The LM3S1N16-IQR50-C1T is officially classified as Obsolete by Texas Instruments, meaning the manufacturer has ceased production with no planned last-time-buy window remaining.
ARM Cortex-M3 at 50 MHz — what the specs mean for the BOM line
The 50 MHz ARM Cortex-M3 core delivers 32-bit single-core processing with 64 KB of on-chip Flash program memory and 12 K x 8 RAM — the memory partition suits control-loop firmware in the 20-40 KB range, leaving headroom for a small RTOS or state-machine scheduler. 33 general-purpose I/O lines in a 64-LQFP package offer enough pins for a parallel LCD data bus, keypad matrix, and sensor interrupts without needing an external GPIO expander.
Connectivity includes I²C, SPI, SSI, UART/USART, IrDA, LINbus, and Microwire — the UART count supports a Modbus RTU master/slave on one port and a debug terminal on another without sharing. The 8-channel 10-bit ADC handles analog inputs like thermistor or potentiometer feedback; combined with the PWM and WDT peripherals, the part can run a closed-loop motor or heater control with minimal external components.