TI Korea (CEO Kent Chon, www.ti.com/ww/kr ) July 1, 2014 – TI (CEO Kent Chon) announced the launch of a comprehensive ultra-low-power FRAM microcontroller (MCU) platform. This platform provides all the hardware and software tools and support developers need to reduce energy budgets, minimize product size, and realize a battery-free world. TI’s new MSP430FR59x/69x FRAM MCU family features EnergyTrace++™ real-time power profiler and debugger technology and offers 32 to 128 KB of embedded FRAM. These MSP430™ MCUs are suitable for smart power grid metering, wearable devices, industrial and remote sensors, energy harvesting, home automation, data conversion systems, the Internet of Things (IoT), and various other applications requiring ultra-low power consumption, flexible memory options, and analog integration.

TI’s innovative and unique ultra-low-leakage technology and embedded FRAM consume 100 μA/MHz operating mode power and 450 nA RTC mode standby power, delivering the industry's best power performance over a temperature range of -40°C to 85°C, thereby consuming only the world's lowest system power. This new FRAM MCU product includes various analog peripherals. The ADC consumes only 140 μA at 200 ksps, and the enhanced scan interface available for use in the flow meter operates even in system standby mode, consuming only 10 times less power. In addition, power consumption, BOM (bill of materials), and board space can be saved through the 8 mux LCD display and 256-bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) accelerator integrated into the MCU.

TI's new EnergyTrace++ technology is the world's first debug system capable of analyzing power consumption in real time for each peripheral with a resolution of 5nA. This allows engineers to manage power usage and optimize software, enabling the creation of low-energy products. This new technology is currently implemented in the MSP430FR59x and MSP430FR69x MCU families and the affordable development kit, MSP430FR5969 LaunchPad.

In addition to the benefits of excellent power saving, TI's MSP430FR59x/69x FRAM MCUs offer the following outstanding features that exceed developers' needs.
• Infinite Durability: FRAM MCUs provide semi-permanent read/write speeds. This enables more than 10 billion write-erase cycles compared to conventional non-volatile memory solutions. This far exceeds the lifespan of the product itself.
• Flexibility: Another unique characteristic of FRAM is that it frees developers from the barriers that previously existed between code memory and data memory. As a result, users are no longer bound by industry-standard flash-RAM ratios, and there are no additional costs when higher RAM is required.
• Ease of Use: FRAM simplifies code development. FRAM enables continuous and fast data logging by allowing bit-level access without the need for segment pre-erasing. This simplifies, speeds up, and reduces energy consumption of wireless firmware updates.

The key features and advantages of TI's ultra-low power FRAM MCU products are as follows.
• FRAM is the only non-volatile embedded memory capable of writing at 8 MBps with less than 800 μA of power. This is 100 times faster than flash.
• It facilitates development by providing pin-to-pin compatibility across TI’s ultra-low power MSP430™ FRAM MCU products and a comprehensive range of product types from 32KB to 128KB.
• With MSP430Ware™, you can easily perform migration tasks through code and peripheral compatibility between MSP430 FRAM and flash products.
• By replacing EEPROM, you can design safe products utilizing faster write times, lower power consumption, and higher memory reliability.
• TI’s FRAM MCU can safely transmit data by integrating a 256-bit AES accelerator.
• It provides extensive resources for developers, such as detailed migration guides and application notes, enabling convenient migration from existing silicon to MSP430FR59x/69x MCUs.

To enable developers to conveniently get started with design work using TI’s FRAM MCU portfolio, extensive training programs, including online and in-person training, are provided for all aspects of this ultra-low power platform. In addition, it provides in-depth tutorial videos to support developers in quickly getting started with design work and solving problems using development tools at each stage when designing with TI’s FRAM MCUs using EnergyTrace++ technology.