NXP Semiconductors LPC1500 Arm Cortex-M3 Microcontrollers

Each LPC1500 MCU is equipped with a PWM/timer subsystem that includes a total of four state-configurable timers (SCTimer/PWMs), a peripheral function exclusive to NXP that makes it easy to configure the advanced PWM and timing functions necessary for motion control. The on-chip QEI is ideal for applications that use sensored motion control.

LPC1500 MCUs feature two ADCs, each supporting a resolution of up to 12 bits and a fast conversion rate of up to 2 MHz. The ADCs are supported by a 12-bit DAC and four analog comparators. Sequences of A-to-D conversions can be triggered by multiple sources, including internal connections to other on-chip peripherals such as the SCTimer/PWM and analog comparator outputs. A temperature sensor completes this sophisticated analog subsystem.

The DMA controller, which has 18 channels and 20 programmable input triggers, services memory and peripheral resources.

Putting special functions in ROM helps improve time-to-market, reduce code size, and simplify development. Pre-loaded into the ROM are a boot loader, In-System Programming (ISP) and In-Application Programming (IAP) support for Flash (with an IAP erase command), and for EEPROM. There are ROM-based USB drivers and USB-compliant stacks for HID, CDC, and MS classes, as well as C_CAN drivers. Flash updates via USB and C_CAN are also supported. There are ROM-based drivers for USART, I2C, and DMA ROM-based power profiles configure power consumption, PLL settings, and power-saving modes.

To simplify the development of motion-control applications, the LPC1500 is equipped with “Quick Drive” firmware, which demonstrates sensored and sensorless motion-control functions. The firmware uses a fast Field Oriented Control (FOC) algorithm and a PI loop controller to maintain speed and torque, and minimize the code footprint.