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There is a career to inflate the numbers in the processors segment. Further millions of transistorsmore power, more speed (More consumption In the case of GPUs …). But there is also a career to make the components are getting smaller and while maintaining, or overcome, the power of previous generations. And the Texas Instruments company ends to pass the game with the MSPM0C1104.
Because yes, what you see in the main image is the smallest microcontroller in the world. And their possibilities are very interesting.
Microcontrollers. They are basically a small computer in a single chip. Without the need for a complex operating system, they can manage tasks by integrating the processor, RAM, and the EEPROM in the same unit. In addition, they have the necessary pins for input and exit signals, among other components. Raspberry Pi RP2040 is an example and are created to function with light systems and fulfill specific tasks.
MSPM0C1104. With this name, Texas Instruments has baptized what, according to them, is the smallest microcontroller in the world. It has a size of just 1.38 mm². If you have a black pepper grain at home, you can get an idea of what is the approximate size of this MCU. Specifically, the company comments that it is 38% smaller than the smallest MCUs of the competition.
20 cents. The truth is that it is shocking to see the amount of elements that have been able to unite something so small. It is based on Arm Cortex-m+ and account With a frequency of 24 MHz, 16 kb of memory, an analog-digital converter of 12 bit, six input/output pins and compatibility with standard communication interfaces.
If they are purchased in 1,000 units packages, the chips have a price of just 16 cents and Texas Instruments offers a rapid prototyped hardware kit to facilitate development in their MCU, as well as tools to develop and execute MCU applications in a simple way without having to program.
The MCU inside some headphones
“Unlimited possibilities”. Now, we talked about power a few lines and surely those 24 MHz and 16 kb of RAM have squeak. This is not intended to run an operating system as they can do other microprocessors such as the aforementioned Raspberry Pibut it is something focused on other uses.
The company gives the example of optical pencils or more advanced toothbrushes, but also comment that “the possibilities are unlimited to enable smarter and connected experiences in our daily lives”, putting an example headphones and medical probes.
As this MCU is so small, these devices can maintain the current power by reducing the space that the microcontroller occupies on the plate, and other elements that improve the characteristics of the product can be added.
That’s it? In the press release, the examples are somewhat scarce, but in a video that the company has shared we can see some uses beyond the ‘brain’ of headphones, a digital pencil or a medical probe. For example, such a small system can be introduced into the USB-C cable plate. Thus, if the size of the cable processor ‘is reduced, the connections or dissipation can be reinforced to make it more stable and increase its speed.
Another very interesting example is the presence in the smart rings plate. Here they have a lot of sense because they are complex plates due not only to the size of a ring, but to the peculiar curved shape of it. And we return to the same thing: the less space occupies the processor of a ring, the more battery, for example, it can be introduced.
In the end, the technical details of this type of microcontrollers are more interesting for those who want to toys with them and for device manufacturers, but it is always interesting to know that this race for size does not respond to a whim, but is useful to solve problems on the devices we use daily. Or for run more thingsclear.
Images | Texas Instruments
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