Texas Instruments unveils world's smallest microcontroller, smaller than a pepper flake

[Skye Jacobs]

What just happened? Texas Instruments has made a significant leap in the field of microelectronics with the unveiling of the world's smallest microcontroller unit, the MSPM0C1104. This diminutive device measures a mere 1.38 mm² – about the size of a black pepper flake.

As consumers increasingly demand more features in smaller devices, the need for compact components like this MCU has become paramount. This trend is particularly pronounced in the medical and consumer electronics fields, where wearables and smart home devices are gaining popularity.

The MSPM0C1104 MCU is part of Texas Instruments' Arm Cortex-M0+ MSPM0 MCU portfolio and leverages the advantages of wafer-level chip-scale package (WLCSP) technology, making it 38 percent smaller than competing devices. This technological advancement allows engineers to maintain high computing performance without increasing board size, which is crucial for devices such as earbuds and medical probes. The MCU features a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) with three channels, six general-purpose input/output pins, and compatibility with standard communication interfaces like UART, SPI, and I2C.

Built on the enhanced Arm Cortex-M0+ core, the MSPM0C1104 operates at frequencies of up to 24 MHz. It includes up to 16 KB of embedded flash memory and 1 KB of SRAM. It also incorporates a high-speed on-chip oscillator with an accuracy of -2 percent to +1.2 percent, eliminating the need for an external crystal.

Other notable features include a single-channel DMA, a CRC-16 accelerator, and a variety of high-performance analog peripherals such as an on-chip temperature sensor. The device also offers intelligent digital peripherals, including one 16-bit advanced timer, two 16-bit general-purpose timers, and a windowed watchdog timer.

The MSPM0C1104 MCU operates within a wide temperature range of -40°C to 125°C and supports supply voltages from 1.62V to 3.6V. Its power efficiency is remarkable, consuming only 87μA/MHz when active and 5μA in standby mode with SRAM retention. This efficiency and compact size make it particularly suitable for battery-powered devices where extended battery life is essential.

Texas Instruments' MSPM0 MCU portfolio features over 100 MCUs with pin-to-pin compatible package options, starting at $0.16 per unit in quantities of 1,000. The ecosystem is supported by a software development kit, hardware development kits, reference designs, subsystems, and tools like Zero Code Studio, enabling users to configure and develop MCU applications without extensive coding.

Furthermore, the MSPM0C1104 MCU is supported by online collateral, training with MSP Academy, and online support through the TI E2E support forums. Texas Instruments offers a LaunchPad development kit for the MSPM0C1104, including an onboard debug probe for programming and debugging.

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Texas Instruments unveils world's smallest microcontroller, smaller than a pepper flake

 

[WhiteLeaff]

Zen 4c core's just 2.48 mm²

I wonder how much performance is left in Zen4 if stripped of L3.

 

[stewi0001]

Now if I only had the skillset to do something with it...

 

[airbornex]

Imagine losing one of these on your workbench. Texas Instruments just turned debugging into a high-stakes game of “Find the Pepper Flake.”

 

[trparky]

I wonder how much performance is left in Zen4 if stripped of L3.

I'd say not much since most of the serious gaming performance comes from all that 3D cache.

 

[DanteSmith]

This was produced at what node, 65nm? Impressive if so.

 

[hwertz]

Zen 4c core's just 2.48 mm²

I wonder how much performance is left in Zen4 if stripped of L3.

That's pretty amazing, I had no idea they had any cores THAT small.

That said, they don't list what process this TI chip uses, MCUs etc. tend to use QUITE old production processes and so are larger than they could be using more modern processes. This is primary due to a) cost. b) it's already tiny so there's not really a push to make it even smaller. c) cost again. Really when you're selling at pennies a unit cost is worth mentioning twice. d) Power use -- since (unlike in decades past) die shrinks no longer automatically save power (the resistance increase from narrower wires can outweigh the lower power draw of the die shrunk components). They may actually be saving power by using a larger production process. Even if they aren't, it's power use is in the microwatt range anyway when operating and even less when it's idling.

 

[Inthenstus]

When can it play Doom?

 

[mbk34]

Now if I only had the skillset to do something with it...

Microcontrollers are like very simple computers but they only detect on/off style inputs on their pins and control motors and LCD screens etc. They're quite easy to program in a language not dissimilar to Basic (obviously they all differ). You can get development kits for just a few $. I used them for a few "art projects" around the house and quite enjoyed using them. I started off with lights turning on and off, moved onto motors and then tried to build a self balancing robot. It turned out I wasn't quite clever enough to do that but given more time I probably could of got it working.

 

[OortCloud]

Looks like it only has 8 pins. Given 2 of them are GND and VCC that leaves 6 pins for all output. Given all the things it supports each of those outputs must be capable of a lot of different functions! Clever stuff.