New TI Wolverine Microcontroller Platform Slashes Power by 50%


February 28, 2012 -- Texas Instruments, Inc. (TI) has introduced what it claims is the world's lowest-power microcontroller platform. Codenamed "Wolverine" for its aggressive power-saving technology, this ultra-low-power MSP430 microcontroller platform offers at least 50% lower power consumption than any other microcontroller in the industry (360-nA real-time clock mode and less than 100-µA/MHz active power consumption).

The Wolverine platform provides the lowest power consumption in any use case when compared to any microcontroller in the industry — lowest active power, standby power, memory power and peripheral power. For example, typical battery powered applications spend as much as 99.9% of their time in standby mode, and Wolverine-based microcontrollers consume 360nA in standby mode, more than doubling battery life.

Key features and benefits

  • TI developed this ULL technology that offers a 10X improvement in leakage and optimized mixed-signal capabilities. The improved 130-nm process technology, ultra-low-power MSP430 architecture and more than 30 power-optimized analog and digital components combined are a few of the integrated elements that deliver the dramatic power reduction.
  • Unparalleled performance and reliability with unified FRAM. Taking advantage of FRAM, the world's lowest power memory, Wolverine-based microcontrollers can operate at less than 100µA/MHz in active mode and consume 250X less energy per bit compared to Flash- and EEPROM-based microcontrollers. In addition to these power advantages, FRAM is 100% non-volatile, which gives developers the low power, speed and flexibility of SRAM while retaining the key no-power storage capability of Flash.
  • Proven MSP430 ultra-low-power system heritage, peripherals and software for easy development. This new ultra-low-power architecture dramatically reduces power consumption with a fast wakeup time of 6.5µs and high precision peripherals such as internal power management and a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) at 75µA. All of TI's MSP430 microcontrollers are also augmented by the MSP430Ware software and resource package, as well as low-power code-optimization software tools. MSP430Ware lets developers immediately access and easily filter through all MSP430 microcontroller design resources by device, tool or software library to significantly ease design and shorten time to market.

Availability and Pricing

MSP430FR58xx microcontrollers based on the "Wolverine" technology platform will be available for sampling in June 2012. Developers looking to get started with ultra-low-power designs can begin development with TI's existing portfolio of nearly 500 MSP430 microcontrollers. Design ease is a fundamental offering of MSP430 microcontrollers, with a wide range of tools, software and support to help customers begin development quickly.

Reprinted from SOCcentral.com, your first stop for ASIC, FPGA, EDA, and IP news and design information.
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