GigaDevice launches GD32V series RISC-V core 32-bit general-purpose MCU new products

Beijing, August 22, 2019 - GigaDevice (stock code 603986), an industry-leading semiconductor supplier, announced that it is the first in the industry to introduce the open source instruction set architecture RISC-V into the field of general-purpose microcontrollers, and officially launched the world's first GD32V series 32-bit general-purpose MCU products based on the RISC-V core, providing complete tool chain support from chips to program code libraries, development kits, design solutions, etc., and continues to build a RISC-V development ecosystem.

As the first product series of the GD32 MCU family based on the RISC-V core, the new GD32VF103 series RISC-V MCU is aimed at mainstream development needs, and provides a cost-effective and innovative choice for RISC-V to enter the mainstream market with balanced processing performance and system resources. The first batch of new products provides 14 models, including 4 package types such as QFN36, LQFP48, LQFP64 and LQFP100, and fully maintains compatibility with existing products in software development and pin packaging. This unprecedented innovative design builds a fast channel between GD32's Arm® core products and RISC-V core products, making product selection and design switching across processor cores flexible, making it easier to implement code transplantation and shortening the development cycle. It is fully suitable for deep embedded market applications in industrial control, consumer electronics, emerging IOT, edge computing, artificial intelligence and vertical industries.

Fully optimized RISC-V processor core

The GD32VF103 series MCU uses the new Bumblebee processor core based on the open source instruction set architecture RISC-V. It is a commercial RISC-V processor core independently jointly developed by GigaDevice and Nuclei System Technology, China's leading RISC-V processor core IP and solution manufacturer, for the Internet of Things and other ultra-low power consumption scenarios.

The Bumblebee kernel adopts the 32-bit RISC-V open source instruction set architecture and supports customized instructions, which further optimizes the interrupt handling mechanism. It is not only equipped with a 64-bit wide real-time timer and can generate timer interrupts defined by the RISC-V standard, but also supports dozens of external interrupt sources, has 16 interrupt levels and priorities, and supports interrupt nesting and fast vector interrupt processing mechanisms. Low power management can support two-level sleep modes. The kernel supports the standard JTAG interface and RISC-V debugging standards, which are suitable for hardware breakpoints and interactive debugging. The Bumblebee kernel also supports the RISC-V standard compilation tool chain, as well as the Linux/Windows graphical integrated development environment.

The Bumblebee core is designed with a two-stage variable-length pipeline microarchitecture, equipped with a streamlined instruction prefetch unit and dynamic branch predictor, and incorporates a variety of low-power design methods. It can achieve the performance and frequency of the traditional three-stage pipeline at the cost of a two-stage pipeline, achieving the industry's first-class energy efficiency and cost advantages. This enables the GD32VF103 series MCU to achieve a working performance of 153 DMIPS at the highest main frequency, and the CoreMark® test also achieved an excellent performance of 360 points. Compared with the GD32 Cortex®-M3 core product, the performance is improved by 15%, while the dynamic power consumption is reduced by 50%, and the standby power consumption is reduced by 25%.

GD32VF103 series RISC-V core 32-bit general-purpose MCU

Mainstream and balanced first-run product portfolio

The GD32VF103 series RISC-V MCU provides a 108MHz operating frequency, 16KB to 128KB on-chip flash memory and 6KB to 32KB SRAM cache. The patented gFlash® technology supports the core to access the flash memory at high speed with zero wait. The Bumblebee core also has built-in single-cycle hardware multipliers, hardware dividers and acceleration units to cope with the challenges of advanced computing and data processing. 

The chip is powered by 2.6V-3.6V, and the I/O port can withstand 5V level. It is equipped with a 16-bit advanced timer that supports three-phase PWM complementary output and Hall acquisition interface for vector control, and also has up to 4 16-bit general timers, 2 16-bit basic timers and 2 multi-channel DMA controllers. The newly designed interrupt controller (ECLIC) provides up to 68 external interrupts and can nest 16 programmable priorities to enhance the real-time performance of high-performance control.

A variety of peripheral resources are equipped for a wide range of mainstream applications, including up to 3 USARTs, 2 UARTs, 3 SPIs, 2 I2Cs, 2 I2Ss, 2 CAN2.0Bs, 1 USB 2.0 FS OTG, and an external bus expansion controller (EXMC). Among them, the newly designed I2C interface supports the fast Plus (Fm+) mode, with a frequency of up to 1 MHz (1MB/s), which is twice the speed of the past. The SPI interface also supports four-wire system and adds multiple transmission modes, and can also easily expand Quad SPI NOR Flash for high-speed access. The built-in USB 2.0 FSOTG interface can provide multiple modes such as Device, HOST, OTG, etc. The external bus expansion controller (EXMC) is more convenient to connect to external memories such as NOR Flash and SRAM.

The new product integrates two 12-bit high-speed ADCs with a sampling rate of up to 2.6M SPS, provides up to 16 multiplexed channels, supports 16-bit hardware oversampling filtering and configurable resolution, and has two 12-bit DACs. Up to 80% of the GPIOs have a variety of optional functions and support port remapping, continuing to meet the needs of mainstream development applications with flexible and rich connectivity.

GD32VF103 series RISC-V core general-purpose 32-bit MCU product line

Hu Zhenbo, CEO of Nuclei Technology, said: "GigaDevice is a benchmark for China's integrated circuit industry and a leading supplier of general-purpose MCUs in China. Nuclei Technology currently has leading RISC-V processor core IP and tool chain R&D capabilities, and is at the forefront of China's RISC-V embedded processor R&D and industrialization. The cooperation between the two parties will surely make RISC-V take root, bring new breakthroughs and form a new pattern for China's general-purpose MCUs in the AIoT era, and work together with the majority of users for win-win results."

Deng Yu, Executive Vice President and General Manager of MCU Business Unit of GigaDevice, said: "RISC-V system has rapidly emerged around the world and has become a rapid development trend in the semiconductor industry and application fields such as industrial control, Internet of Things, and smart terminals. GigaDevice is the first in the industry to launch 32-bit general-purpose MCU products based on RISC-V architecture and continue to build a RISC-V development ecosystem. It will also further meet the market's differentiated demand for open architecture and help to give play to cost advantages, allowing the constantly enriched and improved GD32 MCU 'department store' to continue to provide users with more innovative choices."

Continuously building the RISC-V development ecosystem

GigaDevice has been providing rich and complete support for the GD32 ecosystem. The RISC-V development ecosystem, including a variety of development boards and application software, is also ready. Users of the GD32V series can use new development tools and program code libraries to easily realize their design ideas. New development tools include the GD32VF103V-EVAL full-function evaluation board and the GD32VF103R-START, GD32VF103C-START and GD32VF103T-START entry-level learning boards, which can correspond to four different packages and pins, making it easier for users to develop and debug. In addition, the GD32VF103-BLDC motor control development board, GD-LINK debugging mass production tool and a series of GD32 RISC-V terminal design solutions from partners are also provided.

GigaDevice also teamed up with Nuclei Technology to provide a free integrated development environment, Nuclei Studio, for the GD32V series MCUs. This new IDE is based on the open source Eclipse architecture and integrates RISC-V related tools such as GCC and OpenOCD. Users can quickly get started and easily complete a series of development processes such as code writing, cross-compilation, online debugging, and program burning. Third-party partners also provide more IDE and tool options, including Huawei IoT Studio, SEGGER J-Link V10, and Embedded Studio. Embedded operating systems including μC/OS II, FreeRTOS, RT-Thread, Huawei LiteOS, etc. have also been fully adapted and can be directly connected to the cloud. These have greatly simplified the difficulty of development.

Start RISC-V development experience now

All new GD32V series products meet industrial-grade high reliability and temperature standards, and provide at least ten years of continuous supply guarantee. The chip's electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection level can reach 5KV in human body discharge (HBM) mode and 2KV in device discharge mode (CDM), which is much higher than the industry safety standard, making it suitable for complex environments and making terminal products more reliable and durable.

The new GD32VF103 series RISC-V MCU is available now. Samples and development tools can be obtained through the GD32 technical website (www.GD32MCU.com), and are also available through authorized dealer channels and the GD32 Tmall flagship store (GD32.tmall.com).

About GD32 MCU

GigaDevice GD32 MCU is the leader in China's high-performance general-purpose microcontroller field. It is China's largest Arm® MCU family and the first Arm® Cortex®-M3, Cortex®-M4, Cortex®-M23 and RISC-V core general-purpose MCU product series launched in China. It has developed into the mainstream choice in China's 32-bit general-purpose MCU market. With a cumulative shipment volume of more than 300 million units, more than 20,000 customers, and a wide application coverage of more than 330 product options in 23 series, it ranks at the forefront of the market. GigaDevice GD32 MCU is also one of the first partners of the Arm® University Program (AUP) in China, an ecological partner of the Arm® mbed™ IoT platform, a silver member of the RISC-V Foundation, and the title sponsor of the "GigaDevice Cup" China Graduate Electronic Design Competition. All models are compatible with each other in terms of software and hardware pin packaging, and are fully applicable to various high, medium and low-end embedded control needs and upgrades, fully releasing the outstanding value of high cost performance, and building a complete ecosystem to support multi-level development and accelerate the design cycle. The products have passed long-term market tests and have become the first choice for innovation in system design and project development.