Nuvoton has introduced the NuMicro M3331 series, a new line of 32-bit Arm Cortex-M33 microcontrollers running at 180 MHz. What sets these MCUs apart is their built-in ARGB LED controller, making them ideal for gaming peripherals, smart lighting, and consumer electronics applications.
Key Features
ARGB LED Control
The M3331 series features an Enhanced LED Light Strip Interface (ELLSI) and up to 10 standard LLSI channels. This allows native support for gaming ARGB Gen1 and Gen2 LED control protocols, completely offloading the CPU to run fluid, dynamic LED effects without performance impact.
Two Variants
- M3333 Series: Base variant with full peripheral set
- M3334 Series: Adds high-speed USB 2.0 OTG controller with integrated PHY
Technical Specifications
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU Core | Arm Cortex-M33 @ 180 MHz with FPU, DSP, MPU |
| Flash Memory | Up to 512 KB (Dual Bank with ECC) |
| SRAM | Up to 320 KB (64 KB with parity check) |
| Operating Voltage | 1.7V to 3.6V |
| Temperature Range | -40°C to +105°C |
| Power Consumption | 91 μA/MHz (Normal run) |
| Deep Power-Down | 0.62 μA |
Rich Peripheral Set
- USB: High-Speed device/host/OTG (M3334 only)
- Connectivity: Up to 3x I2C (SMBus/PMBus), 1x I3C, 2x CAN FD, 5x UART
- Audio: 1x I2S, up to 3x SPI/I2S interfaces
- Storage: SD Host Controller, Quad-SPI, External Bus Interface
- Analog: 12-bit SAR ADC (4.2 Msps, 16 channels), 2x analog comparators
- Motor Control: Up to 48x PWM channels, Enhanced Quadrature Encoder Interface
Security Features
- TrustZone technology with Secure boot (Root of Trust)
- Execute-Only-Memory (XOM) support
- 2 KB One-Time Programmable (OTP) ROM
- 96-bit Unique ID and 128-bit Unique Customer ID
Package Options
- QFN33 (4×4 mm)
- QFN48 (5×5 mm)
- LQFP48 (7×7 mm)
- LQFP64 (7×7 mm)
- LQFP128 (14×14 mm)
Development Support
Nuvoton offers the NuMaker-M3333KI and NuMaker-M3334KI evaluation boards ($30 each) featuring:
- Arduino UNO-compatible extension headers
- Nu-Link2-Me on-board debugger
- Power profiling ammeter connector
- Full SWD debugging support
Software support includes BSP packages for Keil MDK, IAR EWARM, and VS Code, with RTOS support for FreeRTOS, Zephyr, and RT-Thread. GUI libraries like emWin and LVGL are also supported.
Target Applications
- Gaming peripherals with ARGB lighting
- Industrial control systems
- Smart factory automation
- Renewable energy systems
- Consumer electronics
Source: Nuvoton | CNX Software