First MCU with a configurable low-leakage transimpedance amplifier

Enabling designers to extend battery life in sensing and measurement applications, Texas Instruments (TI) has developed the MSP430FR2311 microcontroller (MCU) - the industry's only MCU with an integrated low-leakage transimpedance amplifier (TIA) consuming just 50pA of current. The new 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 analog and memory technology without sacrificing battery life or board space. The highly-integrated MCU solution with configurable analog helps developers simplify their schematics and save PCB space by up to 75 percent. The MSP430FR2311 MCU allows developers to connect to a wide range of sensors with its analog 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 3.5mm x 4mm package. This single chip solution will reduce design complexity and overall project development time. 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. Customers can get started in minutes using the MSP430FR2311 MCU LaunchPad development kit supported by Code Composer Studio integrated development environment (IDE) and IAR Embedded WorkBench. Customers 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, users developing systems for medical health and fitness, building automation and personal electronics can further extend battery life by utilizing this TI Design reference design (TIDA-00242) which uses a TI energy harvesting IC (bq25570) in an MSP430FR2311 MCU-based system. Current MSP430G2x MCU users working with 2KB and 4KB devices can easily migrate their designs to the MSP430FR2311 MCU and take advantage of higher performance with non-volatile FRAM and higher analog integration, including operational amplifiers, ADCs and comparators. Users can review the MSP430F2xx and MSP430G2xx series migration guide to learn how to easily move between families when needing more analog capability.