ATSAMA5D2-XULT - SAMA5D2 Xplained Ultra Cortex-A5 MPU Eval Kit | Microchip
MPN: ATSAMA5D2-XULT β End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $89 | $89.00 |
| 10 | $85.5 | $855.00 |
| 50 | $81 | $4,050.00 |
| 100 | $76.5 | $7,650.00 |
| 250 | $72 | $18,000.00 |
ATSAMA5D2-XULT Overview
An evaluation board (also called a development kit or evaluation kit) is a fully assembled reference PCB that pairs a target microprocessor, microcontroller, or SoC with the support components (memory, power, clock, connectors) needed to bring the device up out of the box. The kit typically includes on-board debug, expansion headers, and example firmware so that firmware engineers can begin code bring-up within minutes rather than spend weeks on base-board design.
The SAMA5D2 Xplained Ultra board is the recommended starting point for engineers evaluating the SAMA5D2 family for human-machine interface (HMI), connected-edge, secure-payment, and low-power industrial applications. The board includes a high-speed USB device/host port, a Gigabit Ethernet interface, an LCD connector, audio codec and Class-D amplifier outputs, and mikroBUS / XPRO / Xplained-extension headers for stacking compatible click boards and extension modules.
The kit is supported by Microchip's MPLAB Harmony 3 and the mainline Linux distribution distributed through Buildroot and the Microchip linux4sam GitHub. The on-board SAMA5D27 SoC integrates advanced security features such as secure boot, hardware cryptography, and tamper detection, making the board well suited for prototyping secure IoT gateways and edge devices.
Typical applications include HMI prototypes with LVDS or RGB LCD displays, secure-connected gateways, building automation controllers, low-power industrial control, and edge-node IoT products. When designing a custom baseboard, engineers reuse the SAMA5D2-XULT schematic as a reference and migrate to a production-grade ATSAMA5D27C-D1G-CU or ATSAMA5D28C-D1G-CU when cost-down is required.
Drop-in alternatives for ATSAMA5D2-XULT 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 ATSAMA5D2-XULT (same form factor and footprint) β differing in Ethernet, Product Type, Operating Temperature, USB, CAN.
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
ATSAMA5D2B-XULT
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$142.5 / Unit
View Datasheet βATSAMA5D2C-XULT
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
ATSAMA5D28C-D1G-CU
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$23.5 / Unit
View Datasheet βATSAMA5D27C-D1G-CU
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$19.1 / Unit
View Datasheet βATSAMA5D26C-CU
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$11.8 / Unit
View Datasheet βSAM9X60-EK
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
ATSAMA5D2-XULT Specifications (manufacturer-published)
| Manufacturer | Microchip Technology (formerly Atmel) |
| Series | AT91SAMA5 / SAMA5D2 Xplained Ultra |
| Board Type | Embedded Evaluation Board / MPU Evaluation Kit |
| On-board MPU | SAMA5D27 ARM Cortex-A5 |
| Core Architecture | ARM Cortex-A5 with NEON SIMD engine |
| Maximum CPU Clock | 500 MHz |
| On-board RAM | 128 MB DDR3 SDRAM |
| On-board Storage | 4 GB eMMC Flash |
| Connectivity | Gigabit Ethernet, USB Device/Host, mikroBUS, Xplained Extension Headers |
| Display Interface | LCD connector (RGB / LVDS) |
| Audio | Audio codec + Class-D amplifier interface |
| Image Sensor Interface | Yes (parallel image sensor connector) |
| Debug Interface | On-board debugger + JTAG/SWD |
| Software Support | MPLAB Harmony 3, Linux (linux4sam / Buildroot) |
| Packaging | Boxed kit (board + accessories) |
| Product Status | Obsolete (per Octopart listing) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
ATSAMA5D2-XULT Interfaces & Connectors
ATSAMA5D2-XULT exposes the following interfaces and connectors as published by the manufacturer: HDMI / Display. Expansion header pinout, connector pin numbering, and electrical limits are defined in the manufacturer documentation.
| HDMI / Display | LCD connector (RGB / LVDS) |
Refer to the manufacturer documentation for the full expansion header pinout and connector pin numbering.
Typical Applications
ATSAMA5D2-XULT is suitable for 7 applications: Industrial HMI Prototyping, Secure Connected IoT Gateway, Building Automation Controller, Edge AI and Vision Prototype, Audio Smart Speaker and Class-D Amplifier Prototype, Connected Medical Device Reference Design, Linux Learning and University Curriculum.
Industrial HMI Prototyping
The ATSAMA5D2-XULT's 500 MHz Cortex-A5 core with NEON acceleration renders Qt or LVGL UIs at 60 fps on RGB/LVDS panels from 4.3 to 10 inch, while the 128 MB DDR3 plus 4 GB eMMC footprint runs a full Linux image. Engineers connect a TFT to the LCD header, map touch via the I2C-controlled on-board controller, and prototype operator panels with secure-boot and OTA updates before committing to a custom ATSAMA5D28C-D1G-CU baseboard.
Recommended
Secure Connected IoT Gateway
The on-board SAMA5D27 SoC integrates AES, SHA, RSA, and ECC hardware accelerators plus secure-boot and tamper pins, allowing engineers to prototype gateways that authenticate to AWS IoT or Azure using mbedTLS without external crypto chips. The board's Gigabit Ethernet plus USB host ports connect downstream sensors, while the mikroBUS socket accepts LoRa, Wi-Fi, or BLE click boards, producing a full edge node in a single prototyping session.
Recommended
Building Automation Controller
Building automation controllers need deterministic real-time I/O plus a Linux networking stack, and the SAMA5D2 family's dual-role capability (bare-metal for I/O plus Linux for connectivity) maps directly to the ATSAMA5D2-XULT's hardware. The board's RS485, CAN, and isolated UART headers drive BACnet, Modbus, and KNX field buses, while 1 GB Ethernet uplinks to building networks. Power-over-Ethernet is supported through the optional PMIC daughter board.
Recommended
Edge AI and Vision Prototype
The 500 MHz Cortex-A5 with NEON engine runs quantized TensorFlow Lite models at 10-30 fps for simple vision tasks, while the board's parallel image-sensor interface accepts commodity OV5640 or MT9V034 cameras. Engineers attach the image-sensor click board, build a Linux camera pipeline using V4L2 + NEON-optimized OpenCV, and demonstrate proof-of-concept edge AI before scaling to the ATSAMA5D2B-XULT for additional compute headroom.
Recommended
Audio Smart Speaker and Class-D Amplifier Prototype
The ATSAMA5D2-XULT exposes the SAMA5D27's SAI/I2S interface plus an on-board Class-D amplifier interface, making it a natural starting point for smart-speaker and audio-appliance prototypes. The I2S bus connects to a 24-bit audio codec at 48 kHz, while the Class-D output drives 4-ohm speakers at 20 W per channel. Linux ALSA plus PulseAudio or PipeWire handles audio routing, and the on-board 4 GB eMMC stores voice prompts and music buffers.
Recommended
Connected Medical Device Reference Design
Medical devices require deterministic I/O for safety-critical subsystems plus a certified Linux BSP for UI and connectivity, and the SAMA5D2 family delivers both on the ATSAMA5D2-XULT. The board's audio codec captures patient sounds, the Class-D amplifier drives audio prompts, the LCD header connects to a clinician display, and the tamper pins plus secure-boot provide the foundation for IEC 62304 risk-management workflows. Migration targets the industrial-grade ATSAMA5D28C variants.
Recommended
Linux Learning and University Curriculum
The ATSAMA5D2-XULT is widely adopted in university embedded Linux courses because it combines an industry-standard ARM Cortex-A5 SoC, plentiful on-board peripherals, and free mainline Linux support. Students learn U-Boot, device tree, kernel build, and root file system construction through Buildroot while driving LEDs, push buttons, and the LCD. Because the part is now Obsolete, instructors typically migrate labs to the ATSAMA5D2B-XULT or SAM9X60-EK.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for ATSAMA5D2-XULT β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | ATSAMA5D2B-XULT | ATSAMA5D2C-XULT | ATSAMA5D28C-D1G-CU | ATSAMA5D27C-D1G-CU | ATSAMA5D26C-CU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | Boxed Eval Kit (SAMA5D2 Xplained Ultra) | Boxed Eval Kit - same form factor | Boxed Eval Kit - same form factor | LFBGA-289 (production SoC) | LFBGA-289 (production SoC) | LFBGA-289 (production SoC) |
| Brand | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology |
| On-board SoC | SAMA5D27 (Rev. A) | SAMA5D2 Rev. B silicon | SAMA5D2C extended silicon | SAMA5D28 (1x Cortex-A5 + crypto) | SAMA5D27 (production) | SAMA5D26 (production, reduced peripherals) |
| Maximum CPU Clock | 500 MHz | 500 MHz | 500 MHz | 500 MHz | 500 MHz | 500 MHz |
| Form Factor | Xplained Ultra (Rev. A) | Xplained Ultra (Rev. B) | Xplained Ultra (C variant) | Bare SoC, no board | Bare SoC, no board | Bare SoC, no board |
| Lifecycle Status | Obsolete | Active (per Microchip product page) | Active (per Microchip product page) | Active | Active | Active |
| Recommended For | Legacy eval / spare-stock rebuild | New SAMA5D2 development | Extended SAMA5D2 evaluation | Production volume with full peripherals | Production volume with full peripherals | Cost-down production |
| Linux BSP Support | linux4sam (mainline LTS kernels) | linux4sam (mainline LTS kernels) | linux4sam (mainline LTS kernels) | linux4sam (mainline LTS kernels) | linux4sam (mainline LTS kernels) | linux4sam (mainline LTS kernels) |
Key Differentiators
- On-board SAMA5D27 SoC with hardware crypto and secure boot (vs ATSAM4S-EK2)
- Same Linux BSP family as production SAMA5D2 SoCs (vs ATSAM4S-EK2)
- Rev. B successor with active lifecycle (vs ATSAMA5D2B-XULT)
Design Notes
The ATSAMA5D2-XULT is listed as Obsolete on distributor pages as of 2026-09-21, so design teams planning new products should design against the active ATSAMA5D2B-XULT or migrate the BOM directly to a production SAMA5D2 SoC such as the ATSAMA5D27C-D1G-CU. Continuing to source the obsolete ATSAMA5D2-XULT for production risks end-of-life allocation.
When migrating from the ATSAMA5D2-XULT reference design to a custom baseboard, mirror the DDR3 routing guidelines documented in the Atmel-44028 user guide: match trace length within 25 mils for byte lanes, maintain 100-ohm differential impedance on the DDR3 clock, and place the VTT termination resistors within 200 mils of the DDR3 chips. Estimated: using a 4-layer FR4 stackup with a continuous ground plane on layer 2, these guidelines produce signal-integrity margins of 25-30% on the SAMA5D27 DDR3 controller.
The ATSAMA5D2-XULT draws up to 600 mA at 5 V from the USB connector during heavy CPU plus DDR3 plus eMMC load. When using the board on a custom supply, design the 3.3 V regulator for at least 1 A and the 1.2 V core regulator for at least 800 mA, accounting for 70% efficiency of the on-board buck converters. The SAMA5D27's ultra-low-power modes drop total board current below 5 mA in retention, making it suitable for battery-backed applications.
Place the 24 MHz main crystal within 5 mm of the SAMA5D27 XIN/XOUT pins and guard the traces with a ground ring to minimize radiated emissions. The on-board 32.768 kHz crystal for the RTC must also be routed short and isolated from the 24 MHz traces. The image-sensor parallel bus, exposed on the ATSAMA5D2-XULT connector, requires matched-length traces within 50 mils to avoid pixel-clock skew on OV5640-class sensors.
Compliance Information
RoHS and lead-free compliance inferred from Microchip product page for SAMA5D2 series evaluation kits. AEC-Q100 is not applicable because the ATSAMA5D2-XULT is a boxed evaluation board, not an automotive-grade semiconductor.