1 Features

Processor cores:

? Up to 2× Dual-core Arm Cortex?-R5F MCU

subsystems operating at up to 800 MHz, highlyintegrated

for real-time processing

– Dual-core Arm Cortex?-R5F clusters support

dual-core and single-core operation

– 32KB ICache and 32KB DCache per R5F core

with SECDED ECC on all memories

– Single-core: 128KB TCM per cluster (128KB

TCM per R5F core)

– Dual-core: 128KB TCM per cluster (64KB TCM

per R5F core)

? 1× Single-core Arm Cortex?-M4F MCU at up to

400 MHz

– 256KB SRAM with SECDED ECC

Memory subsystem:

? Up to 2MB of On-chip RAM (OCSRAM) with

SECDED ECC:

– Can be divided into smaller banks in

increments of 256KB for as many as 8 separate

memory banks

– Each memory bank can be allocated to a single

core to facilitate software task partitioning

? DDR Subsystem (DDRSS)

– Supports LPDDR4, DDR4 memory types

– 16-Bit data bus with inline ECC

– Supports speeds up to 1600 MT/s

System on Chip (SoC) services:

? Device Management Security Controller (DMSC-L)

– Centralized SoC system controller

– Manages system services including initial boot,

security, and clock/reset/power management

– Communication with various processing units

over message manager

– Simplified interface for optimizing unused

peripherals

– On-Chip Debug functionality through JTAG and

Trace interfaces)

? Data Movement Subsystem (DMSS)

– Block Copy DMA (BCDMA)

– Packet DMA (PKTDMA)

– Secure Proxy (SEC_PROXY)

– Ring Accelerator (RINGACC)

? Time Sync Subsystem

– Central Platform Time Sync (CPTS) module

– Timer Manager (TIMERMANAGER) with 1024

timers

– Time Sync and Compare event interrupt routers

Industrial subsystem:

? 2× Gigabit Industrial Communication Subsystems

(PRU_ICSSG)

– Optional support for Profinet IRT, Profinet

RT, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, Time-Sensitive

Networking (TSN), and other Networking

Protocols

– Backwards compatibility with 10/100Mb

PRU_ICSS

– Each PRU_ICSSG contains:

? 3× PRU RISC Cores per Slice (2× Slice per

PRU_ICSSG)

– PRU General Use core (PRU)

– PRU Real-Time Unit core (PRU-RTU)

– PRU Transmit core (PRU-TX)

? Each PRU core supports the following

features:

– Instruction RAM with ECC

– Broadside RAM

– Multiplier with optional accumulator

(MAC)

– CRC16/32 hardware accelerator

– Byte swap for Big/Little Endian

conversion

– SUM32 hardware accelerator for UDP

checksum

– Task Manager for preemption support

? Up to 2× Ethernet ports

– RGMII (10/100/1000)

– MII (10/100)

? Three Data RAMs with ECC

? 8 banks of 30 × 32-bit register scratchpad

memory

? Interrupt controller and task manager

? 2× 64-bit Industrial Ethernet Peripherals

(IEPs) for time stamping and other time

synchronization functions

? 18× Sigma-Delta Filter Module (SDFM)

interfaces

– Short circuit logic

– Over-current logic

? 6× Multi-protocol position encoder interfaces

? 1× Enhanced Capture Module (ECAP)

? 16550-compatible UART

– Dedicated 192-MHz clock to support 12-

Mbps PROFIBUS

Security:

? Secure Boot supported

– Hardware-enforced Root-of-Trust (RoT)

– Support to switch RoT via backup key

– Support for takeover protection, IP protection,

and anti-roll back protection

? Support for cryptographic acceleration

– Session-aware cryptographic engine with ability

to auto-switch key-material based on incoming

data stream

– DMA support

– Supports cryptographic cores

? AES – 128/192/256-bit key sizes

? 3DES – 56/112/168-bit key sizes

? MD5, SHA1

? SHA2 – 224/256/384/512-bit key sizes

? DRBG with true random number generator

? PKA (Public Key Accelerator) to Assist in

RSA/ECC processing

? Debugging security

– Secure software-controlled debug access

– Security aware debugging

? Secure storage support

? On-the-Fly encryption (OTFE) support for OSPI in

XIP mode

? Networking security support for data (Payload)

encryption/authentication via packet-based

hardware cryptographic engine

? DMSC-L co-processor for security and key

management, with dedicated device level

interconnect

General connectivity peripherals:

? 6× Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) ports

? 9× configurable Universal Asynchronous Receive/

Transmit (UART) modules

? 1× 12-bit Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADC)

– Configurable sample rate up to 4 MSPS

– 8× multiplexed analog inputs

? 7× Multichannel Serial Peripheral Interfaces (SPI)

controllers

? 3× General-Purpose I/O (GPIO) modules

Industrial and control interfaces:

? 9× Enhanced Pulse-Width Modulator (EPWM)

modules

? 3× Enhanced Capture (ECAP) modules

? 3× Enhanced Quadrature Encoder Pulse (EQEP)

modules

? 2× Modular Controller Area Network (MCAN)

modules with full CAN-FD support

? 2× Fast Serial Interface Transmitter (FSITX) cores

? 6× Fast Serial Interface Receiver (FSIRX) cores

High-speed interfaces:

? 1× Integrated Ethernet switch supporting up to 2

external ports (CPSW3G)

– Up to 2 Ethernet ports

? RGMII (10/100/1000)

? RMII (10/100)

– IEEE 1588 (2008 Annex D, Annex E, Annex F)

with 802.1AS PTP

– Clause 45 MDIO PHY management

– Energy efficient Ethernet (802.3az)

? 1× PCI-Express? Gen2 controller (PCIE)

– Supports Gen2 Single Lane operation

? 1× USB 3.1 Dual-Role Device (DRD) Subsystem

(USBSS)

– Port configurable as USB host, USB device, or

USB Dual-Role device

– USB device: High-speed (480 Mbps) and Fullspeed

(12 Mbps)

– USB host: SuperSpeed Gen 1 (5 Gbps), Highspeed

(480 Mbps),Full-speed (12 Mbps), and

Low-speed (1.5 Mbps)

– Integrated USB VBUS detection

? 1× Serializer/Deserializer (SERDES)

– One SerDes PHY lane to support either PCIExpress

? Gen2 or USB Super-Speed Gen1

Media and data storage:

? 2× MultiMedia Card/Secure Digital (MMCSD)

interfaces

– One 8-bit for eMMC (MMCSD0)

– One 4-bit for SD/SDIO (MMCSD1)

– Integrated analog switch for voltage switching

between 3.3V to 1.8V for high-speed cards

? 1× General-Purpose Memory Controller (GPMC)

– 16-bit parallel bus with 133 MHz clock or

– 32-bit parallel bus with 100 MHz clock

– Error Location Module (ELM) support

? 1× Flash Subsystem (FSS) that can be configured

as one Octal SPI (OSPI) or one Quad SPI (QSPI)

flash interface

Power management:

? Simplified power sequencing requirements

? Dual-voltage I/O Support

? Integrated SDIO LDO for handling automatic

voltage transition for SD interface

? Integrated voltage supervisor for safety monitoring

of over-under voltage conditions

? Integrated power supply glitch detector for

detecting fast supply transients

Functional Safety:

? Functional Safety-compliant Targeted

– Developed for functional safety applications

– Documentation available to aid IEC 61508

functional safety system design

– Systematic capability up to SIL 3

– Hardware integrity up to SIL 2 targeted

– Safety-related certification

? IEC 61508 certification planned

– ECC or parity on calculation-critical memories

– ECC and parity on select internal bus

interconnects

– Built-In Self-Test (BIST) for CPU and on-chip

RAM

– Error Signaling Module (ESM) with external

error pin

– Run-time safety diagnostics, including:

? Voltage, Temperature, and Clock Monitoring

? Windowed Watchdog Timers

? CRC Engine for memory integrity checks

– MCU domain with dedicated memory,

interfaces, and M4F core capable of being

isolated from the larger SoC with Freedom

From Interference (FFI) features:

? Separate interconnect

? Firewalls and timeout gaskets

? Controlled reset isolation

? Dedicated MCU PLL and MMR control

? Separate I/O Voltage Supply Rail

SoC architecture:

? Supports primary boot from UART, I2C, OSPI/

QSPI Flash, SPI Flash, parallel NOR Flash,

parallel NAND Flash, SD, eMMC, USB 2.0, PCIe,

and Ethernet interfaces

? 16-nm FinFET technology

Package options:

? ALV: 17.2 mm × 17.2 mm, 0.8 mm pitch (441-pin)

FCBGA [Lidded] Flip-Chip Ball Grid Array ALV

package

? ALX: 11.0 mm × 11.0 mm, 0.5 mm pitch (293-pin)

FC/CSP [SiP] Flip-Chip/Chip Scale Package ALX

package (Preview)

2 Applications

? Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)

? Motor Drives

? Remote I/O

? Industrial Robots

? Condition-Monitoring Gateway

? Communication Module

? Field Transmitter

? Test & Measurement

? General Purpose Controller

3 Description

AM243x is an extension of Sitara’s industrial-grade portfolio into high-performance microcontrollers. The

AM243x device is built for industrial applications, such as motor drives and remote I/O modules, which require a

combination of real-time communications and processing. The AM243x family provides scalable performance

with up to four Cortex-R5F MCUs, one Cortex-M4F, and two instances of Sitara’s gigabit TSN-enabled

PRU_ICSSG.

The AM243x SoC architecture was designed to provide best-in-class real-time performance through the highperformance

Arm Cortex-R5F cores, Tightly-Coupled Memory banks, configurable SRAM partitioning, and

dedicated low-latency paths to and from peripherals for rapid data movement in and out of the SoC. This

deterministic architecture allows for AM243x to handle the tight control loops found in servo drives while

the peripherals like FSI, GPMC, ECAPs, PWMs, and encoder interfaces help enable a number of different

architectures found in these systems.

The SoC provides flexible industrial communications capability including full protocol stacks for EtherCAT target,

PROFINET device, EtherNet/IP adapter, and IO-Link Controller. The PRU_ICSSG further provides capability for

gigabit and TSN based protocols. In addition, the PRU_ICSSG enables additional interfaces including a UART

interface, sigma delta decimation filters, and absolute encoder interfaces.

Functional safety features can be enabled through the integrated Cortex-M4F along with dedicated peripherals

which can all be isolated from the rest of the SoC. AM243x also supports secure boot.