal-processing code, calibration tables, and logging buffers. In a typical wearable monitor, the ADC samples the biosignal front end during short duty-cycled bursts scheduled by the event system, then the MCU computes and displays results, sleeping at 1.5 uA between measurements. The industrial temperature rating of -40C to +85C covers sterilization-adjacent and transport environments, and Microchip's long-lifecycle policy supports medical product roadmaps requiring multi-year sourcing stability.
Recommended
Industrial Data Loggers
Industrial data loggers recording temperature, pressure, or energy measurements over months on battery or energy harvesting benefit from the ATSAM4LS4AA-MUR architecture. The 256 KB Flash can buffer substantial logging data or host a local file system, while SleepWalking enables the RTC and ADC to trigger measurement cycles without core involvement. The event system routes comparator or sensor threshold events directly to wake the CPU only on anomalies, extending battery life in hard-to-access installations such as pipeline monitors and cold-chain trackers. The industrial -40C to +85C temperature range and QFN exposed-pad thermal design ensure reliable operation inside sealed enclosures where passive heat dissipation is limited.
Recommended
Smart Meters and Building Automation
Smart metering and building automation nodes combine periodic measurement, secure communication, and years-long battery or harvested-energy budgets, matching the ATSAM4LS4AA-MUR strengths. The Cortex-M4 core handles metering algorithms and AES-based security at 48 MHz with DSP acceleration, while the 1.5 uA sleep current keeps average draw within energy-harvesting budgets. The peripheral event system timestamps pulses from energy meters without waking the core, and 256 KB Flash retains firmware with dual-image OTA capability for field updates. The exposed-pad QFN provides solid thermal and ground performance for meter PCBs, and the industrial temperature grade supports outdoor cabinet installations across extreme climates.
Recommended
RF-Connected Remote Controls and Beacons
Remote controls, key fobs, and Bluetooth beacon tags pair a low-power MCU with an RF transceiver, and the ATSAM4LS4AA-MUR's fast wake-up is decisive here: at 1.5 us, the MCU can wake, configure the radio, and transmit within a millisecond, minimizing airtime and energy per event. The 48 MHz Cortex-M4 processes beacon formatting, encryption, and sensor fusion for smart remotes, while the event system supports capacitive-touch or button wake sources with near-zero latency. With 256 KB Flash, designers can integrate BLE stack variants plus firmware-update capability on the same chip, and the compact 48-QFN 7x7 mm package leaves board area for the antenna and coin cell in slim remote form factors.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for ATSAM4LS4AA-MUR — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | ATSAM4LS8AA-MUR | ATSAM4LS2AA-MUR | ATSAM4LS4AA-MU | ATSAM4LC4AA-MUR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 48-QFN (7x7 mm) EP | 48-QFN (7x7 mm) EP - same | 48-QFN (7x7 mm) EP - same | 48-QFN (7x7 mm) EP - same | 48-QFN (7x7 mm) EP - same |
| Brand | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology |
| Flash Memory | 256 KB | 512 KB | 128 KB | 256 KB | 256 KB |
| Core / Clock | ARM Cortex-M4, 48 MHz | ARM Cortex-M4, 48 MHz | ARM Cortex-M4, 48 MHz | ARM Cortex-M4, 48 MHz | ARM Cortex-M4, 48 MHz |
| Active Mode Current | 90 uA/MHz | 90 uA/MHz | 90 uA/MHz | 90 uA/MHz | 90 uA/MHz |
| Sleep Current / Wake-up | 1.5 uA / 1.5 us | 1.5 uA / 1.5 us | 1.5 uA / 1.5 us | 1.5 uA / 1.5 us | 1.5 uA / 1.5 us |
| USB Device | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Key Differentiators
- Fastest wake-up in any Cortex-M4 MCU (vs ATSAM4LS8AA-MUR)
- Balanced 256 KB Flash for OTA-capable designs (vs ATSAM4LS2AA-MUR)
- Class-leading low power per MHz (vs ATSAM4LC4AA-MUR)
Design Notes
Exploit SleepWalking and the peripheral event system to minimize core active time. Schedule ADC sampling and communication DMA transfers from the RTC or peripherals so the Cortex-M4 core wakes only to process results; with 90 uA/MHz active current versus 1.5 uA sleep, every millisecond shaved off duty-cycled wake periods directly extends battery life. Estimated: at 10 wake-ups/second of 1 ms each at 48 MHz, average current is roughly 90 uA x duty cycle (1%) plus 1.5 uA sleep, about 2.4 uA plus overhead, enabling multi-year coin-cell operation.
The 48-QFN (7x7 mm) exposed pad serves as the primary ground and thermal path. Connect the exposed pad to a solid ground plane with an array of at least 4x4 vias under the pad; this reduces ground bounce for the 48 MHz core and improves thermal relief. Place 100 nF decoupling capacitors within 2 mm of each VDDIO/VDDCORE pin pair, plus a bulk 4.7-10 uF capacitor near the supply entry. Follow Microchip's SAM4L evaluation-kit layout as a reference for crystal and USB routing.
Confirm Flash density and ordering-code fit before substituting within the SAM4L family: ATSAM4LS2AA (128 KB) will not hold 256 KB firmware, and LC-series variants differ in peripheral multiplexing despite sharing the package. Also verify the Flash wait-state configuration after any clock change to 48 MHz, and re-check the exact moisture sensitivity level (MRL A per Mouser) and reel quantity when planning reflow schedules. Industrial temperature is -40C to +85C; do not use this industrial-grade part in automotive-underhood applications without additional qualification.
Compliance Information
Mouser lists the part as GREEN with industrial temperature and MRL A moisture sensitivity level. RoHS and green (halogen-free) status per Microchip/Mouser listings; REACH and conflict-minerals declarations not stated in provided data.
