Raspberry Pi Ltd
RP2040 Microcontroller
The RP2040 is Raspberry Pi's first microcontroller chip, featuring dual ARM Cortex-M0+ cores running at up to 133 MHz. Built on a 40 nm process in a compact ...
The RP2040 is Raspberry Pi's first microcontroller chip, featuring dual ARM Cortex-M0+ cores running at up to 133 MHz. Built on a 40 nm process in a compact 7 × 7 mm QFN-56 package, it delivers high performance at low cost for embedded applications.
With 264 KB of on-chip SRAM across six independent banks and a fully connected bus fabric, both cores and DMA engines can operate in parallel without contention. The RP2040 requires an external flash chip for code storage, giving designers flexibility over memory capacity.
Key Features
- Dual Cortex-M0+ Cores – Up to 133 MHz clock speed
- 264 KB SRAM – Six independent banks for contention-free parallel access
- Flexible I/O – 30 GPIO pins, including 4 analogue inputs (ADC)
- Programmable I/O (PIO) – 8 state machines across 2 PIO blocks for custom peripherals
- USB 1.1 – Host and device support with internal PHY
- Serial Interfaces – 2× UART, 2× SPI, 2× I²C
- 16× PWM Channels – Hardware pulse-width modulation
- DMA Controller – Offload data transfers from the CPU cores
- On-Chip Voltage Regulator – 1.8–3.3 V I/O with 1.1 V core supply
Specifications
- Processor – Dual ARM Cortex-M0+ at up to 133 MHz
- SRAM – 264 KB (6 banks)
- Flash – External (not included on chip)
- GPIO – 30 multi-function pins
- ADC – 4-channel, 12-bit
- Process – 40 nm
- Package – QFN-56, 7 × 7 mm
Ideal For
- Custom embedded designs and PCB projects
- IoT devices and sensor nodes
- Motor and actuator control
- Custom peripheral interfaces via PIO
Package Contents
- 1× RP2040 microcontroller IC
Resources
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- ADC
- An analogue-to-digital converter reads a changing voltage and turns it into a number the microcontroller can use. It matters when connecting analogue sensors such as light, sound, or variable-resistor sensors.
- GPIO
- General-purpose input/output pins are microcontroller pins you can set in software to read signals, switch devices on and off, or connect to peripherals. The number of GPIO pins matters because it limits how many buttons, LEDs, sensors, and other parts you can wire directly to the board.
- IoT
- Short for Internet of Things, meaning physical devices that connect to networks or the internet to send data or be controlled remotely. It matters if you want projects such as connected sensors, remote controls or classroom data-logging activities.
- microcontroller
- A microcontroller is a small computer on a chip that runs your program and controls connected inputs and outputs. For this product, it is the part that reads buttons and sensors, drives the display and speaker, and communicates over Bluetooth.
- PCB
- A printed circuit board is a rigid board with copper tracks that connect electronic parts without loose wires. For this kit, the PCBs also form the airplane shape, so they are both the circuit base and part of the finished model.
- PWM
- Pulse Width Modulation is a way for a digital pin to simulate variable output power by switching on and off very quickly. It matters for controlling things like LED brightness, motor speed, or servo-style signals from a microcontroller pin.
- RP2040
- A microcontroller chip used on many maker boards, with enough speed and flexible I/O for some camera and display projects. Compatibility with RP2040 matters because camera modules often need many pins and careful timing to read image data successfully.
- SPI
- A fast serial communication bus often used for displays, memory cards, and sensors. It matters because SPI devices need specific pins for clock and data, plus a separate chip-select line for each device.
- SRAM
- Fast temporary memory used by a processor while a program is running. More SRAM helps with projects that handle larger data buffers, networking, displays, or more complex code.
- Torque
- A twisting force that causes something to rotate, usually measured in newton-metres or kilogram-centimetres. It matters when choosing motors, servos, gears, and tools because higher torque is needed to lift heavier loads, turn larger wheels, or move mechanisms without stalling.
- UART
- UART is a simple serial connection that sends data over separate transmit and receive wires, often labelled TX and RX. It matters because this module is designed to replace a wired UART cable with a wireless link while keeping the same serial data format.
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Microcontrollers
Raspberry Pi