Microcontroller Delivers Ultra-Low Power Plus AI

Ambiq’s SPOT-based microcontroller series now has a new edition that sports a neural processing unit (NPU). The Atomiq family (see figure) builds on its low-power Cortex-M platform with an NPU that takes advantage of the company’s Sub-threshold Power Optimized Technology (SPOT). The system-on-chip (SoC) can run using as little as 300 mV. I talked with Dan Cermak, VP Architecture at Ambiq, about the new Atomiq SoC.

The Atomiq family is built on TSMC’s 12-nm FinFET process along with Ambiq’s SPOT technology. The NPU is based on Arm’s Ethos-U85 NPU with its configurable MAC engine. The low-power operation is done using a redesigned on-chip power management unit with a configurable, multichannel single-inductor multiple-output (SIMO) buck converter.