TI Shrinks the MCU: 1.38mm² MSPM0C1104

Texas Instruments has released the MSPM0C1104, a 24MHz Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller in a 1.38mm² DSBGA package. That's 1.6mm x 0.861mm — smaller than a grain of rice. It's the smallest MCU TI has ever produced, targeting applications where board space is at a premium: wearables, medical patches, sensor nodes, and compact IoT devices.

Core Specs: What's Inside?

The MSPM0C1104 is built on the 32-bit Arm Cortex-M0+ core running at up to 24MHz. It includes 16KB of flash memory and 1KB of SRAM. While that's not a lot by modern standards, it's sufficient for many simple control and sensor interface tasks.

Analog Peripherals:

  • 12-bit SAR ADC with up to 10 external channels, capable of 1.7Msps at 10-bit or 1.5Msps at 12-bit resolution
  • Internal voltage reference configurable to 1.4V or 2.5V
  • On-chip temperature sensor and supply monitor

Digital Peripherals:

  • 1-channel DMA controller dedicated to ADC
  • Three timers: one 16-bit advanced timer with deadband (up to 8 PWM channels), two 16-bit general-purpose timers
  • Windowed watchdog timer
  • BEEPER for generating 1/2/4/8kHz square waves

Communication Interfaces:

  • 1 UART with LIN, IrDA, DALI, smart card, Manchester support; low-power operation in STANDBY
  • 1 I2C with FM+ (1Mbps), SMBus, PMBus, wake from STOP
  • 1 SPI up to 12Mbps

Low-Power Modes:

  • RUN: 87µA/MHz
  • STOP: 609µA at 4MHz, 311µA at 32kHz
  • STANDBY: 5µA with SRAM retention
  • SHUTDOWN: 200nA

Package Options and Pricing

The MSPM0C1104 comes in multiple packages, from the tiny 8-pin DSBGA (1.38mm²) to a 20-pin TSSOP (41.6mm²). Pricing is aggressive — the 8-pin SOT-23-THN variant costs as little as $0.29 in 1k volumes. This makes it competitive with 8-bit MCUs while offering a 32-bit core.

Development Ecosystem

TI provides a LaunchPad development kit (LP-MSPM0C1104) with an on-board debug probe. The MSP Software Development Kit (SDK) includes drivers, examples, and is integrated into Code Composer Studio IDE (desktop and cloud). Debug probes like XDS200, J-Link, and J-Trace are supported.

Why This Matters for Developers

The MSPM0C1104 fills a niche: extremely small, low-power, 32-bit processing with decent analog integration. If you're designing a disposable medical sensor that needs to run for months on a coin cell, this MCU is a strong candidate. The 5V-tolerant I/Os also simplify interfacing with legacy sensors.

However, the 1KB SRAM is a hard limit. You won't run Bluetooth stacks or complex RTOSes here. This is for bare-metal, event-driven code. The 16KB flash is generous for such a small chip, but you'll need to be efficient.

Code Example: Blinking LED with MSPM0C1104

#include "ti_msp_dl_config.h"

int main(void)
{
    SYSCFG_DL_init();
    while (1) {
        DL_GPIO_togglePins(LED_PORT, LED_PIN);
        delay_ms(500);
    }
}

void delay_ms(uint32_t ms)
{
    // Simple busy-wait using SysTick (assuming 24MHz)
    for (uint32_t i = 0; i < ms * 24000; i++) {
        __NOP();
    }
}

Comparison with Competitors

  • STM32C0 (STMicroelectronics): Similar Cortex-M0+ at 48MHz, 32KB flash, 12KB SRAM, but packages start at 2.0mm x 2.0mm (4mm²). More performance and memory, but larger.
  • EFM8 (Silicon Labs): 8-bit, lower power, but less analog integration.
  • PIC16F (Microchip): 8-bit, comparable price, but larger packages.

TI's advantage is the combination of tiny footprint, 32-bit core, and rich analog in a single package.

Power Consumption Analysis

At 87µA/MHz in RUN mode, a 24MHz operation draws about 2.1mA. In STANDBY (5µA), the MCU can retain SRAM and wake quickly. SHUTDOWN at 200nA extends battery life for intermittent use cases. For a device that wakes once per second, reads a sensor, and goes back to sleep, the average current is dominated by the active period.

Real-World Use Cases

  • Smart contact lenses: Need tiny, low-power MCU for sensor readout and wireless charging control.
  • Continuous glucose monitors: Small form factor, long battery life, ADC for sensor.
  • Earbud touch controls: Detect capacitive touch, communicate with Bluetooth chip.
  • Industrial sensor modules: Measure temperature/humidity, output digital signal via I2C.

Conclusion

The MSPM0C1104 is a compelling option for ultra-compact, low-power embedded designs. Its 1.38mm² package and sub-$0.30 price open new possibilities for miniaturization. Start prototyping with the LaunchPad kit and the MSP SDK. Check the datasheet for exact pinouts and electrical characteristics.