Looking for 4/8-bit low power MCU for a battery application

[cube007]

Hello,

I’m looking for a 4-/8-bit low (ultra low) power MCU for a battery application. I need this for a LED torch. The device should available in small packages. For development it would be good to have a flash ROM. For the production it is enough to have a ROM
Which devices or companies could you recommend?

by,
cube007

 

[dainis]

Re: Looking for 4/8-bit low power MCU for a battery applicat

Look Texas Instruments: MSP430
MSP430 Ultra-Low Power Microcontrollers : MSP430 Home

The MSP430 family of ultra-low-power 16-bit RISC mixed-signal processors from Texas Instruments (TI) provides the ultimate solution for battery-powered measurement applications. Using leadership in both mixed-signal and digital technologies, TI has created the MSP430 which enables system designers to simultaneously interface to analog signals, sensors and digital components while maintaining unmatched low power.

Ultra-low-power architecture extends battery life
0.1uA RAM retention
0.8uA real-time clock mode
250uA / MIPS active
High-performance analog ideal for precise measurements
Modern 16-bit RISC CPU enables new applications at a fraction of the code size
In-system programmable Flash permits code changes, field upgrades and data logging
Complete integrated development environment starting at $49
Device pricing starting at $0.49

 

[Ace-X]

Another one uC to be considered is HC08 Nitron family from Motorola. They are pretty good and come with free dev. tools from Metrowerks.
Here are more details: **broken link removed**


Ace-X.

 

[Kripton2035]

you can also take a look at fairchild ACE familly
1502 has very low power consumption.
they are all flash devices

www.fairchild.com

 

[Analyzer]

Hi,

Also cypress products have fairly low power consumption.Check their web site at www.cypress.com Their mcus' are very talented.

Analyzer.

 

[cube007]

Hello,

thank you all for the information. Perhaps the MSP430 is a bit oversized for a LED torch but it seems to be the lowest power device.
But what's about PIC and AVR? Are these devices not useable for a battery application?

by,
cube007

 

[Kripton2035]

there are low power pics (those with LF in their code)
look at microchip web site
pic 12f675 should be ok

 

[Ratburn]

Check out the Atmel ATtiny L series, eg ATtiny15L
Power Consumption at 1.6 MHz, 3V, 25°C
– Active: 3.0 mA
– Idle Mode: 1.0 mA
– Power-down: < 1 µA

 

[Analyzer]

Yep,
Kripton2035 is right, you can use PIC LF products (suffix to product code) but let me remember.A little designers use these mcu's coded with LF.So you may not find them easily.Check middle range microchip mcu's.

Analyzer.

 

[ME]

Application Note about Low Power Design Using PIC16/17 (AN606): **broken link removed**

 

[vhdl_fpga]

msp430

Check out the
Power Consumption at 1 MHz, 3V, 25°C
– Active: 280 µA
– Idle Mode: 3µA

 

[Crisbe]

Maybe the NEC 78K-Series is what U are looking for. Also very less power consumtion.
But always remember: U can have the less power using micro in galaxy. If your program isn't designed for low power, U won't get long battery-life. So try to enter Stop-Mode as often U can.

Regards

 

[layoutdude]

Why do you need a uC for a LED flashlight (torch)?

Seems like a severe case of overkill to me...

 

[Kripton2035]

Why do you need a uC for a LED flashlight (torch)?

Seems like a severe case of overkill to me...

to control the consumption and dim the led automatically to reduce this consumption

(I think it's for that reason ?!?)

 

[cube007]

That's right Kripton2035,

the uC is for controling the LED in different ways (dimming, flashing, ...) and for building the DC/DC converter. Perhaps I could use a standard DC/DC (Step Down, from 7,2V to 3,6 @ 350 mA -> Luxeon LED) but most of them are not current controlled.

by,
cube007

 

[elcielo]

Xemics SA

www.xemics.com

XE88LCXX

0.3 mA/MHz,not supply vol-tage dependent

 

[ME]

EM Microelectronic Ultra-low power 4-bit MICROCONTROLLERS:
https://www.emmarin.ch/Line.asp?IdLine=2
https://www.emmarin.ch/webfiles/product/mcu/mcu_prodtable.pdf

From EM's website:
EM offers the best MIPS/Watt ratio with ultra-low current as low as 0.3µA in halt mode. They are best suited for controlling and display applications in which power consumption is critical.
EM also offers MFP (MTP) versions of its ROM MCUs, best suited for engineering and development phases of a project.

 

[wolf69]

the best uC on lowpower is farchild series.
Bye!

 

[psubiaco]

What is microcontroller consumption in respect of led consumption?
Led need high current, while every recent microcontroller need less than 1mA using cpuclock < 1MHz !
Bye.

 

[cube007]

That is correct psubiaco. The uC should have a very low power consumption when the LED is off so the battery won't discharge.
When the LED is on the power consumption of the uC isn't so important.

by,
cube007