Date: 06/03/2009

Microcontroller to operate from single cell AA or AAA battery

Atmel launched a new family of tinyAVR microcontrollers operating from a single battery, such as AA, AAA, or coin cell. The first member of this family is the ATtiny43U. ATtiny43U has 4-Kbytes of Flash memory and 64 bytes of In-System programmable EEPROM.

A regular AA or AAA battery generated a voltage in the range of 1.8V (full charge) to 0.7V. The ATtiny43U has an on-chip boost regulator that works from battery voltages between 0.7 and 1.8V. The regulator converts the low battery voltage up to 3V, this is sufficiently high to effectively operate the AVR MCU, its peripherals and I/Os. The boost regulator can deliver enough current to the I/O pins to directly drive LEDs and electric motors. The ATtiny43U features a 10-bit ADC, two 8-bit timer counters with PWM outputs, SPI, I2C interface, internal temperature sensor, and has up to 8 MIPS throughput running from a 0.7V battery.

"With the introduction of the Ultra Low Voltage tinyAVR microcontrollers we are expanding the popular AVR product family into a new market segment. The ATtiny43U features an internal regulator that removes the need for multiple batteries or complex external boost regulators, this reduces the physical size, time to market, and bill of material for battery powered applications," said Jukka Eskelinen Director, tinyAVR Product Marketing.

The examples of applications for this microcontroller include, portable battery powered consumer applications like phone accessories, remote controls, sporting goods and personal care products, which would prefer to operate from single cell battery.
Package: QFN20 package
Availability: Now in samples and volumes
Price: Each USD $1.00 for 10k units