TI MSPM0L1306 LaunchPad Experience 02: What does MSP mean? Is the M0+ core outdated?

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TI MSPM0L1306 LaunchPad Experience 02: What does MSP mean? Is the M0+ core outdated? [Copy link]

 

Understanding the model codes of the MSPM0 series

To understand a product series, you only need to understand the coding method of the model.

MSPM0 represents TI's family of Arm Cortex M0+ based microcontrollers.

L stands for low power consumption series. There is also a G series, which has better performance than the L series, with more peripherals and a higher main frequency (80 MHz).

The numbers behind are a combination of specific specifications, see the figure below.

1306 represents the ADC+COMP+OPA combination, but does not include TIA.

At this point, every character in the model seems to be understood clearly, except for the "MSP" at the beginning.

What does MSP mean?

The exact meaning of this question needs to be answered by TI. But its exact meaning may not be so important. Perhaps the opinions of engineers who use these devices are more important. Let me talk about my opinion.

MSP appeared earlier in TI's famous single-chip MSP430 family. Currently, "MSP430" and "MSPM0" are both TI single-chip families, used as a whole. Just like we don't need to verify why it is called 430 now, these historical events have little to do with current applications.

In the previous article, we uniformly called these devices "single-chip microcomputers". In fact, the official website currently calls these devices "microcontrollers" (MCU). However, these microcontrollers from TI also have many excellent analog peripherals that can process analog signals. Therefore, they are " mixed-signal microcontrollers ". Obviously, there is no dedicated English abbreviation for this term, so TI gave it an abbreviation called "MSP", which stands for mixed-signal microcontroller. Sharp-eyed netizens will find that there is no letter "P" in microcontroller, so let's just treat it as the abbreviation of processor.

That’s the end of the nitpicking. I think the term “mixed signal processor/controller” well reflects the application scenarios of this type of device. They are usually at the forefront of a product, doing the “dirty work”. For example, reading the values of various sensors (analog or digital signals), outputting various control quantities (analog or digital quantities), etc.

In today's world dominated by artificial intelligence, people prefer to discuss various high-end algorithms, neural networks, large models, etc., and the part dealing with the physical world seems unimportant, but it is actually the most important. Accurately and timely sensing and controlling the physical world is what "MSP" is best at, and it is also the basis of high-end new technologies such as artificial intelligence.

Is M0+ out of date?

Whether it is a beginner or a more experienced engineer, there are many questions around:

Why are we still learning M0 now? What does the plus sign after 0 mean? I heard that the M series has already reached M7 and M55. Would it be backward to learn M0+?

There is actually a small misunderstanding here, and the classification of ARM processors needs further explanation.

ARM processors are divided into three series by letter:

The A series is an application series with high performance and high power consumption, making it the best choice for running applications.

The R series is a real-time processing series suitable for hardware real-time fields, such as PLC, medical, aerospace, etc.

The M series is a series of microcontrollers, which is what we usually call single-chip microcomputers.

As time goes by, the numbers in the M series have indeed increased overall, such as M4 (2010), M7 (2014), M23/M33 (2016), M55 (2020), etc.

The M0 is an exception. The M0 series was launched in 2009, and the M0+ series was launched in 2012. This series went the other way and pursued low power consumption rather than performance. For example, the M0+ improved the M0 by reducing the three-stage pipeline to a two-stage pipeline in order to further control power consumption.

Therefore, M0+ is not a very old core, but a small branch parallel to M4, M7, etc.

Before TI launched MSPM0, we needed to compare other companies' M0+ core products with TI's MSP430, after all, both have the characteristics of low power consumption. Now that TI has MSPM0, there is no need to compare. I believe that MSPM0 must have some latecomer advantages over MSP430. You can also try to migrate your MSP430 project to MSPM0.

Appendix: Comparison between MSPM0 and MSP430

references

[1] Migration Guide from MSP430 MCU to MSPM0 MCU https://www.ti.com.cn/cn/lit/an/zhcaby2a/zhcaby2a.pdf

okhxyyo

Haha, your title successfully caught my attention.

MSP appeared earlier in TI's famous single-chip MSP430 family. Currently, "MSP430" and "MSPM0" are both TI single-chip families, used as a whole. Just like we don't need to verify why it is called 430 now, these historical events have little to do with current applications.

In the previous article, we uniformly called these devices "single-chip microcomputers". In fact, the official website currently calls these devices "microcontrollers" (MCU). However, these microcontrollers from TI also have many excellent analog peripherals that can process analog signals. Therefore, they are " mixed-signal microcontrollers ". Obviously, there is no dedicated English abbreviation for this term, so TI gave it an abbreviation called "MSP", which stands for mixed-signal microcontroller. Sharp-eyed netizens will find that there is no letter "P" in microcontroller, so let's just treat it as the abbreviation of processor.

That’s the end of the nitpicking. I think the term “mixed signal processor/controller” is a good description of the application scenarios of this type of device.

Long pose, thanks for sharing

damiaa

I understand that MSPM0 is an msp430 upgrade board with a core replaced with cortexM0. It has stronger functions and better performance.

x1816

damiaa posted on 2023-10-10 11:42 MSPM0 is an msp430 with the core replaced by cortexM0

From experience, it is indeed the case

x1816

okhxyyo posted on 2023-10-10 11:31 Haha, your title successfully caught my attention. MSP appeared earlier in TI's famous microcontroller MSP430 family. Currently " ...

430 actually has a story, and it is a very archaeological story.

lugl4313820

Not only Ti, but STMicroelectronics has also replaced the original 8-bit machine with m0+. Many domestically produced microcontrollers, such as Wuhan Xinyuan's CW32L series, also have very high cost performance.

x1816

lugl4313820 posted on 2023-10-10 20:11 Not only Ti, but also STMicroelectronics has replaced the original 8-bit machine with m0+. Many domestically produced MCUs, such as Wuhan Xinyuan's CW32L series, also have very...

stm8 is an 8-bit machine and MSP430 is a 16-bit machine, but they are gradually being replaced by 32-bit machines.

I remember that about 10 years ago, there was a slogan that you could buy a 32-bit MCU for $1, which used the ARM M3 core. I didn't expect that 10 years later, TI would sell it for $0.5 and it also came with a bunch of analog peripherals with good indicators.