Texas Instruments announced availability of the eZ430-F2013 development tool that allows both new users to evaluate the MSP430 MCU architecture and gives experienced developers all the resources they need to complete an entire MSP430F20xx project from start to finish. In a Universal Serial Bus (USB) stick form factor, the eZ430 tool is a complete microcontroller (MCU) development and evaluation tool available for $20.
eZ Development
The eZ430-F2013 tool connects to a standard PC USB port and is self-powered, requiring no extra cables or power supplies. Contained within the USB stick is an emulation interface board and an removable MSP430F2013 target board, which differentiates the eZ430 from other fixed-function evaluation systems. Using TI's Spy bi-wire debug interface, only two signals – power and ground – are needed to connect the emulation interface and target. The emulation board communicates with the MSP430 MCU target devices' emulation logic non-obtrusively, in-system and subject to the same electrical characteristics as the final application. This board uses a TI TUSB3410 for the USB interface and a TPS77301 to provide 3V regulation to the system. The target board makes all 14 MSP430F2013 pins available on an industry standard 0.1 inch though-hole header and includes an LED for immediate development feedback. The eZ430 tool includes a free IAR Kick Start Embedded Workbench IDE containing a debugger, assembler and C compiler. This is the same IDE currently used for all MSP430 MCUs, meaning designers can leverage existing code and expertise. To jump-start new projects, users can tap into more than 100 free C and assembler source code examples that are available from TI’s website.
Ultra-low Power Architecture
The MSP430F2013 MCU is part of the recently introduced MSP430F20xx series, operating up to 16 MIPS in a robust failsafe environment with no external components. The MSP430F20xx series' fully programmable clock system is stable over temperature and voltage, providing wake-up from an industry-leading 500 nano-amp standby to full-speed operation in less than one micro-second. Operating from 1.8 to 3.6V, MSP430F20xx MCUs allow direct battery operation and are available in a 14-pin footprint as small as 4x4mm. A choice of converters includes an analog comparator for cost sensitive applications, a 200 kilosamples per second (KSPS), 10-bit analog to digital converter (ADC) for real-time signal processing or a 16-bit sigma-delta ADC for high-precision systems. All devices include an watchdog timer for extreme reliability, a multi-function 16-bit timer and in-system programmable flash for greater design flexibility and field upgrade capability. With 128B of RAM, a full-featured 16-bit RISC CPU and complete development in C, developers can reuse existing MSP430 instruction set architecture (ISA) libraries. TI’s MSP430 platform of MCUs answers market demands for applications including metering, portable instrumentation and intelligent sensing and enables new forms of embedded power supplies including solar, motion and heat.
