Understanding STM32F103 Microcontroller in One Article
The STM32F series
The STM32F series belongs to the mid to low-end 32-bit ARM microcontrollers, produced by STMicroelectronics. These chips have a Cortex-M3 core, a 72 MHz operating frequency, high-speed embedded memory (up to 128kbytes of flash and up to 20 Kbytes of SRAM), and a wide range of enhanced I/O and peripherals connected to the APB bus.
The series is classified into three types according to the size of the on-chip Flash memory: small capacity (16K and 32K), medium capacity (64K and 128K), and large capacity (256K, 384K, and 512K). All devices provide 2 12-bit ADCs, 3 general-purpose 16-bit timers with 1 PWM timer, as well as standard and advanced communication interfaces, including up to 2 I2C and SPI, 3 USARTs, 1 USB, and 1 CAN. The devices are powered by a 2.0~3.6V power supply and operate within a temperature range of -40 to +85℃ or an extended temperature range of -40 ~ +105℃. They feature comprehensive power-saving modes, with Vbat for RTC and backup registers, allowing for low-power applications.
These features make it suitable for a wide range of applications, including motor control, application control, medical and portable equipment, PC and gaming peripherals, GPS platforms, industrial applications, PLCs, inverters, printers, scanners, alarm systems, video intercoms, and HVAC systems.
Among them, the recently popular STM32F103C8T6 is a medium-density performance line, equipped with an ARM Cortex-M3 32-bit microcontroller, in a 48-pin LQFP package. It combines a high-performance RISC core, running at up to 72MHz, with high-speed embedded memory, enhanced input/output ranges, and external connections to two APB buses. STM32F103C8T6 features a 12-bit ADC, timers, PWM timers, and standard and advanced communication interfaces.
The typical features of STM32F103C8T6 are:
▪ Operating voltage range: 2V to 3.6V
▪ 64K bytes of flash memory
▪ 20K bytes of SRAM
▪ CRC calculation unit, 96-bit unique ID
▪ Two 12-bit, 1µs ADCs (up to 10 channels)
▪ 7-channel DMA controller, 3 general-purpose timers, and 1 advanced control timer
▪ 37 fast input/output ports
▪ Serial wire debug (SWD) and JTAG interfaces
▪ Two SPI, two I2C, three USARTs, one USB, and one CAN interface
▪ Environmental operating temperature range: -40°C to 85°C
STM32F103C8T6 is commonly used in embedded design and development, motor control, medical, portable equipment, wireless, industrial, imaging, video, and visual products, consumer electronics, and automotive applications.
