MCU builds-in configurable low-leakage transimpedance amplifier + FRAM

New Products | March 29, 2016

By Graham Prophet

This MCU is positioned as the only MCU with an integrated low-leakage transimpedance amplifier (TIA) consuming 50 pA current. The microcontroller – an expansion of the ultra-low-power MSP430 MCU family – offers 20 times lower leakage than alternative voltage and current sensing solutions and provides the configurability of analogue and memory technology without sacrificing battery life or board space.

This highly integrated MCU with configurable analogue helps simplify their and save PCB space. The MSP430FR2311 MCU allows developers to connect to a wide range of sensors with its analogue integration including ADC, op amp, comparators and TIA. This solution also integrates Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FRAM) technology and eliminates the need for an onboard crystal in a single 3.5 x 4 mm package.

The MSP430FR2311 MCU allows developers to choose the amplifier configuration (non-inverting, inverting or transimpedance) they need and scale their application by selecting the amount of memory to be allocated for application code or data, eliminating the boundaries of Flash to RAM ratios. The MSP430FR2311 MCU LaunchPad development kit is supported by Code Composer Studio integrated development environment (IDE) and IAR Embedded WorkBench. Users can then explore an application implementation with the MSP430FR2311 smoke sensing sub-system reference design (coming in 2Q16) using a photodiode and TIA configuration for current sensing. Additionally, engineers developing for medical health and fitness, building automation and personal electronics can further extend battery life by utilising a TI Design reference design (TIDA-00242) which uses a TI energy harvesting IC (bq25570) in an MSP430FR2311 MCU-based system.

Current MSP430G2x MCU users using 2 kB and 4 kB devices can migrate their designs to the MSP430FR2311 MCU and take advantage of higher performance with non-volatile FRAM and higher analogue integration, including operational amplifiers, ADCs and comparators. Review the MSP430F2xx and MSP430G2xx series migration guide to learn how to move between families when needing more analogue capability.

The MSP430FR2311 MCU and will start at $0.65 (1000) The MSP430FR2311 MCU LaunchPad development kit costs $15.99.

Links;