LuatOS CORE-ESP32 C3: high-resolution pinout and specs

by Renzo Mischianti · Published 14 March 2024 · Updated 20 August 2024

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The core of the LuatOS CORE ESP32 C3 is the ESP32-C3 microcontroller, featuring a 32-bit RISC-V single-core processor running at up to 160MHz. The device comes with integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) capabilities, allowing for seamless wireless communication in a wide range of IoT applications. Additionally, the device offers an extensive array of GPIO pins and support for popular communication protocols, such as I2C, SPI, and UART, which enable effortless integration with various sensors, actuators, and peripherals.

High resolution image

One of the key strengths of the LuatOS CORE ESP32 C3 is its compatibility with multiple development ecosystems. While it is primarily designed for the LuatOS operating system, it also seamlessly integrates with the popular Arduino ecosystem, just like other ESP32-C3 devices. This flexibility allows developers to choose their preferred development environment, catering to a broader range of preferences and expertise.

Here my selection of C3 LuatOS esp32c3 Core - ESP32-C3-DevKitC-02 - ESP32-C3-MINI-1 - WeMos LOLIN C3 PICO - WeMos LOLIN C3 Mini v2.1 - WeMos LOLIN C3 Mini v1.0 - ESP32 S3 Purlple AI-S3

Another notable feature of the LuatOS CORE ESP32 C3 is its inclusion of an external SPI flash, which provides additional storage capacity for more complex applications and data storage requirements. This extra memory makes it possible to store and manage more extensive firmware, libraries, and data sets, further expanding the device’s capabilities.

Key Component	Description
ESP32-C3	The CORE ESP32 core board equipped with ESP32-C3 is a version without built-in FLASH, and the external SPI FLASH is mounted by default. If you encounter a core without external SPI FLASH, you need to pay attention to the specific model of the main chip.
5 V to 3.3 V LDO	Power regulator that converts a 5 V supply into a 3.3 V output.
Pin Headers	All available GPIO pins (except for the SPI bus for flash) are broken out to the pin headers on the board.
Boot Button	Download button. Holding down Boot and then pressing Reset initiates Firmware Download mode for downloading firmware through the serial port.
USB Type-C Port	USB interface. Power supply for the board as well as the communication interface between a computer and the ESP32-C3 chip.
Reset Button	Press this button to restart the system.
USB-to-UART Bridge	Single USB-to-UART bridge chip provides transfer rates up to 3 Mbps.
2 LED	LEDs driven by GPIO12 and GPIO13.

PINs

UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter) pins:

U0RXD (GPIO20): This pin serves as the UART0 receive (RX) pin, which is used for receiving serial data.
U0TXD (GPIO21): This pin serves as the UART0 transmit (TX) pin, which is used for transmitting serial data.

I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) pins: The ESP32-C3 does not have dedicated I2C pins. However, you can implement software-based I2C (bit-banging) using any available GPIO pins. For instance, you could use GPIO12 (SPIHD) and GPIO13 (SPIWP) for the I2C SCL (clock) and SDA (data) pins, respectively.

LEDs: It has 2 led that can be controlled with GPIO12 and GPIO13.

The BOOT (IO09) pin cannot be pulled down before power-on, and the ESP32 will enter the download mode.

Specs

CPU and Memory

32-bit RISC-V single-core processor, up to 160
MHz
CoreMark® score:
- 1 core at 160 MHz: 407.22 CoreMark; 2.55
  CoreMark/MHz
384 KB ROM
400 KB SRAM (16 KB for cache)
8 KB SRAM in RTC
Embedded flash (see details in Chapter 1
ESP32-C3 Series Comparison)
SPI, Dual SPI, Quad SPI, and QPI interfaces that
allow connection to multiple external flash
Access to flash accelerated by cache
Supports flash in-Circuit Programming (ICP)

Ordering Code	Embedded Flash	Ambient Temperature (°C)	Package (mm)	GPIO No.
ESP32-C3	No	–40 ∼ 105	*QFN32 (55)**	22
ESP32-C3FN4	4 MB	–40 ∼ 85	QFN32 (5*5)	22
ESP32-C3FH4	4 MB	–40 ∼ 105	QFN32 (5*5)	22
ESP32-C3FH4AZ	4 MB	–40 ∼ 105	QFN32 (5*5)	16

Advanced Peripheral Interfaces

To upload in the Arduino environment, you must select DIO upload mode

22 or 16 programmable GPIOs
Digital interfaces:
- 3 × SPI
- 2 × UART
- 1 × I2C
- 1 × I2S
- Remote control peripheral, with 2 transmit
  channels and 2 receive channels
- LED PWM controller, with up to 6 channels
- Full-speed USB Serial/JTAG controller
- General DMA controller (GDMA), with 3
  transmit channels and 3 receive channels
- 1 × TWAI® controller compatible with ISO
  11898-1 (CAN Specification 2.0)
Analog interfaces:
- 2 × 12-bit SAR ADCs, up to 6 channels
- 1 × temperature sensor
Timers:
- 2 × 54-bit general-purpose timers
- 3 × digital watchdog timers
- 1 × analog watchdog timer
- 1 × 52-bit system timer

WiFi

IEEE 802.11 b/g/n-compliant
Supports 20 MHz, 40 MHz bandwidth in 2.4
GHz band
1T1R mode with data rate up to 150 Mbps
4 × virtual Wi-Fi interfaces
802.11mc FTM

Bluetooth

Bluetooth LE: Bluetooth 5, Bluetooth mesh
High power mode (21 dBm)
Speed: 125 Kbps, 500 Kbps, 1 Mbps, 2 Mbps
Advertising extensions
Multiple advertisement sets
Channel selection algorithm #2
Internal co-existence mechanism between Wi-Fi
and Bluetooth to share the same antenna