STMicroelectronics (ST), a global semiconductor company, is strengthening its strategy to conquer the industrial and IoT markets with cost-effectiveness and low power consumption.

ST officially announced on the 13th the STM32MP21 microprocessor (MPU) targeting various edge applications such as smart factories, smart homes, and smart cities.

This new product emphasizes cost-effectiveness, low power, and flexibility as its core values, strengthening competitiveness in the industrial and IoT markets.

The STM32MP21 combines a 1.5GHz 64-bit Arm® Cortex®-A35 core with a 300MHz 32-bit Cortex®-M33 core to support both high-performance computation and real-time control.

In particular, the Cortex®-M33-based boot enables fast wake-up from sleep mode, making it optimized for low-power system design.

From a security perspective, it is designed to achieve SESIP Level 3 and PCI pre-certification, meeting global regulatory requirements such as the EU's Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).

ST's proprietary Resource Isolation Framework (RIF) and Arm TrustZone™-based code isolation technology protect memory and peripherals at the hardware level to prevent unauthorized tampering.

The STM32MP21 supports MIPI CSI-2 and ISP pipelines.It is suitable for industrial inspection applications such as machine vision, barcode and QR code readers by integrating human.

It also features dual Gigabit Ethernet ports that support Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), providing latency-free communication for industrial automation, robotics, and sensor data capture.

Memory compatibility has also been enhanced to support not only DDR4/LPDDR4 but also DDR3L, allowing for stable price competitiveness even in situations of supply shortage.

Japanese electronics company JVCKENWOOD has participated in the early access program for the STM32MP21.

“The STM32MP21 enables low-power system design through multiple low-power modes and fast mode switching, and is also an attractive solution in terms of cost competitiveness and long-term supply stability,” said Masanori Furuya, technical expert at JVC Kenwood.

ST offers a comprehensive development ecosystem, including OpenSTLinux, the Yocto/Buildroot framework, and the STM32MP215F-DK Discovery Kit. Furthermore, the STPMIC2L power management IC ensures stable power supply to the MPU and DRAM, minimizing circuit footprint.

Designers can use CAD resources on the ST website to quickly develop based on Altium projects.

The STM32MP21 offers multiple package options, including an 8mm x 8mm 225-pin VFBGA, a 10mm x 10mm 361-pin VFBGA, an 11mm x 11mm 273-pin VFBGA, and a 14mm x 14mm 289-pin TFBGA. The 10mm x 10mm VFBGA361 in particular provides pin-to-pin compatibility across the STM32MP2 series, enhancing design flexibility.