Texas Instruments AM4378BZDND100

Overview

AM4378BZDND100 from Texas Instruments is a high-performance Sitara™ ARM® Cortex®-A9 microprocessor operating at 1 GHz, integrating dual 12-bit SAR ADCs (867 kSPS), six eHRPWM modules, three eQEP modules, PRU-ICSS for EtherCAT/PROFINET offload, and PowerVR SGX530 3D graphics engine. It supports LPDDR2/DDR3/DDR3L memory, dual USB 2.0 with PHY, dual Gigabit Ethernet with IEEE 1588v2, and industrial I/O including CAN, McASP, McSPI, and QSPI - deployed in programmable logic controllers and HMI terminals.

For engineers reviewing the AM4378BZDND100 datasheet, AM4378BZDND100 pinout, AM4378BZDND100 application, or AM4378BZDND100 equivalent, key selection criteria include real-time protocol support via PRU-ICSS, deterministic motor control capability using eQEP + eHRPWM + ADC1, touch-screen integration via ADC0 TSC mode, DDR3-800 interface timing, and thermal performance in –40°C to 105°C industrial environments.

Technical Context

The AM4378BZDND100 implements a dual-core-capable ARM Cortex-A9 subsystem with 32KB L1 instruction/data cache and configurable 256KB L2 cache or L3 RAM, paired with a dedicated PRU-ICSS subsystem containing two 200-MHz programmable real-time units, 12KB+4KB instruction RAM, and 8KB+4KB data RAM - enabling concurrent execution of Linux-based HLOS and hard real-time industrial protocols without CPU intervention.

Its memory architecture includes a 32-bit EMIF supporting DDR3-800 (400-MHz clock), LPDDR2-533 (266-MHz clock), and GPMC with BCH 16-bit ECC for NAND/NOR/SRAM; the on-chip OCMC RAM provides 256KB low-latency shared memory accessible by all masters, while the SGX530 GPU delivers up to 20M triangles/sec with OpenGL ES 2.0 and Direct3D Mobile API support.

Key Specifications

Pinout & Package

AM4378BZDND100 uses a 491-ball NFBGA package (ZDN suffix) with 17 mm × 17 mm body size and 0.65-mm ball pitch, featuring Via Channel Array technology for simplified PCB routing and thermal management in industrial enclosures.

Key Features

Applications

Equivalent & Alternatives

The following parts are listed as comparable options for similar ARM-based industrial processor applications.

Compared with AM4379BZDND100, the AM4378BZDND100 delivers identical industrial I/O, PRU-ICSS capability, and thermal rating (–40°C to 105°C), but targets cost-optimized designs where peak CPU frequency margin is less critical than power efficiency; versus AM6442BZDNA00, it retains legacy industrial protocol acceleration via PRU-ICSS while offering proven qualification for extended temperature operation without functional safety certification overhead.

Availability

AM4378BZDND100 is available at Aetrix Electronics and suitable for industrial automation, programmable logic controllers, and human-machine interface terminals requiring stable component supply across extended product lifecycles.

Supply support for AM4378BZDND100 includes scheduled delivery planning, volume procurement assistance, BOM continuity management, traceable sourcing, and lifecycle availability coordination for OEM customers, industrial embedded developers, connected-device designers, and electronics production programs.

Manufacturer

Texas Instruments is a global semiconductor company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, delivering analog and embedded processing solutions for industrial, automotive, and communications markets since 1930.

The AM437x family was designed to bridge the gap between microcontrollers and application processors, targeting industrial edge devices needing both rich OS support and deterministic real-time I/O - with AM4378BZDND100 optimized for cost-sensitive, thermally constrained PLC and HMI applications.

FAQ

What is the maximum operating temperature specification for AM4378BZDND100?

The AM4378BZDND100 is rated for operation from –40°C to +105°C ambient temperature, validated per TI's recommended operating conditions in SPRS851E. This extended range supports deployment in unventilated control cabinets and outdoor industrial enclosures. Thermal design must maintain junction temperature below 125°C under worst-case power dissipation, which for AM4378BZDND100 is typically 3.2 W at 1000 MHz with DDR3 active. The device includes on-die thermal sensor and dynamic thermal management registers accessible via ARM software.

Does AM4378BZDND100 support secure boot functionality?

AM4378BZDND100 does not support secure boot; this feature is exclusive to AM437xHS (High-Security) variants such as AM4378BZDND100HS, which incorporate dedicated crypto accelerators and fuse-based key storage. Standard AM4378BZDND100 includes AES/SHA/RNG hardware acceleration but lacks the secure ROM bootloader and tamper-resistant key provisioning required for certified secure boot. Customers requiring secure firmware validation must select the HS variant or implement external secure element solutions.

How many PRU-ICSS instances does AM4378BZDND100 integrate?

AM4378BZDND100 integrates two PRU-ICSS subsystems: PRU-ICSS0 and PRU-ICSS1. Each contains two 32-bit PRU cores running at 200 MHz, with dedicated instruction and data RAM (4KB IRAM/4KB DRAM for ICSS0; 12KB IRAM/8KB DRAM for ICSS1), plus shared 12KB RAM in ICSS1. This dual-subsystem architecture enables concurrent execution of multiple industrial protocols - for example, EtherCAT on PRU-ICSS0 and PROFINET on PRU-ICSS1 - without resource contention or timing interference.

What display interfaces are supported by AM4378BZDND100?

AM4378BZDND100 supports parallel RGB/YUV display output via its Display Subsystem (DSS), including RGB8/12/16/18/24-bit and YUV422 formats up to 2048×2048 resolution. It also supports passive and active monochrome/color panels, remote frame buffer interface (RFBI), and partial refresh. The DSS includes hardware overlay, gamma correction, color space conversion, and dithering - but does not support HDMI, MIPI DSI, or LVDS output natively; those require external bridge ICs. Video input is handled separately through the 12-bit camera interface (BT656/BT1120).

Can AM4378BZDND100 directly interface with a 16-bit NAND flash using BCH 16-bit ECC?

Yes, AM4378BZDND100 supports 16-bit NAND flash interfacing via its General-Purpose Memory Controller (GPMC), with hardware BCH 16-bit error correction enabled through the Error Locator Module (ELM). The GPMC provides up to seven chip selects and supports NAND, NOR, SRAM, and muxed-NOR devices. When configured for NAND, the ELM automatically locates and corrects up to 16 bit errors per 512-byte sector using programmable BCH polynomials - eliminating need for external ECC controller and simplifying NAND-based boot media design.