72 MHz Cortex-M4 with DSP instructions and FPU
The STM32F303R8T7: It packs 64 KB of Flash and 12 KB of SRAM, plus a rich set of analog peripherals: 21-channel 12-bit ADC and three 12-bit DAC channels. The Cortex-M4 core includes a single-precision FPU and DSP instruction set, which offloads math-heavy control loops — think field-oriented motor control or digital power conversion — without an external DSP or FPGA.
The DMA controller keeps data moving without loading the core, critical when the ADC is sampling at high rates or a display buffer is being refreshed via SPI. Integrated I²S supports audio codec interfaces directly. Fifty-one GPIOs in the 64-LQFP package give reasonable headroom for a mixed-signal board with parallel LCD, keypad matrix, and several encoder inputs. The internal oscillator trims to within 1% accuracy, saving the external crystal cost in non-timing-critical applications.
STMicroelectronics lists the STM32F303R8T7 as Active. There is no announced last-time-buy, no PCN for obsolescence, and no successor mandated. The base product number STM32F303 covers multiple Flash/RAM density variants in the same 64-LQFP footprint, so a future firmware growth path exists without a board respin — just swap to the STM32F303RCT7 (256 KB Flash) if the code outgrows 64 KB.