Microcontroller runs from 0.9V supply
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Responding to calls for devices that offer longer battery life, lower cost and more functionality, Silicon Laboratories has launched what it says is the lowest voltage mcu currently available.
Gary Franzosa, product manager, noted: “We have managed to pack a lot of high performance functionality into a small footprint. It’s the smallest, fastest mcu of its kind with high analogue performance.”
Capable of operating from voltages as low as 0.9V, the C8051F9xx allows portable devices to operate from a single cell. According to SiLabs, the device has a novel 8bit architecture and an integrated high efficiency dc/dc boost converter that can supply 65mW for internal use and to drive other components, such as leds.
Franzosa said: “We’ve designed this part from the ground up to support power efficiency and all consumption modes are optimised. We believe it has the highest functional density, with an 8051 core capable of running up to 100MIPS, 64k of flash and 4k of ram in a 4 x 4mm package.”
The part has an operating voltage range from 0.9 to 3.6V, but the core runs at 1.7V. In two cell mode, an integrated LDO provides a constant output of 1.7V, independent of battery state. In single cell mode, a dc/dc converter provides 1.7V to the core. Power consumption is quoted as 170µA/MIPS.
Devices in the F9xx range also integrate a 10bit, 300ksample/s a/d converter, a SmaRTClock timing module and multiple internal oscillator options.
There are six devices in the range, representing a combination of three package sizes – 24 and 32pin qfn, plus a 32pin lqfp – and a choice of 32k or 64k of flash.
