We’re all accustomed to seeing product announcements touting faster performance and lower power, but in the IC space, it’s less common to see chip size as the focus of microcontroller (MCU) announcements. Recently, however, NXP announced the LPC1102 ARM-Cortex-M0-based processor, which measures 2.17 x 2.32 mm. Meanwhile, Texas Instruments introduced some new members of its MSP430 family that measure 7 x 7 mm and integrate an RF transceiver on chip that can support a variety of wireless applications. Both products enable smaller embedded systems and, of course, low-power benefits as well.
The NXP LPC1102 is a member of the company’s recently-introduced LPC1100 family. The Cortex-M0 core architecture is the basis for the entire family. The processors rely on the Cortex-M0 v6-M instruction set that relies primarily on the 16-bit Thumb instructions.
The M0 processor architecture is based on 32-bit data paths and registers. But ARM developed the Thumb extension to provide code density closer to what could be achieved by 8- or 16-bit processors. The company created 16-bit versions of the most commonly used ARM instructions to create the Thumb instruction set.
Presumably, the M0 approach offers 32-bit performance combined with the miniature footprint and slim code size. When NXP announced the LPC1100 family, the company claimed the products will operate at clock speeds up to 50 MHz and deliver in excess of 45 (DMIPS) Dhrystone MIPs in performance.
The LPC1102 integrates 32 Kbytes of flash memory and 8 Kbytes of SRAM in a Wafer Level Chip Scale Package (WL-CSP) that measures 5 mm high. The MCU also integrates a four-channel 10-bit A/D converter, a UART, an SPI, two 32-bit timers, two 16-bit timers, and a 24-bit system timer. The MCUs can operate from an integrated IRC oscillator that is accurate to +/1%. Power consumption is 130 μA/MHz.
These MCUs integrate CAN capabilities and priced reasonably, make CAN an affordable connectivity option for low-end embedded systems.
Integrated RF transceiver
Texas Instruments, meanwhile, has significantly reduced PCB real-estate requirements for wireless embedded systems. Most such system designs today require a second IC to implement the wireless functionality. TI claims a 50 percent reduction in footprint compared to two-chip designs.
The CC430F513x and CC430F61xx families both include the integrated CC1101 RF transceiver in the same package with the MCU. Both families include a variety of peripheral and memory combinations, and CC430F61xx members also include LCD controllers.
The CC1101 transceiver can support a broad range of frequencies under 1 GHz and combined with MCU protocol stacks can support a broad range of wireless connectivity options. TI and third parties offer support for:
6LoWPAn for building control, lighting control, and smart grid applications
Wireless MBUS for remote metering applications
OpenTag for DASH7 building automation, smart grid, and asset tracking applications
VEmesh for smart meter and sensor network applications
BlueRobin for personal health and fitness applications
The third-party ecosystem that supports wireless-enabled MCUs includes AMBER Wireless, BM Innovations, the DASH7 Alliance, Digi-Key, IAR Systems, Laird Embedded Wireless Solutions, Sensinode, Steinbeis Transfer Center Embedded Design and Networking, and Virtual Extension. To accelerate wireless product development, TI offers the EM430F6137RF900 and eZ430-Chronos wireless development tools that include everything necessary for an embedded team to develop a complete wireless project.
