FRAM-based 16-bit MCU for low-power metering and display applications
The device integrates an LCD driver, a 10-bit ADC with 8 channels, and serial connectivity (I²C, IrDA, SCI, SPI, UART/USART), so a single chip can handle a segmented LCD display, a sensor interface, and a communication link.
FRAM memory: no erase penalty, no wear-leveling needed
The 4.5 KB FRAM array is the headline feature. Unlike Flash, FRAM writes at bus speed — no erase-before-write, no sector-erase latency, and no 100k-cycle endurance ceiling. For a firmware engineer, this means you can treat the program memory as a unified code-and-data space: store calibration constants, configuration tables, or a rolling data log in the same array as the executable, and update individual bytes in a single store instruction. The 512 x 8 RAM handles stack and scratchpad; the FRAM handles persistent storage. No external serial EEPROM needed for most designs, which saves a BOM line and a board footprint.
Peripheral integration for human-machine interface and sensor fusion
The on-chip LCD driver can directly drive a segmented glass LCD — common in meter and thermostat displays — without an external display controller. The 8-channel 10-bit ADC reads analog sensors (temperature, pressure, battery voltage), while the I²C and SPI buses connect to digital sensors or radios. The brown-out detect and POR circuits reset the MCU cleanly on supply droop, which is critical for battery-powered equipment that may see a cold-crank dip. The 52 I/O pins in the 56-TSSOP package leave plenty of headroom for a membrane keypad or additional discrete signals.
The 16 MHz CPU speed is enough for a control loop sampling sensors at a few kilohertz and updating a display — not for heavy DSP, but adequate for the metering and HMI class this part targets.
It is ROHS3 compliant.