MSP430G2553 — 16-Bit Ultra-Low-Power RISC Microcontroller with 16KB Flash

Overview

The MSP430G2553 is a 16-bit ultra-low-power RISC microcontroller manufactured by Texas Instruments. Available in an easy-to-prototype through-hole DIP-20 package (as well as TSSOP-20 and QFN-32), it is the premier microcontroller that shipped with the iconic TI MSP-EXP430G2 LaunchPad evaluation kit.

Operating from $1.8\text{V}$ to $3.6\text{V}$ DC at up to $16\text{ MHz}$ , the MSP430G2553 is renowned for its energy-saving architectures: drawing just $0.1\ \mu\text{A}$ in RAM-retention standby (LPM4), $0.5\ \mu\text{A}$ in real-time clock mode (LPM3), and $230\ \mu\text{A}/\text{MHz}$ in active mode. Featuring an 8-channel 10-bit $200\text{ ksps}$ ADC with internal temperature sensor, dual 16-bit timers, hardware Universal Serial Communication Interface (USCI supporting hardware UART, SPI, and I2C), and capacitive-touch PinOsc hardware, it is a staple for battery-powered data loggers, wireless sensors, and energy-harvesting gadgets.

Quick reference


CPU Core	16-bit MSP430 RISC Architecture
Package	20-pin DIP (DIP-20 / N20) / 20-pin TSSOP / 32-pin QFN
Max Clock Frequency	$16\text{ MHz}$ (Calibrated internal DCO)
Flash Memory	$16\text{ KB}$ non-volatile program memory
SRAM	$512\text{ Bytes}$ high-speed RAM
Supply Voltage Range	$1.8\text{ V}$ to $3.6\text{ V}$ DC ( $4.1\text{ V}$ absolute max)
Low-Power Modes	LPM3 (RTC): $0.5\ \mu\text{A}$ / LPM4 (Off): $0.1\ \mu\text{A}$
Analog Peripherals	10-bit 200 ksps SAR ADC (8 channels) + Temp Sensor + Comparator
Serial Communication	USCI_A0 (UART / IrDA / SPI) + USCI_B0 (SPI / I2C)
Debugging Interface	Spy-Bi-Wire (2-wire JTAG: `SBWTDIO` / `SBWTCK`)

Pinout (DIP-20 Package)

text

                       ┌───┴───┐
                  VCC 1│ 1   20│ GND (DVSS)
     (A0/PinOsc) P1.0 2│       │19 P2.7 (XOUT)
(TA0.0/UCA0RXD) P1.1 3│       │18 P2.6 (XIN)
(TA0.1/UCA0TXD) P1.2 4│       │17 TEST / SBWTCK
       (ADC10CLK) P1.3 5│MSP430│16 RST / NMI / SBWTDIO
(TA0.1/UCB0CLK) P1.4 6│ G2553 │15 P1.7 (UCB0SDA / SCLK)
(TA0.0/UCB0SOMI)P1.5 7│       │14 P1.6 (UCB0SCL / MISO / TA0.1)
                 P2.0 8│       │13 P2.5 (TA1.2)
                 P2.1 9│       │12 P2.4 (TA1.2)
                 P2.2 10│      │11 P2.3 (TA1.0)
                       └───────┘

Pin	Name	Primary & Multiplexed Functions
1	`VCC`	Power Supply ( $+1.8\text{ V}$ to $+3.6\text{ V}$ DC)
2	`P1.0`	GPIO / ADC Input `A0` / Capacitive Touch `PinOsc` / Red LED on LaunchPad
3	`P1.1`	GPIO / `TA0.0` / UART Receive `UCA0RXD` / ADC `A1`
4	`P1.2`	GPIO / `TA0.1` / UART Transmit `UCA0TXD` / ADC `A2`
5	`P1.3`	GPIO / ADC `A3` / Push Button on LaunchPad
6	`P1.4`	GPIO / `TA0.1` / SPI `UCB0CLK` / ADC `A4`
7	`P1.5`	GPIO / `TA0.0` / SPI `UCB0SOMI` / I2C / ADC `A5`
8, 9, 10	`P2.0`-`P2.2`	Port 2 GPIOs / Timer1_A Outputs
11, 12, 13	`P2.3`-`P2.5`	Port 2 GPIOs / Timer1_A Outputs
14	`P1.6`	GPIO / `TA0.1` / SPI `UCB0SOMI` / I2C `UCB0SCL` / ADC `A6` / Green LED
15	`P1.7`	GPIO / SPI `UCB0SIMO` / I2C `UCB0SDA` / ADC `A7`
16	`RST`	Reset (Active Low) / `SBWTDIO` (Spy-Bi-Wire Data)
17	`TEST`	Test Mode Select / `SBWTCK` (Spy-Bi-Wire Clock)
18, 19	`P2.6`, `P2.7`	GPIO / $32.768\text{ kHz}$ Crystal Inputs (`XIN`, `XOUT`)
20	`GND`	Common Ground ( $0\text{ V}$ )

Minimal Standalone Breadboard Circuit

text

                      +3.3V DC (From MCP1700 or 2x AA Batteries)
                         │
                         ├───[ 100nF Ceramic ]───┐
                         │                       │
     LaunchPad / FET ────┼────────[ 47kΩ ]───┐   │
     Debugger Header     │                   │   │
                         │             [Pin 1: VCC]
                         │                   │
   [SBWTDIO / RST] ──────┼─────────────► [Pin 16: RST]
                         │                   │
                         │             [ 1.1nF Cap ] (Keep <= 2.2nF for SBW)
                         │                   │
   [SBWTCK / TEST] ──────┼─────────────► [Pin 17: TEST]
                         │                   │
   [GND] ────────────────┴─────────────► [Pin 20: GND] ─── System GND

Low-Power Modes (LPM)

Active Mode: CPU and all peripherals active ( $\sim 230\ \mu\text{A}/\text{MHz}$ at $3.0\text{V}$ ).
LPM0: CPU disabled, DCO and clocks active ( $\sim 55\ \mu\text{A}$ ).
LPM3: CPU and high-speed DCO disabled; $32.768\text{ kHz}$ low-speed crystal (ACLK) running for RTC wakeups ( $\sim 0.5\ \mu\text{A}$ ).
LPM4: All clocks stopped; full RAM contents retained; wake up by external GPIO interrupt within $< 1\ \mu\text{s}$ ( $\sim 0.1\ \mu\text{A}$ ).

Common mistakes

Connecting to 5V power or 5V logic signals: The MSP430G2553 is strictly a $3.6\text{V}$ max device. Connecting $5.0\text{V}$ power or driving GPIOs with 5V TTL logic directly will destroy the chip's internal clamping diodes. Use a 3.3V regulator and logic level shifters.
Placing too large a capacitor on the RST pin during Spy-Bi-Wire debugging: The reset pin is multiplexed with the high-speed SBWTDIO programming data line. If the pull-up filter capacitor on RST exceeds $2.2\text{ nF}$ , programming tools (LaunchPad / MSP-FET) will fail to communicate. Use a $47\text{ k}\Omega$ pull-up resistor and a $1.0\text{ nF}$ capacitor.

Notes

Software Ecosystem: Programmable via TI Code Composer Studio (CCS), IAR Embedded Workbench, GCC (msp430-elf-gcc), and the open-source Energia (Arduino-compatible framework).