ST's STM32G5 MCUs target datacentre power and robot motors

STMicroelectronics has introduced the STM32G5 series of mixed-signal microcontrollers, built around an Arm Cortex-M33 core running at 280MHz, which the company says delivers twice the compute performance of the existing STM32G4 series. ST states the devices are aimed at digital power supplies for AI datacentres, motor control in humanoid robotics, photovoltaic installations, wind turbines, industrial drives and commercial drones.

The core delivers 420 DMIPS and 1136 CoreMark at 280MHz, according to ST's published figures. The series adds new and upgraded peripherals including a 12-channel high-resolution timer, which ST describes as a first for its MCUs, motor-control timers, a position encoder (POSENC), and a programmable logic array (PLAy) intended to implement custom hardware functions on-chip and reduce reliance on external glue logic.

Power and motor control applications

ST links the high-resolution timer to dynamic reconfiguration of power-supply units as server workloads change, and says the sharper timing allows the STM32G5 to handle the higher switching frequencies associated with power supplies built on wide-bandgap silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors. The company cites industry figures that GPU cluster rack power is moving towards 1MW and that the largest datacentres could demand over 2GW of peak power by 2030, framing these as the context for its efficiency claims; these figures are presented as background rather than independently verified by ST.

For motor control, ST points to humanoid robotic hands using as many as 20 motors, requiring simultaneous multi-axis driving, high current for torque, and fast response for smooth movement. Delta Electronics' Andy Hsiao, Senior Commodity Buyer in the company's PSBG Materials Division, is quoted by ST as saying the STM32G5 offers the processing power, peripherals and security needed for lower energy losses and higher reliability in AI and EV applications. Ruiyan Intelligent CEO Paul Tian is quoted by ST describing the series as delivering more than twice the performance of the previous generation for controlling robotic hand motors and sensors.

Security and packaging

Security features combine Arm TrustZone with ST's proprietary STM32Trust technology, including an immutable root of trust (STiRoT) for secure boot and firmware update, a cryptographic engine supporting ST's post-quantum cryptography libraries, secure key storage, tamper detection and side-channel attack resistance. ST describes this provisioning capability as relevant to current and upcoming compliance requirements in datacentre applications, without specifying which standards.

The series is offered with on-chip flash from 64Kbytes to 512Kbytes, in packages from QFN32 to LQFP128, including an LQFP variant with a thermally enhanced exposed pad that ST says is required to sustain advanced mission profiles for datacentre power applications. Supporting hardware includes the NUCLEO-G564RE Nucleo board, the B-G564E-MC1S motor control discovery kit and the B-G564E-DPOW1 digital power discovery kit, alongside the X-CUBE-DPOWER and X-CUBE-MCSDK software packages and the STM32CubeMX2 development tool.

ST states the STM32G5 is in production now, covering performance and high-resolution product lines, with prices starting from $1.0340 per unit for orders of 10,000 pieces. The company says the single-core portfolio will be expanded in 2027 with dual-core products offering additional performance and peripherals.