With the increasing popularity of smart IoT embedded intelligence, the demand for MCUs in the industry has surged. For example, the market size of Arm® Cortex®-M series MCUs is expected to reach $6 billion in 2023, and is projected to grow to $10.5 billion by 2032.
As is well known, the Arm® Cortex®-M series cores are designed specifically for the MCU embedded market and are widely used in fields such as IoT, industrial control, and automotive electronics. With the rapid development of these fields, the demand for such MCUs is expected to continue to grow.
To date, ten Cortex-M cores have been launched, which are:
1. Cortex-M0/M0+—Entry-level, ultra-low power, small area, suitable for simple control tasks.
2. Cortex-M1—Designed for FPGA, suitable for programmable logic scenarios.
3. Cortex-M3—Mid-range performance, supports complex real-time tasks, suitable for industrial control scenarios.
4. Cortex-M4—Enhanced DSP and floating-point operations (optional FPU), suitable for audio and sensor processing.
5. Cortex-M7—High performance, high frequency (up to 1GHz+), supports double-precision floating-point for complex calculations.
6. Cortex-M23—An upgraded version of M0+, integrates TrustZone security extension.
7. Cortex-M33—An upgraded version of M4, supports TrustZone, DSP instructions, and optional FPU.
8. Cortex-M35P—A physically secure enhanced version of M33, resistant to hardware attacks.
9. Cortex-M55—The first M core to support Arm HeliumTM (MVE) vector extensions, accelerating DSP/ML.
10. Cortex-M52—The latest member released in 2023, based on the Arm v8.1-M architecture, optimized for AIoT while maintaining backward compatibility with M33/M55.
The Cortex-M52 achieves the best balance between low power consumption, small area, and high performance among the Cortex-M series cores, making it particularly suitable for devices requiring AI and DSP capabilities. Compared to other Cortex-M cores, the Cortex-M52 demonstrates outstanding advantages in performance, power consumption, area, security, and development friendliness. Its machine learning (ML) performance is 5.6 times better than that of the Cortex-M33, while its digital signal processing (DSP) performance is 2.7 times better, and energy efficiency is improved by 2.1 times. Compared to Cortex-M55/M85, the Cortex-M52 maintains high performance while having a smaller chip area, making it more suitable for applications with strict cost and power consumption requirements.
After Arm releases a new generation of MCU cores, it is usually foreign MCU manufacturers that are the first to launch corresponding products. However, this time, it is the local MCU manufacturers that have taken the lead!
At the 2024 electronica international electronic components exhibition in Munich, Jihai Semiconductor was the first to showcase its high-performance real-time control MCU G32R5 series based on the Arm® Cortex®-M52 core. Subsequently, in January 2025, at the Jihai Semiconductor channel partner conference, the real-time control MCU G32R501 based on the Arm® Cortex®-M52 dual-core architecture was officially released.
The G32R501 is based on advanced 40nm eFlash process technology, supports efficient dual-core collaboration, integrates high-performance sensing, rich control peripherals, and a flexible peripheral interconnection system. It is a high-performance real-time control MCU product developed for mid-to-high-end application scenarios such as new energy photovoltaics, industrial automation, commercial power supplies, and new energy vehicles. It aims to address the design challenges of real-time control systems for higher efficiency, higher power density, higher precision, and higher reliability from the chip level. Its application range covers photovoltaic/storage inverters, charging pile power modules, server power supplies, on-board OBC, UPS, servo controllers, robots, and more.
This release has caused a huge response in the industry. Electronic Innovation Network interviewed Louis LU, Senior Product Manager of Jihai Semiconductor’s real-time control product line, to gain detailed insights into how Jihai Semiconductor was able to be the first to launch a real-time control MCU based on the Cortex-M52 dual-core, as well as detailed information about this product.
“The rapid product launch is primarily due to our experienced R&D team at Jihai Semiconductor, who are particularly familiar with Arm cores. Additionally, our close collaboration with Arm China is also an indispensable factor,” Louis LU pointed out. “Moreover, we have conducted extensive optimization designs to achieve efficient collaboration between the dual cores of the MCU, adapt the storage system to the Cortex-M52 bus, and create a low-latency system tailored for real-time control applications.”
He stated that this high-end real-time control MCU relies on ultra-high real-time computing power, high-performance real-time control peripherals, and industry-leading Cortex-M real-time control features, primarily targeting popular applications in new energy photovoltaics, commercial power supplies, new energy vehicles, industrial automation, and robotics.
Louis LU further elaborated that many fields require real-time control MCUs. For example, from renewable energy devices such as photovoltaics and wind power on the generation side, to core devices in the power transmission and distribution system such as reactive power compensation systems, to terminal devices in new energy vehicles, automated factories, smart appliances, and robotics, real-time control MCUs play a crucial role as core components in these applications. These MCUs can accurately and quickly sense various signals, perform complex calculations, and achieve efficient closed-loop control, ensuring system stability and reliability while improving energy utilization efficiency and system response speed. Whether in real-time adjusting power generation output in wind farms or achieving precise production control in automated factories, real-time control MCUs have become an indispensable key technology driving modern intelligent development.
Regarding the application of real-time control MCUs in new energy vehicles, such as on-board chargers, on-board DC/DC converters, and on-board compressors, Jihai is also set to launch models that meet automotive standards, currently undergoing AEC-Q100 Grade 1 automotive reliability certification.
According to him, compared to competitor products, Jihai’s G32R501 real-time control MCU has unique advantages:
1. High-performance dual-core, Arm HeliumTM, and self-developed Zidian mathematical instruction extension unit: Source of ultra-high real-time computing power;
2. High-resolution PWM module (typical 150ps resolution), comparator subsystem, etc.: Basis for low-latency design in real-time systems;
3. High reliability: Complies with AEC-Q100 Grade 1 automotive reliability standards (certification in progress), excellent EMC/ESD performance;
4. High security: Complies with IEC 61508 SIL2 functional safety standards (certification in progress), supports code security protection modules, and clock loss detection circuit performance.
As for why a dual-core architecture was adopted, he stated that the G32R501 real-time control MCU uses a Cortex-M52 homogeneous dual-core parallel working mode, which can simultaneously execute high-performance computing/management tasks and real-time control tasks. For target applications, this architecture ensures the real-time nature of control tasks while allowing users to efficiently execute various tasks in parallel, such as communication, edge AI computing, and information security.
An excellent MCU is inseparable from rich and powerful peripheral resources. According to reports, the G32R501 integrates a wealth of high-performance analog and signal processing peripherals, providing strong support for complex real-time control applications, specifically:
Three 12-bit ADCs with a sampling rate of 3.45MSPS, capable of accurately and efficiently collecting and processing multiple analog signals, significantly enhancing system data throughput and response speed.
Seven built-in 12-bit reference DAC comparators, supporting trip functions, can monitor input voltage levels in real-time, ensuring system safety and stability.
Seven enhanced capture modules (CAP), two of which support high-resolution capture (HRCAP) functionality, enabling high-precision signal capture suitable for high-speed dynamic control scenarios.
Two enhanced quadrature encoder pulse (QEP) modules, supporting CW (clockwise)/CCW (counterclockwise) operation modes, meet the precision motor control requirements, providing high-precision displacement and speed measurement capabilities.
Four Σ-Δ filter modules (SDF) to enhance ADC accuracy and signal-to-noise ratio, optimizing signal quality, particularly suitable for analog signal processing in high-noise environments.
Four flexible logic blocks (FLB) provide efficient and flexible connection capabilities for on-chip control peripherals through enhanced peripheral interconnection configuration, simplifying system design and improving real-time control efficiency. It also integrates various communication interfaces such as UART, CAN, I2C, QSPI, and PMBus, combined with multiple multiplexing options, allowing flexible adaptation to diverse application scenarios, meeting communication needs in industrial automation, new energy, automotive electronics, and more.
Louis LU emphasized that the G32R501 operates in a temperature range of -40℃ to 125℃, with excellent anti-interference performance, ESD test results of HBM > 8KV, CDM > 2KV, and Latchup > 200mA.
Louis LU stated that to facilitate engineers’ development, Jihai Semiconductor provides a comprehensive ecological development system to assist engineers in efficient development, achieving shorter project implementation cycles. This includes comprehensive ecological support providing various library resources: driver libraries, mathematical libraries, middleware, security libraries, and application libraries, meeting users’ needs at different development stages. It supports multi-task operating systems and software/hardware development tools, ensuring a smooth development process. It is compatible with mainstream IDE toolchains: KEIL, IAR, Eclipse, making it convenient for users to utilize familiar development environments.
Additionally, the G32R501 EVAL evaluation board can be used for complete functional demonstrations and preliminary solution validations, helping users get started quickly. The dual-motor debugging board provides efficient debugging support for complex motor control applications. The EtherCAT bus debugging board can meet the high-performance bus protocol debugging needs in the industrial communication field.
At the same time, Jihai has also launched the G32R501 400W EtherCAT bus-type high-voltage servo controller, a one-to-two micro-inverter, a 48V/50A bidirectional power supply, and low-voltage sensorless dual motors as single-chip mass production solutions, capable of meeting various industrial system requirements for reliability, endurance, cost, and operating speed, demonstrating its profound application potential in the industrial field.
Currently, with the rise of edge intelligence applications, Jihai Semiconductor has also strengthened AI and ML capabilities on the G32R501 real-time control MCU. Louis LU stated that the Cortex-M52 integrates Arm HeliumTM, significantly enhancing advanced digital signal processing (DSP) capabilities and machine learning (ML) application performance, helping customers achieve applications such as AFCI photovoltaic inverter intelligent arc detection and predictive fault maintenance for industrial equipment.
Looking ahead, Jihai Semiconductor will also launch the G32R502 series real-time control MCUs with more competitive costs targeting commercial power supply fields such as servers, communication power supplies, and charging pile DC modules, as well as motion control fields such as robotics and inverters. For high-performance application demands, it will enhance bus communication peripherals and real-time control performance, launching the G32R507 series real-time control MCUs. It is believed that local MCUs will further encroach on the market share of international giants by focusing on niche markets, providing professional solutions and efficient service responses, thereby reducing the learning costs for end users.
Although international giants still occupy a large share of the real-time control MCU field, with the acceleration of local chip product iterations and the improvement of localized quality user services, local real-time control MCUs will inevitably further erode the market share of international giants and gain a foothold in the mid-to-high-end field! Go for it! Local real-time control MCUs! (End)
Source: Electronic Innovation Network, Zhang Guobin, thank you.
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