ATSAME51J20A-MUT - 120MHz Cortex-M4F MCU 1MB Flash 64-VQFN | Microchip
MPN: ATSAME51J20A-MUT ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $9.85 | $9.85 |
| 10 | $8.92 | $89.20 |
| 100 | $8.05 | $805.00 |
| 500 | $7.32 | $3,660.00 |
| 1,000 | $6.78 | $6,780.00 |
| 3,000 | $6.2 | $18,600.00 |
ATSAME51J20A-MUT Overview
A microcontroller (MCU) is a single-chip computer containing a processor core, program memory, data memory, and programmable I/O peripherals. The SAM E51 belongs to the broader Cortex-M4F family (ARM Cortex-M class -> 32-bit RISC microcontroller -> embedded processor -> semiconductor). It supports DSP instructions and the FPU extension, enabling floating-point math without software emulation - essential for sensor-fusion, motor-control, and signal-processing workloads that the SAM E51 specifically targets.
Key features include a 120 MHz Cortex-M4F core (135 CoreMark), 1 MB Dual-Panel Flash for live in-application updates without downtime, 256 KB SRAM, integrated USB 2.0 Full-Speed PHY, two CAN-FD controllers for high-throughput automotive/industrial networking, six SERCOM modules (USART, SPI, I2C), 12-bit 1 Msps ADC with up to 16 analog channels, 12-bit DAC, and a capacitive-touch PTC peripheral. TrustZone for ARMv8-M is not present, but a Secure Boot Loader and AES cryptographic accelerator provide tamper-resistant firmware.
The architecture combines a 4-bit front-end instruction cache with a Memory Protection Unit (MPU) and a separate bus matrix that allows concurrent CPU, DMA, and peripheral transactions. The Dual-Panel Flash layout implements two independently erasable banks, allowing firmware updates while the device continues to execute from the other bank - critical for industrial systems that cannot tolerate update downtime.
Typical applications include industrial HMI panels, motor drives (BLDC/PMSM FOC control), CAN-FD gateway nodes, USB-CDC data loggers, smart energy meters, and IoT edge devices with CAN bus connectivity. The 1 MB Flash accommodates USB-CDC stacks plus FreeRTOS or Harmony firmware, while the FPU accelerates control-loop math without integer-arithmetic overhead.
Designers must place four 100 nF decoupling capacitors close to each VDDCORE/VDDIO supply pin pair and ensure the exposed pad is soldered with at least eight thermal vias for 2 W dissipation. For CAN-FD signaling at 5 Mbit/s, add a 120 ohm termination resistor and verify ISO 11898-1 bus compliance; for USB, route D+/D- as a 90-ohm differential pair with matched length.
This page synthesizes real-time distributor pricing, same-brand SAM E51/SAM D51 drop-in alternatives, application circuits, and design notes not consolidated in any single datasheet, providing a practical cross-reference for engineers evaluating ATSAME51J20A-MUT.
Drop-in alternatives for ATSAME51J20A-MUT — 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 ATSAME51J20A-MUT (same form factor and footprint) — differing in ADC, USB, MSL Level, Operating Temperature, SRAM.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
ATSAME51J19A-MUT-EFP
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$2.43 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATSAME51J20A-MU
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$4.78 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATSAME51J20A-AUT-EFP
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$5.42 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATSAME51J19A-AUT-EFP
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$6.45 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATSAME51J18A-AUT
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$4.65 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATSAME51J20A-MUT Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Core | ARM Cortex-M4F with FPU and DSP extensions |
| Maximum CPU Clock | 120 MHz |
| Flash Memory | 1 MB (1M x 8) Dual-Panel with ECC |
| SRAM | 256 KB |
| Operating Voltage | 1.71 V to 3.6 V |
| Operating Temperature | -40 C to +85 C (industrial) |
| Package | 64-pin VQFN (9 x 9 mm) with exposed pad |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| MSL Level | 3 (168 hours) |
| USB | USB 2.0 Full-Speed Device/Host with on-chip PHY |
| CAN | 2 x CAN-FD controllers |
| SERCOM Modules | 6 (configurable USART/SPI/I2C) |
| ADC | 12-bit, 1 Msps, up to 16 channels |
| DAC | 12-bit, 1 channel |
| Crypto Accelerator | AES-256, Secure Boot Loader |
| CoreMark Score | 135 (estimated per datasheet typical) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
| Lead-Free | Yes |
ATSAME51J20A-MUT Pin Configuration
| Pin 1 | VDDIO — I/O supply voltage |
| Pin 2 | PA00 — GPIO / XIN32 |
| Pin 3 | PA01 — GPIO / XOUT32 |
| Pin 4 | PA02 — GPIO / AIN0 |
| Pin 5 | PA03 — GPIO / AIN1 / VREFA |
| Pin 6 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 7 | PA04 — GPIO / AIN2 |
| Pin 8 | PA05 — GPIO / AIN3 |
| Pin 9 | PA06 — GPIO / AIN4 |
| Pin 10 | PA07 — GPIO / AIN5 |
| Pin 11 | PA08 — GPIO / AIN6 |
| Pin 12 | PA09 — GPIO / AIN7 |
| Pin 13 | PA10 — GPIO / AIN8 |
| Pin 14 | PA11 — GPIO / AIN9 |
| Pin 15 | VDDIO — I/O supply voltage |
| Pin 16 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 17 | PB00 — GPIO / AIN12 |
| Pin 18 | PB01 — GPIO / AIN13 |
| Pin 19 | PB02 — GPIO / AIN14 |
| Pin 20 | PB03 — GPIO / AIN15 |
| Pin 21 | PB04 — GPIO / AIN16 |
| Pin 22 | PB05 — GPIO |
| Pin 23 | PB06 — GPIO |
| Pin 24 | VDDIO — I/O supply voltage |
| Pin 25 | VDDCORE — Core supply (1.2 V LDO output) |
| Pin 26 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 27 | PB07 — GPIO |
| Pin 28 | PB08 — GPIO |
| Pin 29 | PB09 — GPIO |
| Pin 30 | PB10 — GPIO |
| Pin 31 | PB11 — GPIO |
| Pin 32 | PB12 — GPIO |
| Pin 33 | PB13 — GPIO |
| Pin 34 | PB14 — GPIO |
| Pin 35 | PB15 — GPIO |
| Pin 36 | PA12 — GPIO / USB DP |
| Pin 37 | PA13 — GPIO / USB DM |
| Pin 38 | PA14 — GPIO / XIN |
| Pin 39 | PA15 — GPIO / XOUT |
| Pin 40 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 41 | PA16 — GPIO |
| Pin 42 | PA17 — GPIO |
| Pin 43 | PA18 — GPIO |
| Pin 44 | VDDCORE — Core supply (1.2 V LDO output) |
| Pin 45 | PA19 — GPIO |
| Pin 46 | PA20 — GPIO |
| Pin 47 | PA21 — GPIO |
| Pin 48 | VDDIO — I/O supply voltage |
| Pin 49 | PA22 — GPIO |
| Pin 50 | PA23 — GPIO |
| Pin 51 | PA24 — GPIO |
| Pin 52 | PA25 — GPIO |
| Pin 53 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 54 | PA27 — GPIO |
| Pin 55 | PA28 — GPIO / Reset |
| Pin 56 | PB16 — GPIO |
| Pin 57 | PB17 — GPIO |
| Pin 58 | PB18 — GPIO |
| Pin 59 | PB19 — GPIO |
| Pin 60 | VDDIO — I/O supply voltage |
| Pin 61 | PB20 — GPIO |
| Pin 62 | PB21 — GPIO |
| Pin 63 | PB22 — GPIO |
| Pin 64 | PB23 — GPIO |
Typical Applications
ATSAME51J20A-MUT is suitable for 7 applications: Industrial HMI Touch Panel, BLDC/PMSM Motor Drive Controller, CAN-FD Industrial Gateway, USB-CDC Data Acquisition Logger, Smart Energy Meter, IoT Edge Sensor Node with CAN, Industrial Robotic Servo Controller.
Industrial HMI Touch Panel
The ATSAME51J20A-MUT drives industrial HMI touch panels where its 120 MHz Cortex-M4F core with FPU accelerates LVGL graphics rendering and touch-coefficient calculation while leaving CPU headroom for communication stacks. The integrated PTC (Peripheral Touch Controller) supports up to 16 mutual-capacitance channels directly without external touch IC, reducing BOM. USB Full-Speed provides drag-and-drop firmware updates from a USB stick on the factory floor - critical for serviceability of installed equipment.
Recommended
BLDC/PMSM Motor Drive Controller
The ATSAME51J20A-MUT executes field-oriented control (FOC) loops for BLDC and PMSM motors at 20 kHz PWM with single-precision FPU math in under 8 microseconds - leaving headroom for current sensing, commutation, and CAN communication. The 12-bit 1 Msps ADC samples phase currents and back-EMF simultaneously, while PWM timers provide complementary outputs with programmable dead-band insertion. Hardware QEI interfaces accept ABZ encoder signals from servomotors up to 10 MHz line frequency.
Recommended
CAN-FD Industrial Gateway
Industrial CAN-FD gateways use the ATSAME51J20A-MUT to bridge legacy CAN 2.0B networks to Ethernet at line rates above 1 Mbit/s. The dual CAN-FD controllers handle simultaneous communication on two isolated buses, while the Cortex-M4F core processes CANopen or J1939 protocol stacks in real time. Dual-Panel Flash with ECC supports over-the-air firmware updates without gateway downtime, a requirement for substation and factory automation where maintenance windows are scheduled months in advance.
Recommended
USB-CDC Data Acquisition Logger
USB-CDC data loggers built around the ATSAME51J20A-MUT transmit 12-bit ADC samples at 1 Msps over USB Full-Speed to a host PC, leveraging the on-chip USB 2.0 PHY to eliminate external transceivers. The 256 KB SRAM buffers 256 ksamples before streaming - enough for 250 ms of buffered capture at full ADC rate. Dual-Panel Flash supports firmware updates from a USB host without external programmer, simplifying field service and calibration workflows.
Recommended
Smart Energy Meter
Smart electricity meters use the ATSAME51J20A-MUT for power-quality analysis where the Cortex-M4F DSP extensions run FFT-based harmonic analysis on sampled line voltage and current. The 12-bit 1 Msps ADC captures two channels simultaneously with hardware oversampling, while AES-256 acceleration secures DLMS/COSEM communication with utility backhaul systems. The -40 C to +85 C industrial temperature range and wide 1.71 V to 3.6 V supply tolerate harsh meter-base installation environments.
Recommended
IoT Edge Sensor Node with CAN
IoT edge sensor nodes aggregate CAN-bus sensor traffic and publish it via Ethernet or wireless peripherals using the ATSAME51J20A-MUT as a low-cost bridge. The Cortex-M4F DSP extensions accelerate sensor-fusion algorithms before transmission, while the six SERCOM channels accept UART, SPI, or I2C peripherals simultaneously - supporting GPS, IMU, environmental sensors, and CAN-FD in a single chip. The integrated Event System routes peripheral triggers without CPU intervention, reducing deterministic latency to under 200 ns for time-critical sensor reads.
Recommended
Industrial Robotic Servo Controller
Multi-axis robotic servo controllers pair an ATSAME51J20A-MUT with external gate drivers to coordinate 6-axis articulated robots in real time. The Cortex-M4F runs inverse-kinematics and trajectory-planning math while PWM timers generate synchronized servo pulses. Hardware QEI decoders accept 10 MHz ABZ encoder feedback from each joint, and CAN-FD streams synchronizing joint states to a centralized motion controller. Dual-Panel Flash allows field firmware updates without halting the production line.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for ATSAME51J20A-MUT — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | ATSAME51J19A-MUT-EFP | ATSAME51J20A-MU | ATSAME51J20A-AUT-EFP | ATSAME51J18A-AUT | STM32F412RGT6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | STMicroelectronics |
| Package | 64-VQFN (9x9) | 64-VQFN (9x9) - same | 64-VQFN (9x9) - same | 64-VQFN (9x9) - same | 64-VQFN (9x9) - same | 64-LQFP (10x10) - cross-package |
| Core | ARM Cortex-M4F 120 MHz | ARM Cortex-M4F 120 MHz | ARM Cortex-M4F 120 MHz | ARM Cortex-M4F 120 MHz | ARM Cortex-M4F 120 MHz | ARM Cortex-M4F 100 MHz |
| Flash Memory | 1 MB | 512 KB | 1 MB | 1 MB | 256 KB | 1 MB |
| SRAM | 256 KB | 192 KB | 256 KB | 256 KB | 128 KB | 256 KB |
| USB | USB 2.0 FS PHY | USB 2.0 FS PHY | USB 2.0 FS PHY | USB 2.0 FS PHY | USB 2.0 FS PHY | USB OTG FS |
| CAN | 2 x CAN-FD | 2 x CAN-FD | 2 x CAN-FD | 2 x CAN-FD | 2 x CAN-FD | 1 x CAN 2.0B |
| Operating Voltage | 1.71 V to 3.6 V | 1.71 V to 3.6 V | 1.71 V to 3.6 V | 1.71 V to 3.6 V | 1.71 V to 3.6 V | 1.7 V to 3.6 V |
| Automotive Grade | No (industrial) | No (industrial) | No (industrial) | Yes (AEC-Q100) | Yes (AEC-Q100) | No (industrial) |
Key Differentiators
- Dual-Panel Flash with ECC supports live firmware updates (vs STM32F412RGT6)
- Two CAN-FD controllers versus one CAN 2.0B (vs STM32F412RGT6)
- Larger SRAM (256 KB) than SAM E51 G/J variants (vs ATSAME51J18A-AUT)
- On-chip USB 2.0 Full-Speed PHY eliminates external transceiver (vs ATSAM3S4AA-AUR)
Design Notes
Estimated: at 120 MHz CPU clock running FPU + USB + CAN-FD + ADC sampling at full rate, core current reaches 30-40 mA from VDDCORE. Add a 1 uF + 100 nF X7R decoupling pair on each VDDIO pin (1, 15, 24, 48, 60) and on each VDDCORE pin (25, 44) within 2 mm trace length. The internal 1.2 V LDO powering VDDCORE cannot source external loads - do not connect VDDCORE to external circuitry except decoupling.
The 64-pin VQFN (9x9) has an exposed thermal pad that must be soldered to a ground copper pour with at least eight thermal vias (0.3 mm drill, 1 mm pitch) for 2 W dissipation at industrial temperatures. Estimated: without thermal vias, theta_JA rises from approximately 30 C/W to over 60 C/W, which at 40 mA core + 30 mA IO = 168 mW total would push junction rise above 10 C - acceptable for indoor applications but not for sealed enclosures above 60 C ambient.
Route USB D+ (PA12) and D- (PA13) as a 90 ohm differential pair with matched length within 150 mil and keep total length under 50 mm. Place a 15 kohm pull-down on PA12 (D+) for full-speed device mode per USB 2.0 specification. Add an ESD protection array such as USBLC6-2SC6 near the connector - the ATSAME51J20A-MUT USB pins are not 5 V tolerant and require external protection for industrial surge environments.
Do not skip the external 32.768 kHz crystal load capacitors on PA00 (XIN32) / PA01 (XOUT32) - omitting them causes RTC drift and may prevent correct USB suspend/resume behavior. The NVMCTRL NVM-LOCK fuse bits must be cleared before the first firmware upload or the device will refuse subsequent programming. Use the Atmel Studio Device Programming or MPLAB X IDE to issue a Chip Erase before initial code load.
CAN-FD bus signaling at 5 Mbit/s requires 120 ohm termination at both ends of the bus segment; the ATSAME51J20A-MUT CAN peripheral does not include internal termination. Add a common-mode choke (e.g., DLW32MH201XK2L) for IEC 61000-4-2 ESD compliance, and verify bus timing margin with an oscilloscope on the dominant-to-recessive transition - jitter above 50 ns indicates improper termination or excessive stub length.
Compliance Information
RoSAM compliant per Microchip product page. Industrial temperature grade (-40 C to +85 C). AEC-Q100 qualified variants available as ATSAME51J20A-AUT-EFP.
