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New NuMicro ML56 microcontrollers with low power, touch sensing, and LCD driver

Nuvoton NuMicro ML56 series is really a microcontroller series with low power, built-in capacitive touch sensing, and LCD driver. It's according to 1T 8051 core, embedded 64 KB flash, and 4 KB SRAM. It runs less than 100 uA/MHz in normal run mode for low power operation, and also the power-down current is below 2 uA with an LCD panel display. NuMicro ML56 series runs up to 24 MHz, operating from 1.8V to 3.6V and -40°C to 105°C. With as many as 14 channels of touch keys and 224 dots of LCD driver, it can match the interface of the smart family and surveillance system of IIoT application, which requires interface and likes you power consumption.

NuMicro ML56 series integrates capacitive touch sensing circuit with enhanced touch key controller, supporting as much as 14 independent touch channels with low power characteristics, waterproof, and high noise resistance features. With less than 2 uA consumption, you are able to complete all touch keys' calibration in Power-down mode. Also, the touch key may be one of the wake up source; when it comes to wafer proof characteristic, despite 2 mm depth water droplet, the ML56 series can still find out the exact finger touch; IEC 61000-4-6 conducted noise immunity (CNI) with 10-Vrms noise voltage helps customer pass their EMC standard, that makes it especially suitable for home appliances and industrial control. Moreover, Nuvoton provides a complete development oral appliance touch library to shorten customer development and mass production by easy calibration of touch key functions.

NuMicro ML56 series has built-in 4 COM x 32 SEG, 6 COM x 30 SEG, 8 COM x 28 SEG LCD controllers to drive up to 224 dots, and props up Type-A and Type-B LCD panel. It offers two VLCD input sources: external voltage and another is definitely an internal charge pump. The interior charge pump keeps the VLCD constant voltage to keep the LCD panel's display quality while VDD input changes. There are two VLCD driving modes: buffer mode and internal resistor mode. The buffer mode having a strong driving current supports as much as 10 cm by 10 cm large-sized panel; the internal resistor mode drives small-sized panels and reduces power consumption.

The ML56 series features CRC-8 checksum for the safety library requirement to understand power-on and require a Flash memory self-test. Additionally, it provides up to 4 channels of Peripheral Direct Memory Access (PDMA) controller to speed-up the data transfer and off-loads the CPU loading. For lighting control, the PDMA accompanies with UART or SPI interface can transmit the information continuously. The ML56 series isn't just an 8051 microcontroller, it equipped with enhanced analog features, for example 12-bit 500k SPS ADC, as much as 2ch of comparators, 4-level of internal voltage reference for ADC and ACMP; the ML54 series built-in RTC to record data and show calendar while in power-down mode, it also provides three packages: LQFP 44, LQFP48, and LQFP64 with pin-compatible to NuMicro 32-bit microcontrollers to simplify the machine design and alter parts easily.

Aiming in the low power devices in IIoT application, the ML56 series supports high immunity of 7 kV ESD and 4.4 kV EFT. To safeguard customers' intellectual properties, the ML51 series provides three protection mechanisms. (1) a flash lock bit can prevent a program from being read out by another programmer (2) 128 Bytes Secure Protection ROM (SPROM) (3) 96-bit Unique Identification (UID) and 128-bit Unique Customer Identification (UCID).

Development Tools

Nuvoton provides easy-to-use development tools for example Nu-Link/ Nu-Link-Pro/ Nu-Link2-Pro supporting advanced debug function, PinConfigure multi-function pin setting, PinView showing pin status in real-time, BSP driver, and single button/slider/wheel sample codes. The IDE supports Keil C-51 and IAR EW8051, which could debug, trace and analyze your program around the development board. Nuvoton provides NuSenadj touch key calibration tool for the mass production of a touch key.