Bokra Launches "World's Smallest" SAM D21 Development Board, in a MikroBUS Format
Designed primarily for those invested or interested in the mikroBUS ecosystem, Bokra's new board packs a lot of power into a small space.
MikroBUS specialist Bokra has launched what it claims as the "world's smallest" Microchip SAM D21 microcontroller development board, built - naturally — in the mikroBUS format.
"One of the most popular microcontrollers is ATSAMD21G18A (further — SAM D21). It is a powerful MCU with the Cortex-M0+ architecture. Module Bokra SAMD21 Lite is the world's smallest board with this MCU, designed in the mikroBUS format and having mikroBUS slot and I2C bus," the company claims of its latest design. "Frequency – 48 MHz. MCU flash memory — 256 kB, RAM - 32 kB. The microcontroller supports up to six serial interfaces (SERCOM), each of which can be configured as I2C, USART, SPI or LIN-slave. One USB 2.0 channel is also available. The microcontroller contains one 12-bit ADC (speed — up to 350 ksps) and 10-bit DAC (speed — up to 350 ksps)."
Despite its compact size, the Bokra SAMD21 Lite includes I2C and mikroBUS connectivity for external hardware communications, and a single-wire debug (SWD) interface. The board takes a 5V input, and includes a Microchip MIC5528 regulator with 500mA output current, along with two user-controllable LEDs, a power LED, and a reset button.
Bokra has indicated it is positioning the board as being for anyone looking to add the SAM D21's microcontroller to existing mikroBUS, Grove, or I2C project designs, as well as those just starting out and interested in the 500-strong mikroBUS expansion module family. Further, it promises full compatibility with the Arduino IDE as well as Microchip's own Atmel Studio development environments.
The board is now available on Bokra's Tindie store, priced at $16 — a discount, available for each buyer's first five boards, from the regular $18 price.