Microchip Technology (Nasdaq: MCHP) has announced the addition of the SAMD21RT, a 32-bit Arm Cortex-M0+ based microcontroller, to its radiation-tolerant product lineup, tailored specifically for the demanding aerospace and defense markets. This new MCU comes in a compact 64-pin ceramic and plastic package, offering 128 KB Flash and 16 KB SRAM, and is designed to withstand the harsh conditions of space.
As space exploration surges with missions like Artemis II, JAXA’s SLIM, and Chandrayaan-3, there is a growing need for robust electronic components. The SAMD21RT, operating at up to 48 MHz, delivers high performance in a small 10 mm × 10 mm footprint. It includes essential analog functions such as a 20-channel ADC, a DAC, and analog comparators.
The SAMD21RT builds on Microchip’s existing SAMD21 MCUs, widely used in industrial and automotive sectors, and its design leverages Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components, easing the transition to radiation-tolerant applications. This MCU is part of a broader system solution from Microchip, including FPGAs, power devices, memory products, and communication interfaces, offering versatility across different qualification levels.
Bob Vampola, vice president of Microchip’s aerospace and defense business unit, highlighted the company’s extensive experience and in-house capabilities in designing and testing radiation-tolerant devices. The SAMD21RT is engineered to endure extreme environments, with a TID capability up to 50 krad and SEL immunity up to 78 MeV.cm²/mg, operating in temperatures from −40°C to 125°C.
The MCU’s low-power features include idle and standby sleep modes, sleepwalking peripherals, and a range of communication options such as SERCOM, I2C, SPI, and LIN. Its peripheral set also features a 12-channel DMAC, 12-channel event system, TCC, RTC, WDT, and USB 2.0 interface.
Microchip’s contributions to space missions are notable, with its products integral to the Artemis program, Space Launch System, Orion Spacecraft, Lunar Gateway, and more. For further details, visit Microchip’s space applications page.
The SAMD21RT is now available for limited sampling upon request and is supported by the SAM D21 Curiosity Nano Evaluation Kit, MPLAB X IDE, and MPLAB PICkit 5 in-circuit.
