November 19, 2012, Seoul - STMicroelectronics (ST), a global semiconductor company providing diverse electronic applications, has set a record in low power consumption. This is the achievement of the M41TC8025 highly accurate temperature-compensated real-time clock chip. This clock chip is a product for devices such as utility meters, medical devices requiring stability and precise timing, and industrial systems.

The M41TC8025 single-chip real-time clock consumes only 0.8 µA of current even under conditions where the temperature compensation function operates at full capacity, which is a lower figure than any other device. Therefore, it can reduce the operating costs of electronic utility meters and extend the lifespan of battery-powered equipment. Temperature compensation guarantees accuracy within ±5 ppm (approximately 2.5 minutes per year) across temperatures between -40°C and +85°C. In metering devices, time authentication and rate conversion can be received accurately regardless of season or climate.

Product testing conducted with customers also confirmed another advantage of the M41TC8025: excellent corrosion resistance. This customer is a manufacturer of outdoor electronic utility meters in harsh environments such as coastal areas, and as a result of corrosion testing, ST's new single-chip real-time clock was found to be functionally superior compared to similar devices from competitors, which is attributable to the high-quality package design and materials.

The M41TC8025 provides accurate date and time information in units of seconds, minutes, hours, day of the week, date (month and day), month, and year. It also integrates functions such as alarm, fixed-period timer, time-of-day update interrupt, and programmable frequency output, which helps simplify system design. This device features a temperature-compensated 32768 Hz crystal oscillator for precise timing reference. This makes it possible to minimize the number of components and simplify system hardware design.

Key Features of M41TC8025
• 0.8 μA current consumption at 3.0V supply voltage
• Accuracy guaranteed across a wide temperature range
• Maximum ±5.0 ppm (-40 to 85°C) (approximately 2.5 minutes per year)
• Maximum ±3.8 ppm (0 to 50°C) (better than 2 minutes per year)
• Built-in high-stability 32 KHz time-compensated crystal oscillator
• Time-of-day alarm (interrupt)
• Fixed-period timer interrupt function
• Time update interrupt function
• Programmable frequency output (1 Hz, 1024 Hz, and 32768 Hz)
• 400kHz I2C interface

The M41TC8025 is available in SO-14 surface-mount package and is currently being sampled to select customers. Pricing starts at $2.80 for orders of 1,000 units or more. Alternative pricing options are available for larger volume orders. Mass production is scheduled to begin in November 2012.