Texas Instruments Launches MCU Portfolio Expansion
Texas Instruments Inc. (TI, Dallas, TX) announced a massive expansion of its MSP430 ultra-low-power microcontroller (MCU) platform with plans to add over 50 new devices in the next 18 months. The MSP430 device portfolio expansion answers growing market demands in the MCU market for industrial, medical, and consumer products. The first devices in the MSP430 portfolio are the MSP430F20xx MCU Series, which offers a tiny 14-pin, 4 mm x 4 mm footprint, and 16 million instructions per second (MIPS) of 16-bit performance.
The new MSP430F20xx MCUs are the first devices based on TI's F2xx architecture, which operates with a cool active current of 200 µA per MIPS. A flexible clock system allows operation up to 16 MHz with no external components using an improved digitally controlled oscillator that is fully programmable and stable over temperature and voltage. The ability to switch from standby to a fully synchronized, 16 MIPS active mode in less than 1µsec allows interrupt event-driven programming that extends time in power-saving modes and the use of smaller, lower-cost batteries. The 14-pin footprint combined with a sub-1µA standby current provides benefits in space-constrained applications such as fire and motion detectors.
The MSP430F20x2 and MSP430F20x3 MCUs include a universal serial interface that can be configured for either I2C or SPI master or slave communication. To accelerate the F20xx MCU design-in, designers can begin development with TI's existing MSP430 USB or parallel port JTAG pods that support the new Spy Bi-Wire interface. Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2005, the MSP-FET430U14 will be available for purchase. Following the MSP430F20xx MCU Series, TI will also introduce in the fourth quarter the first in a family of enhanced MSP43FG46xx processors with an extended 1 MB memory model, allowing access to 16 times more memory compared to the 64 kB available now.
The first enhanced device from the MSP430FG46xx generation -- the FG4619 MCU -- will incorporate 120 kB of embedded flash memory and a complete signal chain on chip, making it suitable for applications like portable medical devices. In 2006, the company's MCU expansion will continue with new families of devices with increased MIPS, 5 V and 125 °C capabilities, USB 2.0, low-voltage operation, and wireless connectivity.
The MSP430F20x3 MCUs have begun sampling, with full production scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2005. The MSP430F20x1 and MSP430F20x2 MCUs will sample in the fourth quarter as well, with production in early 2006. Pricing for the MSP430F2001 MCU starts at $0.49 for 100,000 units.
