Popular Microcontroller?

[mattfox]

Posted on June 05, 2013 at 15:41

I'm looking to order a 32-bit microcontroller to replace my atmega168.  Whatever I order needs to have at least 2 quadrature decoders, and it would be great if it had an fpu, but that's not necessary.  Also, I'm looking to have the smallest device possible that fits these categories (smallest pin count/area in TQFP or LQFP packaging).  Are there any widely used st products that fit this category? 

[jpeacock2399]

Posted on June 05, 2013 at 15:52

You might want to look at the STM32F2 family (no FPU) or STM32F4 families if you need DSP and floating point.  All of them have multiple timers with quadrature encoder mode.  I use an STM32F407, 100 pin LQFP, to drive two stepper motors, both with quad encoders.

The nice part of using an F2/F4 part is the upward footprint compatibility.  Start with an F2, swap the chip to an F4 with same pin count without a board spin if you need floating point or DSP instructions.   Jack Peacock

[jj2]

Posted on June 05, 2013 at 17:14

Essentially second Jack's listing - with one extension:

Like you - compactness often is sought in our designs.  And new F0 promises far smaller packages (which I do not yet find).  Timers may not fully support QEI (as Jack mentioned) you must check.  And zero FPU. Should cost & compactness truly warrant - this F0 may be a further option...