TI Korea (CEO Kent Jeon, www.ti.com/ww/kr ) October 31, 2012 – TI (CEO Kent Jeon) has unveiled samples of the world's lowest-power microcontrollers based on its innovative “Wolverine” technology platform. The new FRAM-based MSP430FR59xx microcontrollers enable improved flexibility, performance, and battery life for a wide range of applications, including wireless sensors, energy harvesting, smart grids, industrial, consumer, building automation, and security.
The MSP430FR59xx microcontroller provides a rich feature set including up to 64kB of embedded FRAM, a Direct Memory Access (DMA) engine, a 12-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC), an analog comparator, capacitive touch IO, and serial interfaces such as UART, SPI, and I2C. Additionally, using the MSP430FR59xx, features such as AES encryption, memory protection, and hardware-accelerated random number generators (DRNG) can be designed without increasing CPU performance, memory, or power.

Power beyond the numbers
Typical battery-powered applications extend battery life by utilizing various modes. The majority of these applications consume a significant portion of their lifespan in standby mode, while some use it for measuring actual signals with ADCs, writing to non-volatile memory for data retention, and running the CPU for communication, decision-making, and computation. To maximize battery life, it is crucial to provide ultra-low power characteristics in these modes. This is because power has a meaning beyond just a number.
The MSP430FR59xx microcontroller provides the ultra-low power characteristics of the Wolverine platform in discrete mode. This includes 360nA in real-time clock mode, less than 100µA/MHz in active power consumption mode, a fast wake-up time of 6.5µs, internal power management functions, and high-precision peripherals such as a 12-bit ADC under 75µA conditions.
The new device also provides embedded FRAM, the industry's first integrated single memory technology and a non-volatile memory architecture with the industry's lowest power characteristics, consuming 250 times less energy per bit and writing data more than 100 times faster than flash and EEPROM-based microcontrollers.

Rapid development support through software, support, tools, and technical resources
Samples and development kits for the MSP430FR59xx are available at www.ti.com/fr59-pr-lp and are fully compatible with all code and software resources developed for the MSP microcontroller platform. Key resources include over 1,000 code examples, the ULP Advisor™ software analysis tool, Grace™ graphical initial setup software, and MSP430WARE™, which provides the MSP430 microcontroller peripheral library.
The MSP-TS430RGZ48C target board for easy programming is also available on TI's e-store. Developers can access datasheets and user guides, as well as new security white papers and migration guides for the MSP430F5xx and MSP430F2xx series, enabling both novice and experienced developers to utilize the industry's lowest-power microcontrollers.
In addition, TI provides 24/7 real-time support through more than 12 different FRAM training videos, online workshops, wiki pages, and forums in the E2E™ community.

Key Features and Advantages of the MSP430FR59xx Series
• Based on “Wolverine” technology utilizing specialized ultra-low leakage process technology, the industry’s lowest-power microcontroller platform extends battery life, eliminating concerns about battery drain.
• Provides the lowest power memory and flexible development space for simple and rapid memory writing with a single non-volatile FRAM, and allows memory processing as either data or program space.
• Intelligent integrated analog and digital peripherals, such as a 12-bit ADC and enhanced serial interfaces supporting UART, I2C, and full-featured SPI, simplify software writing and reduce memory size; furthermore, with the help of a flexible clocking system, extend battery life and reduce development costs and the number of external components.
• Easily add security features to applications such as wireless networks by providing advanced security capabilities, including AES256 hardware encryption accelerators, hardware DRNG, flexible firmware update options, and memory protection through feature encapsulation.
• Provides tools, free software resources, and knowledge bases to enable developers to start development quickly

Price and Supply Time
The MSP430FR59xx, a microcontroller based on the “Wolverine” technology platform, is currently available for sample.This is possible. Customers can access free sample programs through local distributors or www.ti.com . The MSP-TS430RGZ48C target board and XMS430FR5969 developer kit are available on TI's e-store for $75 and $149, respectively.