GigaDevice Launches GD32F5 Series Cortex®-M33 Core MCUs for High-Performance Applications

Nuremberg, Germany – 9 Apr. 2024- GigaDevice, a leading semiconductor company specializing in Flash Memory, 32-bit Microcontrollers (MCUs), Sensors, and Power Management technologies, announced today the official launch of the GD32F5 series high-performance microcontroller units (MCUs) based on the Arm®Cortex®-M33 core. The product is fully adapted for applications in energy and power management, photovoltaic energy storage, industrial automation, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), network communication devices, and graphic displays.

The GD32F5 series high-performance MCUs offer significantly expanded storage space, excellent processing efficiency, and a wide array of interface options. Compliant with the system-level IEC61508 SIL2 functional safety standard, they provide a comprehensive software and hardware security solution to meet the industrial market's demands for high reliability and security applications. Currently, samples of this series are available, and mass production is scheduled to begin in May.

Leading hardware and storage resources to enhance the endurance of industrial applications

The GD32F5 series high-performance MCUs adopt the Arm® Cortex® -M33 core with a maximum operating frequency of 200MHz and a working performance of up to 3.31 CoreMark®/MHz. They are equipped with advanced DSP hardware accelerators and single-precision floating-point units (FPUs), which significantly reduce the burden on the core and enhance processing efficiency.

The GD32F5 series high-performance MCUs are equipped with up to 7.5MB on-chip Flash and 1MB SRAM. This includes a 2MB configurable zero-wait execution area (Code-Flash) that effectively improves code processing efficiency and real-time performance. They also provide a large Data-Flash space for backup and parameter storage. The SRAM/Flash fully support ECC verification to ensure stable and reliable storage space, effectively adapting to various complex industrial application environments. The GD32F5 series supports a maximum of 2MB for Read-While-Write (RWW) OTA upgrades to ensure seamless code updates without operation interruption, thus guaranteeing both real-time performance and stability. The external memory controller (EXMC) supports access to a variety of external memory devices such as SDRAM, SRAM, ROM, NOR Flash, NAND Flash, and PC Cards. With its large storage capacity, the GD32F5 meets the needs of complex industrial systems for code upgrades and backups.

Rich peripherals and security features create a highly reliable platform

The GD32F5 MCU series includes various built-in security features to ensure the protection of device information. This MCU series provides multiple levels of code and data protection areas, as well as an EFUSE area, supporting various mechanisms such as secure OTA, secure boot, secure debugging, and secure downloading. For ease of use, GD32 has introduced the new Security Boot and Update software platform, offering secure booting, secure upgrading, secure communication, and software solutions. Users can conduct secondary development based on their specific requirements. The GD32F5 MCU series also supports system-level IEC61508 SIL2 functional safety standards, providing a complete Safety Package including a Safety Manual, FMEDA, and a self-test library, among other functional safety materials.

The high-performance GD32F5 MCU series integrates a wealth of general-purpose peripheral resources, including eight U(S)ARTs, six I2C interfaces, six SPI interfaces, two I2S interfaces, and one SDIO interface. It is equipped with a USB2.0 OTG interface that supports both Full Speed and High-Speed modes. Additionally, it integrates two channels of CAN-FD controllers and one Ethernet interface to meet the requirements of industrial control networking and communication applications.

The high-performance GD32F5 MCU series operates on 1.71V to 3.6V power supply and features two 32-bit general-purpose timers, eight 16-bit general-purpose timers, two 16-bit basic timers, and two PWM advanced timers. It also supports three 12-bit ADCs, two DACs, and other high-precision analog peripherals to meet the requirements of motor frequency conversion, industrial control, and other application scenarios.

GD32F5 series MCU lineup

Comprehensive development tools to accelerate application design

The GD32 development ecosystem is continuously expanding and improving. GigaDevice provides the new high-performance GD32F5 series MCU with free development environment GD32 IDE, debugging and download tool GD-LINK, and the programming tool GD32 All-In-One Programmer. Furthermore, industry-leading embedded tools vendors such as Arm® KEIL, IAR, and SEGGER will also offer comprehensive support for the new GD32F5 products, including development, compilation, and trace debugging tools.

GigaDevice had strategically partnered with leading embedded development system provider SEGGER in Germany to provide free commercial emWin embedded GUI to all users of GD32 series Arm® Cortex®-M microcontrollers, including the new GD32F5 series. This software effectively reduces development complexity and project timelines, further expediting the implementation of high-performance GUI applications. Additionally, it offers AppWizard to streamline and enhance the development of graphic applications.

The GD32F5 lineup includes five package types: BGA176, LQFP176/144/100/64, totaling 10 product models. Meanwhile, complementary development boards have also been launched. These include the GD32F527I-EVAL full-featured evaluation board, as well as the GD32F527Z-START, GD32F527V-START, and GD32F527R-START entry-level learning kits. These kits correspond to different packages, making it convenient for users to develop and debug their applications. The above products will be released to all authorized distribution channels. Please contact local GigaDevice sales office or authorized representative for more details.

About GigaDevice

GigaDevice Semiconductor Inc. (SSE Stock Code 603986) is a leading global fabless supplier. The company was founded in April 2005 with branch offices in many countries and regions worldwide, providing local support at customers' fingertips. Committed to building a complete ecosystem with major product lines – Flash memory, MCU, sensor, and power as the core driving force, GigaDevice can provide a wide range of solutions and services in the fields of industrial, automotive, computing, consumer electronics, IoT, mobile, networking, and communications. GigaDevice management system has achieved ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 certifications. Constantly looking to expand the technology offering to customers, GigaDevice has also formed multiple strategic alliances with leading foundries, assembly, and test plants to streamline supply chain management. For more details, please visit: www.gigadevice.com.

*GigaDevice, GD32, and their logos are trademarks, or registered trademarks of GigaDevice Semiconductor Inc. Other names and brands are the property of their respective owners.