Since STMicroelectronics (ST) launched the first STM32 Cortex-M core MCU in 2007, over 16 years, the cumulative shipment of the STM32 series has exceeded 11 billion units, including mainstream, ultra-low power, high-performance, wireless MCUs, and five major series of MPUs. ST’s ranking in the global general-purpose MCU market has jumped from 3rd place in 2017 to 1st place in 2021.Organic Growth Model Drives Market Share IncreaseJulien Arnaud, Vice President of ST’s Microcontroller and Digital IC Products Division (MDG) for the Asia-Pacific region, IoT/AI Innovation Center, and Digital Marketing, attributes the increase in STM32 market share to the “organic growth model”. He believes that the trend towards digitalization will bring 3-4 times, or even larger scale growth in the 32-bit MCU market. Among them, the largest driving force will come from industrial control, with the MCU industrial market share expected to grow from 52% in 2021 to 65% in 2026.“ST is about to enter a new era where devices need smarter processing and safer connections to the cloud. ST plans to reach a target of $20 billion in the future, focusing on microcontrollers and digital IC products that are safer, more interconnected, and smarter,” Julien told Electronic Engineering Magazine.He expects that from 2021 to 2026, the growth points of industrial MCUs will mainly focus on the following five areas: First, the home appliance sector, driven by the demand for energy efficiency and cloud connectivity; second, the predictive maintenance needs for industrial automation, which involves AI deployment in industrial equipment; third, the wireless capabilities of power tools, such as battery life and work efficiency, which can be better managed wirelessly; fourth, electrification, especially in automotive electrification, including charging management and charging piles; fifth, in construction, making it smarter, safer, and more energy-efficient.When discussing supply chain issues, Julien mentioned that ST is deploying a long-term plan to enhance the flexibility and resilience of the supply chain. In terms of production capacity, ST invested $3.5 billion in 2022 and will invest over $4 billion this year, a significant portion of which will support the expansion of STM32 capacity at 90nm and 40nm. Additionally, ST is actively collaborating with multiple global foundries, which supports not only this year’s and next year’s capacity plans but also foundry cooperation plans for the next 4-6 years or even longer.Five New Products Debut CollectivelyBased on the foreseeable demand and growth points mentioned above, ST has committed to continuous innovation and upgrades for STM32 in terms of safety, wireless connectivity, and artificial intelligence. Recently, a collective debut of several new MCU products exemplified this strategy.STM32C0 Series: “Your Next 8-Bit MCU is a 32-Bit MCU”8-bit MCUs are low-cost, easy to develop, and can meet the performance needs of most scenarios, widely used in downstream fields such as consumer electronics, industrial control, home appliances, and automotive (e.g., automotive fans, wipers, sunroofs, etc.). With a perfect balance in performance, price, power consumption, reliability, and stability, 8-bit MCUs still hold a significant position and demonstrate strong vitality.According to IC Insights statistics, from 2011 to 2020, 4/8-bit MCUs accounted for 15% of global MCU products. By 2026, the global market for 4/8-bit MCUs is expected to still be worth $2.4 billion. In the Chinese general-purpose MCU market in 2020, the 8-bit market share reached 43%.ST MDG China Director, Cao Jindong, pointed out that as a replacement for 8-bit MCUs, the price of STM32C0 is comparable to that of the STM8, while its performance is superior, and development is as simple as that of an 8-bit MCU. In the future, there will be no increase in STM8’s production capacity, meaning ST will not recommend new customers and applications to continue using STM8 but will gradually replace it with STM32C0.The STM32C0 series features simple peripherals, smaller PCB sizes, and is equipped with only one power pair and a high-precision embedded high-speed clock, making it very economical and suitable for engineers to develop. Compared to similar products on the market, STM32C0 is based on the Arm Cortex-M0+ core, with a frequency of 48MHz, providing 44 DMIPS instruction throughput and 114 CoreMark performance, maintaining a consistent pin layout with the STM32G0 series, the same IP platform, and the same technology platform to ensure continuity.In terms of power consumption, STM32C0 has a simple low-power architecture with run, stop, standby, or shutdown modes. The dynamic consumption in run mode is below 80μA/MHz, and whether the HSIKER is on or off, the stop mode current remains at 80-605µA. In cases where wake-up time is not a major limitation, the shutdown mode current can be as low as 20nA. Additionally, STM32C0 offers nine compact packaging options, ranging from the smallest SO8N to the largest LQFP48, from 8 pins to 48 pins, whereas ordinary MCUs rarely have fewer than 20 pins.Cao Jindong added that regardless of the presence of STM32C0, the market is upgrading. From suppliers to new product launches and supply chain security, 8-bit MCUs are far less secure than 32-bit MCUs, and the upgrade from 8-bit to 32-bit MCUs is already underway.STM32H5 Series: Enhancing Performance and Information SecurityThe new STM32H5 series is based on the Arm® Cortex®-M33 32-bit core and manufactured using ST’s 40nm process, representing a fusion of high performance, security, and cost-effectiveness. It has a maximum operating frequency of 250MHz, a CoreMark score of 1023, and supports instruction and data caching for internal and external memory (ART Accelerator), as well as FMAC and Cordic math accelerators, significantly enhancing application performance.It integrates 128KB to 2MB of Flash memory and 640KB of RAM, and features a rich variety of interfaces, including the I3C interface, which is used for the first time in STM32. The H5 series with different memory capacities offers numerous product models through 12 different packages (25 to 176 pins) to meet more application needs.Like other MCU series in the STM32 lineup, this series also boasts high reliability and efficiency. For example, new devices can operate at 125°C to meet industrial application requirements. Moreover, ST has equipped some STM32H5 devices with flexible power modes to achieve higher energy efficiency through switched-mode power supply options (SMPS).Security is also a priority for STM32H5. Stephane Rainsard, Senior Manager of Technical Marketing at ST MDG China, stated that from basic security services to fully certified building blocks, ST maintains these throughout the product lifecycle, providing most of the essential security services required for IoT devices.If users adopt ST’s deployment solutions and use ST’s binaries, obtaining PSA & SESIP Level 3 certification for their products will be very straightforward, and there will be no concerns about updates or revisions for this solution. Additionally, the STM32H5 is equipped with an immutable trusted root (iRoT) and an updatable trusted root (uRoT), the former means developers do not have to rely on external hardware security modules, while the latter allows embedded systems experts to achieve greater flexibility without compromising security policies.STM32WBA—High-Security Low-Power Bluetooth SoC Based on BLE 5.3In the 2.4GHz short-range wireless application scenarios, ST has three product combinations:BlueNRG SoC: A Bluetooth low-energy wireless single-core chip based on Arm® Cortex®-M0+.STM32WB: A wireless dual-core microcontroller, with the Cortex®-M0+ core running the wireless protocol stack and the Cortex®-M4 core running applications.STM32WBA: A single-core wireless microcontroller based on the Arm® Cortex®-M33 core, adopting TrustZone technology. It has a maximum frequency of 100MHz and a CoreMark score of 407, capable of running complex algorithms such as fingerprint recognition or anomaly detection. The newly launched STM32WBA is the first 32-bit wireless SoC to obtain SESIP Level 3 certification, supporting low-power Bluetooth 5.3 applications, providing basic functionalities for wireless IoT devices, including: high data rates to ensure fast and reliable data transmission; long-distance capabilities to extend communication range; high output power, with +10dBm output power to extend communication distance; low-power communication features to prolong battery life.Do not underestimate the +10dBm output power. For example, in the case of wearable devices connected to a smartphone, when we are out with a backpack, the wearable device is placed inside the backpack, the connection signal must pass through the backpack and the user’s body, leading to signal transmission obstacles. Wearable devices designed with STM32WBA, due to its output power of +10dBm, ensure developers obtain a stronger and more reliable signal.The STM32WBA wireless series is embedded with large-capacity memory, supporting application programs and connectivity features, with up to 1MB of Flash memory and 128KB of RAM. A wealth of smart peripherals (such as ADC, touch sensing, timers) makes the STM32WBA a self-sufficient application wireless MCU, greatly simplifying the development process.The STM32WBA series adopts TrustZone® technology, providing a high level of security while protecting data, IP, and preventing hacking or device cloning.Yin Yu, Wireless Product Marketing Manager at ST MDG China, stated that interconnectivity is a crucial part of market demand. In terms of device-side processors, ST’s general-purpose MCUs are already comprehensive, but wireless products are still needed to realize device-to-device connections and device-to-cloud connections. Considering the widespread use of Bluetooth technology in the domestic market, especially in portable devices, and the emphasis on low power consumption as a key parameter for these devices, ST has launched this low-power wireless MCU product.STM32MP13 Microprocessor: Industrial-Grade MPU Balancing Performance, Power Consumption, and CostThe STM32MP13 MPU is a new member of this product family and is the most affordable STM32 MPU to date, primarily targeting cost-sensitive microprocessor applications. According to Huo Sun, Microprocessor Product Marketing Manager at ST MDG China, this is a general-purpose industrial-grade MPU product characterized by ease of use, safety, and low power consumption.The processor features a single Arm® Cortex®-A7 core with a frequency of up to 1GHz. It integrates innovative energy-saving features, equipped with dual Gigabit Ethernet ports and comprehensive security features, including encryption algorithm accelerators, side-channel protection, anti-tampering, secure storage, combined with Arm TrustZone® technology and a trusted firmware (TF-A and OP-TEE) secure processing environment, ensuring high security for IoT devices.The STM32MP13 also integrates innovative energy-saving features fully validated in STM32 MCUs, along with the STPMIC1 power management IC (PMIC) dedicated to STM32 MPU products, which can help developers optimize power consumption to achieve outstanding energy efficiency and maximize battery-powered application runtime. Compared to custom solutions using discrete components, ST PMIC also saves BoM costs, development investment, and PCB size.Additionally, the STM32MP13 provides further real-time performance support, offering software based on STM32Cube for bare-metal and Azure RTOS development to meet users’ needs for achieving hard real-time applications. This is particularly friendly for users accustomed to developing with MCUs, allowing developers to benefit from the powerful performance of MPUs while enjoying a similar development experience to MCUs.The STM32MP135 product line offers three different packages, supporting low-cost PCB design (as low as 4-layer PTH PCB), facilitating the realization of cost-effective PCB design.ConclusionIn response to future digital transformation demands, STM32 is also focusing on software and algorithm development, from the various members of the general STM32Cube tool family to specific application domain expansion packages, from motor-specific SDKs to user interface design tools like TouchGFX, and simplifying AI design with STM32Cube.AI, the STM32 ecosystem continues to grow and expand in multiple dimensions.Author: Shao Lefeng, Chief Analyst at ASPENCORE ChinaENDReview Center Free Application
