The Alif Ensemble family of Arm-based 32-bit microcontrollers scales up to:
19 MB +
MB Integrated Memory
3670 DMIPS +
DMIPS Combined Compute Performance
250 GigaOPS +
GigaOPS AI Performance
Alif Semiconductor is the industry-leading supplier of the next-generation Ensemble family of 32-bit AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning) Arm-based microcontrollers and fusion processors. Alif Ensemble is the only choice for power efficient microcontrollers that can handle heavy AI and ML workloads for battery-operated IoT devices.
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Groundbreaking Functional Integration
No matter the application, from low-end to high-end, write software once and reuse it across all your designs, without the need for external components.
Application Processing (Linux, HLOS, RTOS)
Up to two Arm Cortex-A32 CPUs to 800MHz with NEON SIMD extensions
Realtime Processing (RTOS, Bare Metal)
Up to two Cortex-M55 CPUs to 400MHz with Helium SIMD vector extensions
AI/ML Acceleration
Up to two Ethos-U55 microNPUs to 400MHz provides 250+ GOPS
Power Management
aiPM™ technology powers on only what’s needed, when needed
Security
Comprehensive device security built in, including secure boot and lifecycle management
SRAM
128KB to 13.5MB SRAM on-die with retention options eliminates the need for external memories
Non-Volatile Memory
256KB to 5.5MB MRAM on-die for your application plus all its assets
Memory Expansion
Up to two OctalSPI interfaces for RAM or NVM expansion with on-the-fly decryption and a SD/eMMC interface for additional storage
Digital Interface
Rich set of interfaces including 10/100 Ethernet, High-Speed USB, SDIO, I3C, CAN-FD, UART, SPI, I2C, PWM, QEC, and High-Speed programable timers
Analog Interfaces
High-Precision analog interfaces including 24-bit sigma-delta ADC, fast 12-bit SAR ADCs, 12-bit DAC, PGAs, and comparators
Graphics & Imaging
Flexible choice of display and camera interfaces including MIPI-DSI, 24-bit RGB display, MIPI-CSI2, 8 to 16-bit parallel camera, and optional 2DGPU
Audio
Support for multiple types of audio sources including I2S, PWM, and ADC
Never Before Seen Scalability
The Ensemble family is an Arm-based microcontroller that scales from single core to a new class of multi-core devices, that combine up to two Cortex-M55 MCU cores, up to two Cortex-A32 microprocessor cores capable of running high-level operating systems, and up to two Ethos-U55 microNPUs for artificial intelligence & machine learning acceleration.
Solutions with Alif Ensemble Microcontrollers
E1 Series
Single real-time core with security, AI/ML, imaging, and more
The E1 series measure only a few millimeters on each side, but do not let its diminutive size fool you. Inside you will find the latest integrated functions like dual-lane MIPI display interface, multiple microphone and audio inputs, fast SAR & 24-bit ΔΣ ADCs and the latest sensor interfaces combined with a powerful MCU core, an optional dedicated microNPU for accelerating ML workloads, and the lowest power consumption of any comparable microcontroller in the market.
E1 has amazing performance in a tiny package and offers extended battery life, class leading security to protect sensitive personal data, integrated graphics for rich user interfaces, making it the perfect choice for your next wearable design.
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E3 Series
Dual real-time cores adds performance when needed
Building on the High-Efficiency foundation of the E1 series, the E3 series adds a second High-Performance MCU core running at up to 400MHz, and an optional second microNPU to maximize real-time processing capability. The High-Efficiency core handles always-on operations with minimum power consumption. When performance is needed, the High-Performance core wakes up fast, finishes quickly and goes back to sleep to keep you running for years between battery replacements.
A security camera designed with an Ensemble E3 reduces activations due to false positives significantly, saving power, system cost, and battery size. E3 takes security cameras to the next-level, with advanced object & event classification, person detection, gesture detection, OCR and more.
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E5 Series
Linux-capable application core with dual real-time cores
The E5 series of fusion processors combines a Cortex-A32 application core, running up to 800MHz, with the High-Efficiency and High-Performance Cortex-M55 cores, enabling you to combine real-time performance with high-level operating systems like Linux in the same package, using shared peripherals and memories between both domains.
The E5 series is an ideal choice for medical devices, as it provides the performance needed to drive networking and high-end graphics on mission-critical health equipment. The flexible configuration matrix feature in the security subsystem gives you the ability to configure exactly which part of your application can access sensitive data, such as patient information.
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E7 Series
Maximum performance – dual application cores and dual real-time cores
The E7 family of fusion processors is a true performance powerhouse. It extends the application processing capabilities over the previous series by including two Cortex-A32 cores configured for symmetric operation at 800MHz, as well as including the High-Efficiency and High-Performance Cortex-M55 cores. This series has enough compute performance to handle the most demanding control use-cases on the edge.
In intricate designs such as vending machines, combining high-level operating systems, such as Linux for user interfaces, in parallel with the real-time cores for control tasks, will significantly shorten your design cycle.
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Image Sensor
Directly connect an image sensor to Ensemble E1 processors using the low-power 1/2/4/8-bit Camera Parallel Interface that handles lower-resolution for machine vision such as 0.3 Megapixel sensors. E3, E5, and E7 processors have 16-bit parallel, and MIPI-CSI 2-lane image sensor interfaces for even higher performance.
Sensors
Connect a wide array of sensors through digital interfaces such as I3C, I2C, SPI, or alternatively connect though analog interfaces such as fast SAR ADC, 24-bit sigma delta ADC, or comparators. Sensor types include blood oxygen, pressure/strain gauge, light, temperature, air quality, chemical signature, and accelerometers/gyroscopes/magnetometers for position and movement.
Sensors
Connect a wide array of sensors through digital interfaces such as I3C, I2C, SPI, or alternatively connect though analog interfaces such as fast SAR ADC, 24-bit sigma delta ADC, or comparators. Sensor types include blood oxygen, pressure/strain gauge, light, temperature, air quality, chemical signature, and accelerometers/gyroscopes/magnetometers for position and movement.
Microphones
Ensemble E1 devices can connect up to 14 microphones through digital PDM or I2S interfaces, and alternatively through analog ADC interfaces.
GPIO
Ensemble E1 devices Have up to 120 General Purpose I/O pins (shared with peripherals) with flexibility to choose a mix 1.8V and 3.3V voltage levels.
Display
Ensemble E1 processors drive color display panels directly using either a 24-bit RGB or a 2-lane MIPI-DSI interface up to SVGA resolution at 24-bit color depth at 30 fps. A 2D-GPU accelerates vector-based graphical applications for stunning user interfaces.
Wireless Module
Simple connection to external wireless RF modules is enabled through SDIO for high throughput, or through SPI or UART for very low-power modules. A wide selections of 3rd party modules are available for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth/BLE, LTE cellular, and 802.15.4 for Matter/Thread/ZigBee
Wireless Module
Simple connection to external wireless RF modules is enabled through SDIO for high throughput, or through SPI or UART for very low-power modules. A wide selections of 3rd party modules are available for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth/BLE, LTE cellular, and 802.15.4 for Matter/Thread/ZigBee.
GPIO
Ensemble E3 devices have up to 120 General Purpose I/O pins (shared with peripherals) with flexibility to choose a mix of 1.8V and 3.3V voltage levels.
Microphones
Ensemble E3 devices can connect up to 22 microphones through digital PDM or I2S interfaces, and alternatively through analog ADC interfaces.
Image Sensor
Directly connect up to three image sensor(s) to Ensemble E3 processors using either of the 8-bit or 16-bit Camera Parallel Interfaces for lowest power, or the MIPI-CSI 2-lane interface for highest throughput. These interfaces cover a wide range of sensor resolutions from 0.3 Megapixels on the low end for machine vision to 1.3 Megapixels on the high end.
Sensors
Connect a wide array of sensors through digital interfaces such as I3C, I2C, SPI, or alternatively connect though analog interfaces such as fast SAR ADC, 24-bit sigma delta ADC, or comparators. Sensor types include blood oxygen, pressure/strain gauge, light, temperature, air quality, chemical signature, and accelerometers/gyroscopes/magnetometers for position and movement.
Sensors
Connect a wide array of sensors through digital interfaces such as I3C, I2C, SPI, or alternatively connect though analog interfaces such as fast SAR ADC, 24-bit sigma delta ADC, or comparators. Sensor types include blood oxygen, pressure/strain gauge, light, temperature, air quality, chemical signature, and accelerometers/gyroscopes/magnetometers for position and movement.
Wireless Module
Simple connection to external wireless RF modules is enabled through SDIO for high throughput, or through SPI or UART for very low-power modules. A wide selections of 3rd party modules are available for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth/BLE, LTE cellular, and 802.15.4 for Matter/Thread/ZigBee
GPIO & Motor Control
Ensemble E5 devices have up to 120 General Purpose I/O pins (shared with peripherals) with flexibility to choose a mix of 1.8V and 3.3V voltage levels. Control of a wide range of motor types is possible with the E3’s elaborate set of 32-bit timers, ADCs, PGAs that are all connected by a programmable Event Router to establish synchronized sample/control loops.
OctalSPI
Two high-speed OctalSPI interfaces are available for external memory such Flash and PSRAM devices to expand code and data beyond the on-chip memories if required. Both interfaces are capable of eXecute-In-Place (XIP), HyperBus protocol, and provide up to 160MB/sec throughput. External memory can be encrypted for security and their contents are automatically decrypted on-the-fly when consumed by the E5.
SDHC
A flexible SDMMC interface is available in 4- or 8-bit data widths up to 100MHz supporting SD card, eMMC, and SDIO protocols.
Display
Ensemble E5 processors drive color display panels directly using either a 24-bit RGB or a 2-lane MIPI-DSI interface up to WSVGA resolution at 24-bit color depth at 30 fps. A 2D-GPU accelerates vector-based graphical applications for stunning user interfaces.
Sensors
Connect a wide array of sensors through digital interfaces such as I3C, I2C, SPI, or alternatively connect though analog interfaces such as fast SAR ADC, 24-bit sigma delta ADC, or comparators. Sensor types include blood oxygen, pressure/strain gauge, light, temperature, air quality, chemical signature, and accelerometers/gyroscopes/magnetometers for position and movement
Data Retention
An option to retain data and function while main power is off is enabled when a small battery power source is connected such as a CR2032 Li-MnO2 coin cell. For less than 1uA a real-time clock, a 32-bit timer, an analog comparator, and GPIO wake pins are all active and available. Additionally, 4KB of SRAM are retained. For more than 1uA you can choose to retain more internal SRAM in increments that total up to 512KB.
Sensors
Connect a wide array of sensors through digital interfaces such as I3C, I2C, SPI, or alternatively connect though analog interfaces such as fast SAR ADC, 24-bit sigma delta ADC, or comparators. Sensor types include blood oxygen, pressure/strain gauge, light, temperature, air quality, chemical signature, and accelerometers/gyroscopes/magnetometers for position and movement
Sensors
Connect a wide array of sensors through digital interfaces such as I3C, I2C, SPI, or alternatively connect though analog interfaces such as fast SAR ADC, 24-bit sigma delta ADC, or comparators. Sensor types include blood oxygen, pressure/strain gauge, light, temperature, air quality, chemical signature, and accelerometers/gyroscopes/magnetometers for position and movement
Sensors
Connect a wide array of sensors through digital interfaces such as I3C, I2C, SPI, or alternatively connect though analog interfaces such as fast SAR ADC, 24-bit sigma delta ADC, or comparators. Sensor types include blood oxygen, pressure/strain gauge, light, temperature, air quality, chemical signature, and accelerometers/gyroscopes/magnetometers for position and movement
Sensors
Connect a wide array of sensors through digital interfaces such as I3C, I2C, SPI, or alternatively connect though analog interfaces such as fast SAR ADC, 24-bit sigma delta ADC, or comparators. Sensor types include blood oxygen, pressure/strain gauge, light, temperature, air quality, chemical signature, and accelerometers/gyroscopes/magnetometers for position and movement
Wireless Module
Simple connection to external wireless RF modules is enabled through SDIO for high throughput, or through SPI or UART for very low-power modules. A wide selections of 3rd party modules are available for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth/BLE, LTE cellular, and 802.15.4 for Matter/Thread/ZigBee
Ethernet
Ensemble E7 devices support 10/100 Ethernet through a RMII interface to an external Ethernet PHY. The Ethernet interface supports the IEEE 1588 protocol for precision networked clock synchronization.
GPIO & Motor Control
Ensemble E7 devices have up to 120 General Purpose I/O pins (shared with peripherals) with flexibility to choose a mix of 1.8V and 3.3V voltage levels. Control of a wide range of motor types is possible with the E3’s elaborate set of 32-bit timers, ADCs, PGAs that are all connected by a programmable Event Router to establish synchronized sample/control loops.
OctalSPI
Two high-speed OctalSPI interfaces are available for external memory such Flash and PSRAM devices to expand code and data beyond the on-chip memories if required. Both interfaces are capable of eXecute-In-Place (XIP), HyperBus protocol, and provide up to 160MB/sec throughput. External memory can be encrypted for security and their contents are automatically decrypted on-the-fly when consumed by the E7.
Display
Ensemble E7 processors drive color display panels directly using either a 24-bit RGB or a 2-lane MIPI-DSI interface up to WSVGA resolution at 24-bit color depth at 30 fps. A 2D-GPU accelerates vector-based graphical applications for stunning user interfaces.
Sensors
Connect a wide array of sensors through digital interfaces such as I3C, I2C, or SPI including accelerometers/gyroscopes/magnetometers to detect precise position and movement.
Image Sensor
Directly connect up to three image sensor(s) to Ensemble E7 processors using either of the 8-bit or 16-bit Camera Parallel Interfaces for lowest power, or the MIPI-CSI 2-lane interface for highest throughput. These interfaces cover a wide range of sensor resolutions from 0.3 Megapixels on the low end for machine vision to 1.3 Megapixels on the high end.
Speaker/Microphone
Ensemble E7 devices can connect up to 22 microphones through digital PDM or I2S interfaces, and alternatively through analog ADC interfaces. I2S interface can also drive stereo speakers.