Remember when you thought it would be awesome to have a watch like this?
Well, thanks to TI’s ultra-low power MSP430 WLCSP microcontroller (MCU) portfolio, you can have something even cooler! All of the devices in this portfolio are offered in a super tiny WLCSP (Wafer-Level Chip Scale Package). Here’s what makes it different: the MSP430 WLCSP portfolio has a broad feature set (USB, 1.8 V I/O) and has the industry’s FIRST FRAM MCU with the tiny WLCSP package!
Why should you care? MCUs with WLCSP target consumer electronics applications and health and fitness markets - essentially designers who care about size. As an example, you can easily get started with this "Heart Rate Monitor with BLE Connectivity" reference design," which uses an MSP430F5528IYFF (The YFF means it has a WLCSP package). You can see an overview of the system below, but if you click on the link, you’ll see the reference design includes all sorts of great info, such as the full reference design, block diagram, bill of materials (BOM), test data, and design files.
MSP430 MCUs with the tiny WLCSP size are ideal for many end equipments, including smart/fitness watches – like these ones that were everywhere at CES 2014! An ultra-low power MSP430 MCU would be perfect for that application because you can jump-start your design and reduce time-to-market with the heart rate monitor reference design.
Now, you can even swallow an ingestible sensor that tracks your activity patterns (sleep/awake) through an MSP430 MCU and tells you the last time you took your medication. Also, digital credit cards could use an MSP430 MCU with a tiny WLCSP to store and process information. The MSP430 MCU would store existing card information from multiple cards and allow you to browse through them and select which one you want to use to pay. Let’s not forget about our trusty notebooks and tablets! An tiny MSP430 MCU with USB is ideal for portable electronics!
That’s really just the beginning. The broad features in the ultra-low power MSP430 MCU portfolio target these applications and more!:
- Ultra-low power data logging courtesy the FRAM-based MSP430FR5738 MCUs
- Sensor hub (gesture recognition, motion tracking, environment sensing, and contextual awareness) via 1.8 V I/O on MSP430F5229 MCUs
- Notebooks, tablets with the USB functionality on MSP430F5528 MCUs.
As you can see, the MSP430 WLCSP MCU portfolio is all about being ultra-low power (Thanks to FRAM!), tiny (as small as 2.0 x 2.2 x 0.3 mm) (FR5738), and flexible (GPIO options range from 32-53 pins and include features such as 1.8 V I/O and USB).
Here’s a list of the MSP430 products with WLCSP options in production today!
| TI Device | WLCSP Package Size | TI Device | WLCSP Package Size |
| MSP430F2370 | 3.1 x 3.1 x 0.3 mm | MSP430F5131 | 2.8 x 3.1 x 0.3 mm |
| MSP430F2274 | 3.3 x 3.5 x 0.3 mm | MSP430F5151 | 2.8 x 3.1 x 0.3 mm |
| MSP430F5528 | 3.38 x 3.8 x 0.3 mm | MSP430F5171 | 2.8 x 3.1 x 0.3 mm |
| MSP430G2744 | 3.3 x 3.5 x 0.3 mm | MSP430F5132 | 2.8 x 3.1 x 0.3 mm |
| MSP430G2444 | 3.3 x 3.5 x 0.3 mm | MSP430F5152 | 2.8 x 3.1 x 0.3 mm |
| MSP430G2544 | 3.3 x 3.5 x 0.3 mm | MSP430F5172 | 2.8 x 3.1 x 0.3 mm |
| MSP430F5229 | 3.4 x 3.5 x 0.3 mm | MSP430FR5738 | 2.0 x 2.2 x 0.3 mm |
