Texas Instruments expanded its family of ultra-low-power MSP430 microcontrollers (MCUs) with the MSP430FR4x series that integrate LCD support on-chip. The MCUs include 60 capacitive-touch-enabled general-purpose input/output (GPIO) pins, enabling the creation of products for home automation systems, remote controls, energy harvesting applications, and more. 16 Kbytes of FRAM memory offer developers scalable memory options from 16 Kbytes to 128 Kbytes. Typical power consumption is less than 126 μA/MHz and less than 1 μA standby with LCD powered on.
Integration includes two timers, a 10-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a real-time clock (RTC) counter, and SPI and I2C communications to reduce system cost and product size. Integrated EEPROM allows for the designing of secure products with the potential for faster write times, lower power, and higher memory reliability.
The MSP-EXP430FR4133 LaunchPad kit includes a segmented LCD driver with software-configurable LCD pins to enable easy hardware layouts and an integrated charge pump that allows the LCD contrast level to be maintained even in low-power modes. The LCD controller can drive up to 256 segments to support large displays, such as those used in panel meter and portable health and fitness equipment.