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Show us what your design is made of in the lowest power showdown of the year. Take the MSP430 ultra-low power challenge featuring the worlds lowest power MCU!

• Visit DesignMSP430.com

Ultra-low power microcontroller solutions for low-power or no-power applications.

See below for further information and assumptions:

MSP430 offers up to 70% lower power than the PIC24F16KA102
MSP430 has lower power modes than other MCUs
MSP430 lasts 20+ Years on 1 battery

 

 

 

 

Get started now with the MSP430's eZ430 development kits!

 

 

MSP430 Videos

 

 

MSP430 Offers the Lowest Power Active Mode and Sleep Modes

MSP430 is the lowest power microcontroller family, offering 200+ Ultra-Low Power devices. Browse through our scalable portfolio using the MCU Selection Tool!

MSP430 offers microcontrollers with:

• The lowest power active and sleep modes with Brown Out Reset (BOR).
• <1µs wakeup from sleep mode (Our Low Power Mode 3 includes RAM retention, self wakeup, and BOR at 0.7µA @ 3V)

Device	Active @ 3V w/BOR (µA)	Standby w/Self wakeup and BOR (µA)
MSP430F2001	300 µA	0.6 µA
MSP430F2619	515 µA	0.6 µA
STM8L151G4	702.8 µA	5.8 µA
PIC24F16KA102	1110 µA	0.85 µA

Brown Out Reset (BOR)

The Brown Out Reset (BOR) circuit detects low supply voltages and resets the device by triggering a POR signal when power is applied or removed. This protects your design and prevents erratic behavior. MSP430’s zero-power BOR circuit is continuously turned on, including in all low power modes.

Watchdog Timer (WDT)

The MSP430’s Watchdog Timer (WDT) has several functions. One configuration is setting the WDT as an interval timer to generate interrupts at selected time intervals (allowing the MSP430 to wakeup from low power modes). Alternatively, it may perform a controlled system restart after a software problem occurs.

 

• Ultra-Low Power Comparison White Paper
  In-depth analysis between the MSP430F2xx vs. Microchip PIC24F XLP.
• Choosing an Ultra-Low Power MCU
  See what it takes to be Ultra-Low Power

 

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MSP430 Offers 20+ Years in Battery Life

Using an ideal 3V CR2032 Coin Cell Battery rated at 200mAh, the MSP430 offers the longest possible battery life.

The MSP430 Can Wake Up from Low Power Modes in <1µs

The MSP430's Digitally Controlled Oscillator (DCO) provides wakeup times that are less than 1 microsecond. This means your application stays in sleep mode longer, and less time and power are wasted during wakeup. Competing devices require more time during wakeup, which results in higher average current consumption leading to weaker battery-powered performance.

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Minimal Average Current Consumption » Longer Battery Life

Using a standard 3V CR2032 Coin Cell Battery rated at 200mAh, the MSP430 offers the longest possible battery life.

MSP430 Optimal Battery Life Checklist:

• Ultra-Low Power Active Mode
• Ultra-Low Power Sleep Mode
• Fast Wakeup Times
  

 

	1% Active, 99% Sleep	0.1% Active, 99.9% Sleep
MSP430F2001	6.35 years	25.38 years
MSP430F2619	3.97 years	20.49 years
PIC24F16KA102	2.09 years	12.29 years
STM8L151G4	1.71 years	3.22 years

 

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MSP430 Makes Ultra-Low Power Easy

MSP430 offers versatile, affordable, and easy-to-use tools

MSP-FET430UIF | eStore
The MSP-FET430UIF is a powerful flash emulation tool to quickly begin application development on any flash MSP430 MCU. It includes USB debugging interface used to program and debug the MSP430 in-system through the JTAG interface or the pin saving Spy Bi-Wire (2-wire JTAG) protocol.

eZ430 Development kits | Start at $20!
eZ430 development tools includes all of the hardware and software needed for a complete MSP430 project in a portable USB stick. The eZ430 tools include a free IDE, provide full emulation capabilities, and include detachable target boards.

See the entire range of MSP430 Tools...

 

MSP430 Provides All the Resources Needed to Start Developing

 

 

Data Backup and Documentation Used for Comparisons

	MSP430F2001	MSP430F2619	PIC24F16KA102	STM8L151G4
Datasheet Link	Download Datasheet	Download Datasheet	Download Datasheet	Download Datasheet
Active Mode w/ BOR, 3V Operation, operating from Flash	300uA	515uA	Estimated using ratio of Active Current, Idle Current, and Internal FRC current+LPBOR = 1110uA	Supply Current in Run Mode running off Flash (700uA) + BOR (2.8uA) = 702.8 uA
Standby Mode w/ WDT, RAM retention, BOR, 3V Operation	LPM3 w/VLO (includes BOR & WDT) = 0.6uA	LPM3 w/VLO (includes BOR & WDT) = 0.6uA	Power Down Base Current (.105) + WDT (.87) + LPBOR (.095) = 1.07uA @ 3.3V =0.856uA @3V Use 0.8 multiplier to convert to 3V	Low Power Wait Mode (3uA) + BOR (2.8uA) + Independent Watchdog (TBD) = >5.8uA
Wake Up Time	<1us	<1us	1000us (requires PLL initialization to reach 16MHz)	5us

 

Procedure for Calculating Average Current Consumption vs. Duty Cycle (% in Active Mode): Average Current Consumption = Active Current * (% in Active) + Standby Current * (% in Standby) (The values used for Active Mode and Standby Mode are based on the table above.) Procedure for determining Battery Life Comparison: Average Current Consumption = Active Current * (% in Active) + Standby Current * (% in Standby). For the first example, we used 1% Active, and 99% Standby - This is typical for many portable measurement systems. For the second example, we used 0.1% Active, and 99.9% Standby - This is typical for many wireless sensor network applications. Once Average Current Consumption is determined, we can find estimated battery life with the following equation (In our example, we used a CR2032 coin cell battery rated for 200mAh): Estimated Battery Life in hours= 200mAh/(Average Current Consumption). Estimated Battery Life in years = (Estimated Battery Life in hours) / (365days/year * 24hours/day).