Implement interface using capacitive BSWP (button, slider, wheel, proximity) sensors


TI announced the release of the MSP430™ FRAM microcontroller (MCU), the lowest-power capacitive touch MCU equipped with CapTIvate™ technology .

The new MSP430FR2633MCU equipped with CapTIvate technology provides comprehensive hardware and software features to deliver high performance in noise-sensitive applications such as digital door locks, home appliances, personal electronic devices, and industrial control panels.

The MSP430FR2633 MCU is an extension of TI’s 16-bit ultra-low power FRAM MCU portfolio that enables users to implement robust human-machine interfaces (HMI) with capacitive BSWP (button, slider, wheel, proximity) sensors and develop multi-touch designs on plastic, glass, and metal overlays of various thicknesses.

A new graphical user interface (GUI) that allows designers to quickly configure the system by dragging and dropping sensors and start performance tuning within five minutes.You can quickly create innovative solutions using CapTIvate Design Center.


Provides differentiated low power with FRAM and CapTIvate technology, battery life up to 15 years

The Wake-on-touch hardware-on-chip continuously scans up to four electrodes while the CPU is shut down. This allows it to operate for up to 15 years on a single coin cell battery while maintaining a low current consumption of 0.9µA per button in sleep mode.

The MSP430FR2633 MCU, equipped with CapTIvate technology, provides developers with high design flexibility without performance degradation. In digital door lock systems, proximity sensors must be able to charge the screen and a large number of buttons to accept user input. Self-capacitance provides higher sensitivity for proximity detection, while mutual capacitance enables the dense placement of a large number of buttons with lower crosstalk. CapTIvate technology enables the implementation of enhanced system solutions by providing the flexibility to simultaneously support both self-capacitance and mutual capacitance modes. The MSP430FR2633 MCU can support 16-button self-capacitance and 64-button mutual capacitance modes.

TI's new CapTIvate technology, first applied to the MSP430FR2633 MCU, provides advanced hardware features such as a dedicated voltage regulator, frequency hopping, zero-crossing synchronization, and signal processing algorithms that prevent false detection in noisy environments. In addition, spread spectrum clocking lowers electromagnetic radiation, thereby reducing radiation to system circuits.


Samples of the MSP430FR2633 MCU are available immediately. The device, featuring up to 16KB FRAM and various functions and packaging options, is scheduled for mass production in 2015. The price of the MCU starts at $0.90 per 1,000-unit quantity.