Texas Instruments has introduced its newest MSP430F20xx low pin-count, ultralow-power MCU series that consumes just 500 nanoamperes in standby mode. To achieve this, it uses a unique, very low-power oscillator (VLO) technology. The new MCUs also deliver high performance and are well suited for battery-powered applications requiring decade-long operation. The VLO technology enables the MSP430F20xx MCUs to be totally self-clocked in an ultralow-power standby mode with self-wakeup capability using no external components. This means that systems, such as fire detectors, will operate from the same battery for more than a decade.

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The new devices expand TI's MSP430 broad platform of MCUs that meet the requirements for ultralow-power applications including metering, portable instrumentation and intelligent sensing and enables new forms of embedded power supplies including solar, motion and heat. The various versions of the F20xx MCU devices operate from 1.8 V to 3.6 V, thereby enabling direct battery operation and are available in a 14-pin footprint as small as 4 mm x 4 mm with 10 GPIO pins that include programmable pull-up/pull-down resistors further eliminating external components. Some of the MSP430 series are sampling now; others will begin sampling in the fourth quarter of 2005.