SAM3-H256

The SAM3-H256 is an evaluation board developed by Atmel Corporation for the company’s ARM Cortex-M3 (Cortex-M) family of processors. The board is provided with a full-featured environment, helping designers quickly develop, evaluate, and debug microcontroller-based applications. The SAM3-H256 is designed to support a variety of applications including automotive, consumer electronics, automotive, industrial, and medical applications.

The board features an Atmel™ AT91SAM3H256 processor with 256Kbytes flash, 32Kbytes SRAM, four 12-bit analog-to-digital converters, four 32-bit true-time counter/event counters, four timers, two universal asynchronous receive/transmit (UART) modules, two high-speed 12 Mbps universal serial bus (USB) 2.0 host/device ports, one SPI/TWI module, and four dedicated external interrupts. The on-board debugger, Atmel-ICE, allows users to debug their code efficiently.

The SAM3-H256 evaluation board also includes several external memories. The SDRAM is an 8 Megabit (1 Megabyte) SDRAM, which is located on the processor’s local bus. It can be used by the processor to store program code and data, or for frame buffer applications. Other external memories on the board include an internal 4 Megabit Flash Duos (configured as 512Kbytes for program storage and 1Mbyte for data storage), a MicroSD card socket, a quartz crystal for clock generation, and four LEDs for indication. Additionally, the SAM3-H256 also provides four DIP switches for user input, two power supply connectors, and an expansion port that allows access to the GPIOs and other peripherals.

The SAM3-H256 evaluation board is a small-form-factor board designed to be easily installed into an industrial enclosure or mounted on a PC for desktop use. It is ideal for prototyping, evaluation, and development of applications that require a low-cost, simple board. The board is compatible with the ARM CoreM3™ development environment, allowing designers to use any standard ARM-compatible compilers and debuggers.

The working principle of the SAM3-H256 evaluation board is based on the ARM Cortex-M3 processor. When powered up, the processor takes over the board operations and executes the instructions as programmed. The processor also ensures that all the board peripherals are operated in a safe manner, using the on-board clock and power supplies. The board has an on-board debugger, Atmel-ICE, which makes it easier for developers to debug their code. The board also features a number of communication interfaces, as mentioned above, to interface with external devices like LCDs, motors, and sensors.

In conclusion, the SAM3-H256 evaluation board is an ARM-based board that offers a complete environment for Microcontroller-based application development. It is an ideal platform for prototyping, evaluation, and development of a variety of applications. It features various peripherals, such as the on-board debugger, communication interfaces, and external memories for efficient debugging and interfacing with external devices. It is manufactured by Atmel Corporation and is compatible with the ARM CoreM3™ development environment.