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Safe MSP432 Overclock Speed

Philip McCorkle
Intellectual 400 points

My question is simple: What is generally a safe MAXIMUM speed for the MSP432? I know the chip is "rated" for only 48MHz, but I need just a little bit more speed for my application. I have adjusted the DCO to achieve ~75MHz and have yet to experience any problems, but that is only with one MSP432 Launchpad. I know there are going to be manufacturing variations, but is it a terrible idea to assume I would be able to reliably achieve, say, 60MHz in a small 100 unit production run? I know TI won't officially say "Sure, go ahead with running this chip out of spec - you have our backing!", but... unofficially, how likely is it that 100 units would be capable of running at 60MHz?

Thanks!

  • 0
    Guru 86865 points
    Hi,

    You posted at the wrong TI E2E Forum. As you can see above this is the TM4C Forum. Luckily, a TI Engineer will move this post at the appropriate TI E2E Forum.

    - kel
  • 0
    Guru 11940 points

    As -kel properly remarked, this is not quite the correct forum.

    However, the question itself is not really that specific, and probably no one except TI staff can give you detailled numbers (but I guess they don't ...)

    The MSP430 is, like other controllers, qualified for a certain temperature range, with upper limits usually being 85°C, 105°C and 125°C. Each part is guraranteed to work at max. specified clock speed at the max. specified temperature. So, at room temperature, I'd guess all of them would work at 60 MHz instead of 48 MHz, perhaps even 75 MHz. As leakage currents and other parasitary effects rise with temperature, and switching losses rise with clock frequency, conditions worsen if going in this direction. Where an individual part actually fails (clock/temp.) is mostly determined by chip technology/production and imperfections. That's what no company easiliy gives away. IMHO, most MCUs fail for clock frequency reasons when internal delay/cycle requirements are not met, and just stop working, long before internal heat generation becomes a concern. That is in contrast to e.g. Intel stuff (like the famous Pentium IV), that preferred the "heat fail", often a even "heat death".

    That said, logical reason (mandated product warranty) excludes overclocking in commercial MCU projects. For private purposes, you are of course free to do/experiment how you like. However, TI will not guarantee out-of-spec operation, and any (unannounced) change in the silicon production environment by TI can have a drastic effect on those numbers, in both directions ...

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