STM32L4 LQFP48 version?

Posted on January 21, 2016 at 17:08

Hi greg_stm,

Please note that the LQFP48 packages of STM32L4 will be available soon in distributors stocks.

You can check with your ST contact or FAE to get more details.

Thanks again for your interest on our products.

-Mayla-

Posted on February 10, 2016 at 18:21

Hi greg_stm,

I am pleased to inform you that LQFP48 packages are now available (

http://www.st.com/web/catalog/mmc/FM141/SC1169/SS1580/LN1981/PF263128#

and

http://www.st.com/web/catalog/mmc/FM141/SC1169/SS1580/LN1981/PF261670

).

-Mayla-

Posted on February 11, 2016 at 00:49

Excellent! As a person that started programming with punched cards, this chip represents the ultimate for me.

The main reason I wanted this package is that it is a nice small package that the hobbyist can solder - and you can create a good electromagnetic compatible design with only a double sided PCB (ground plane on one side, with some power tracks under the chip)

Posted on February 11, 2016 at 09:23

They both are tagged as ''Evaluation'', so it may take some time until they hit the street.

Meantime, you can try to beg at your FAE/ST distributor for samples :)

JW

Posted on February 15, 2016 at 01:42

Actually ... the new tiny WLCSP49 package looks interesting too. 

If you don't need a lot of pins/functions I reckon you should be able to use this package with a double sided board (with the bottom layer being a ground plane under the micro).

Most basic functions can be got to the outside of the chip using the top layer alone. Some functions (like NRST, USART1 TX/RX) can be got to the outside by passing the track through other GPIO pins (since GPIO pins default to analog during reset it should be ok) 

Might give it a go one day if/when I need to design something really tiny.

(Only catch for me: if I need the 32KHz crystal oscillator the OSC_32_OUT pin would have to be tracked to the outside via the PH_OSC_IN pin - and I'm not sure the oscillator would like this).

Posted on February 16, 2016 at 11:57

Greg, 

I tried routing a 64-ball BGA with my standard cheap china 6-mil process that I use. Impossible. With a few tweaks, I was able to do a preliminary routing getting many (not sure if I got ''enough'' yet) of the pins outside of the outline of the chip. Anyway, production of prototype boards shot up from a few tens of dollars to almost $200. (there just isn't 18 mil space between the balls to squeeze a 6mil clearance, 6 mil trace, 6mil clearance between them.)

So for big shops that will order boards in the thousands and can easily handle the few hundred dollars of ''development costs'' (a few iterations of the board are plausible), then those packages are interesting. But for me they remain out-of-reach.