80 MHz Cortex-M3 with Ethernet and CAN — the industrial gateway MCU
This is the connectivity-rich member of the family — built for industrial control, motor drives, building automation, and networked sensor hubs where a single chip must handle both real-time control and plant-floor communication.
512 KB Flash / 64 KB SRAM — sizing the firmware and data buffers
The 512 KB on-chip Flash (512K x 8) is sized for a substantial application image — a full TCP/IP stack, CANopen or EtherCAT slave stack, plus the control loop firmware fits without external memory. The 64 KB SRAM (64K x 8) provides runtime workspace for packet buffers, sensor data arrays, and RTOS task stacks.
Ethernet + CAN + 46 GPIOs — connectivity without glue logic
The LM3S8C62 integrates both Ethernet MAC+PHY and CAN 2.0B controllers, plus I²C, SPI, SSI, UART, IrDA, LIN, Microwire, and QEI (quadrature encoder interface). The 46 GPIOs give enough headroom for a keypad, LCD interface, and a handful of discrete I/Os alongside the serial buses. The QEI is a nice touch for motor-feedback applications — it counts encoder pulses in hardware, offloading the CPU. The Ethernet PHY is internal, so the BOM only needs a magnetics module and RJ45 connector — no external PHY chip.
108-BGA (10x10 mm) — footprint and assembly considerations
The 108-ball BGA with 0.8 mm pitch (10x10 mm body) requires a multi-layer PCB with via-in-pad or microvias for routing the inner balls. This is not a hand-solder part — expect x-ray inspection and reflow with a controlled profile. Supply voltage is 3.0 V to 3.6 V, so a single 3.3 V rail powers the core and I/O.