1Getting Started With the MSP-EXP430FR5739 FRAM Experimenter Board
1.1Introduction
The MSP-EXP430FR5739 Experimenter Board introduces TI's first embedded ferro-electric random
access memory (FRAM) based MCU, the MSP430FR5739. The experimenter board is an ideal platform
for evaluating the latest in embedded memory technology while allowing the user to easily develop,
debug, and implement prototypes in an efficient manner.
The MSP430FR5739 device is supported by both IAR Embedded Workbench and Code Compose Studio.
It is recommended to download the latest version of the IDE from www.msp430.com.
The Quick Start Guide (SLAU341) is recommended for users who cannot wait to get started developing
with the MSP430FR5739. For all others, this MSP-EXP430FR5739 FRAM Experimenter Board User'sGuide provides detailed information on the hardware, the user experience firmware, and the
MSP430FR5739 device.
The MSP-EXP430FR5739 Experimenter Board is available for purchase from the TI eStore at
Getting Started With the MSP-EXP430FR5739 FRAM Experimenter Board
1.2Kit Contents
The MSP-EXP430FR5739 FRAM Experimenter Board kit includes the following:
•The MSP-EXP430FR5739 board
•Mini USB-B cable, 0.5 m
•12-pin PCB connectors (two male and two female)
•32.768-kHz clock crystal from Microcrystal (www.microcrystal.com)
The 32.768-kHz crystal can be used as the low-frequency XT oscillator. It is not required for the User
Experience code and can be populated as needed.
•Quick start guide
See Section 2.1 for details on the associated software and source code.
1.3MSP-EXP430FR5739 Board Overview
The experimenter board (see Figure 1) comes equipped with the following features:
•USB debugging and programming interface that uses a driverless installation and provides an
application UART to communicate back to the PC
•On-board ADXL335 accelerometer
•NTC thermistor for temperature sensing
•Two user input switches and a reset switch
•Eight LEDs for output display
•Connectivity to the MSP-EXP430F5438 Experimenter Board
•Connectivity to CCxxx radio daughter cards
•Easily accessible device pins for debugging purposes or as socket for adding customized extension
•Separate power jumpers to measure power to the MSP430 and the RF daughter card.
www.ti.com
1.4Connecting the Hardware
Connect the MSP-EXP430FR5739 to the PC using the enclosed USB cable. If the PC has an MSP430
Integrated Development Environment (IDE) such as Code Composer Studio™ or IAR Embedded
Workbench™ already installed, the driver files are automatically located and installed.
If there are no IDEs installed in the PC, unzip the folder associated with this user's guide (see Section 2.1)
and point the installation to the [Install Path]\MSP-EXP430FR5739\Drivers folder.
After the drivers are installed, go to My Computer → Properties → Hardware → Device Manager to verify
that the board is enumerated under Ports COM & LPT as MSP430 Application UART.
1.5Starting the PC GUI
The Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the PC is located in the associated zip file (see Section 2.1) under
[Install Path]\MSP-EXP430FR5739\Graphical User Interface.
Double click on FRAM_GUI.exe to load the PC application. More information on how to use this
application is provided in Section 2.
6
MSP-EXP430FR5739 FRAM Experimenter BoardSLAU343B–May 2011–Revised February 2012
The zip file that contains the software and source code for the MSP-EXP430FR5739 can be downloaded
from www.ti.com/lit/zip/slac492. The contents of the zip include:
•User Experience source code and project files
•Drivers that support the board installation
•PC GUI
The design files for the experimenter board are can be downloaded from www.ti.com/lit/zip/slac502.
2.2The User Experience Demo
The User Experience demo is pre-loaded in the MSP-EXP430FR5739 board.
The user input to the demo is given using the switches S1 and S2. These switched allow the user to
select the mode of operation and other options.
The output from the demo is displayed using the LEDs (LED1 to LED8) and is also sent via the
back-channel UART that transmits information to the PC.
There are four modes of operation for the User Experience demo:
1. High-speed FRAM writes
2. Emulating the speed of flash writes
3. Sampling accelerometer data and writing to FRAM
4. Sampling thermistor data and writing to FRAM
MSP-EXP430FR5739 User Experience Demo
2.2.1Entering and Exiting the Demo Modes
Follow these steps to enter and exit the demo modes:
1. Press switch S1 for mode selection. After you press S1, LED8 through LED5 light up to show the
corresponding mode.
2. Press switch S2 to enter the mode.
3. Press switch S2 when inside a mode to turn off the display (LED and UART output). This is useful
when measuring power.
4. Press S1 to exit a mode and return to mode selection.
NOTE: Pressing S2 without selecting a mode causes LED8 to toggle rapidly, indicating an invalid
sequence. To exit from this mode, press S1 to return to mode selection.
The MSP-EXP430FR5739 board is equipped with a reset switch. On reset, the device displays a short
LED lighting sequence.
SLAU343B–May 2011–Revised February 2012MSP-EXP430FR5739 FRAM Experimenter Board
Mode 1 is entered by pressing S1 once, followed by S2. On entry, LED8 through LED1 light up
sequentially to display the speed of FRAM writes.
Every time the LED1 through LED8 sequence is completed, 800KB are written to FRAM. In this mode,
FRAM is bring written to at about 1.8MB per second. In comparison, a full-speed write to flash can
achieve speeds of approximately 13kB per second.
Figure 2. Comparing Write Speeds When Writing to Nonvolatile Memory
(MSP430FR5739 FRAM vs MSP430F2274 Flash)
www.ti.com
Note that the code is optimized for power and not speed. FRAM memory blocks can be written at speeds
greater than 8MB per second depending on how the code is optimized. See the application report
Achieving High-Speed FRAM Writes Using the MSP430FR5739 for more details.
On entering Mode 1, the address of the FRAM scratchpad location is calculated. For the User Experience
demo, the scratchpad location starts at 0xD400 and ends at 0xF000. This location can be modified in the
header file FR_EXP.h. Note that when changing this location, it is important to first check the code space
requirements in the map file to ensure that the FRAM scratchpad area does not overlap with the
application code. Different compilers and optimization settings may impact the placement of the
application code. If any overlap occurs, the application code may be overwritten in Mode 1, which can
cause the demo to fail.
In Mode 1, the system main clock is configured to use the DCO set to 8 MHz. A function that performs
long-word writes to FRAM is called continuously inside a while loop. Each time the FRAM_Write() function
in FR_EXP.c is called, 512 bytes are written. This number was chosen arbitrarily to mimic flash segments,
and there are no restrictions on the number of FRAM bytes that can be written at once. While in Mode 1,
the LED sequence changes every time 100kB are written. For example, after the first 100KB are written,
LED8 is turned on; after the next 100kB are written, LED8 and LED7 are turned on; and so on. The
sequence completes when all eight LEDs are turned on, after which the process rolls over and starts
again from LED8.
Also, after every 100kB, a UART data transmission occurs. This data is sent to the PC via a back-channel
UART and is used to calculate the FRAM write speed and endurance information that is displayed in the
PC GUI. The raw data can also be viewed directly using a PC application such as HyperTerminal.
8
MSP-EXP430FR5739 FRAM Experimenter BoardSLAU343B–May 2011–Revised February 2012
While measuring the active power in a mode, the LEDs should be turned off and the UART transmissions
should be halted. This is done by pressing switch S2 while inside the mode. Switch S2 toggles the display
settings, turning them on or off as needed. Turning the display off allows the user to isolate and measure
the current consumption of the MSP430 device when executing instructions at a clock speed of 8 MHz
and writing to FRAM. In bench tests, the MSP430 I
DVCC
Note that, because of the nature of the FRAM cache, the number of accesses to FRAM memory can
greatly impact the active power consumption. Unoptimized code that performs a higher number of
accesses to FRAM can cause an increase in the measured current. It is advisable to review the compiler
settings when setting up a project using IDEs such as CCS or IAR to ensure the most efficient code and,
hence, the least active power.
The project that accompanies this document (see Section 2.1) uses a level 1 optimization setting in both
IAR and CCS that is one step higher than the default optimization levels.
As mentioned previously, when measuring the ICCon the board, it is important to isolate the current
consumption by the MSP430FR5739 only. The measurement can be done when the board is powered via
USB or externally via a battery. When powering via the USB, it is recommended to disconnect the
emulation portion from the MSP430FR5739 device. This can be done by removing jumpers TXD, RXD,
Reset, and Test on J3. A multimeter can be used to measure the current into the MSP430FR5739 VCCby
removing the VCCjumper and placing the multimeter leads in series.
An alternate approach requires powering the board externally via the VCCand GND connection and
disconnecting the USB cable from the board. In this case, the multimeter can be placed in series to VCCby
removing the MSP_PWR jumper.
These recommendations hold true when measuring I
MSP-EXP430FR5739 User Experience Demo
was measured at approximately 800 µA.
in all four modes.
DVCC
2.2.2.2Displaying Results on the PC GUI
The GUI associated with this document provides details on the time elapsed in the mode, number of bytes
written, speed of FRAM, and the endurance of FRAM emulated over a 512 byte FRAM block.
The endurance is calculated based on the 1014program/erase cycles for the MSP430FR5739. Because
the GUI updates every one minute, the scale of reduction of FRAM endurance is very small. A more
obvious decline in endurance can be observed in Mode 2 when the endurance reduction when using flash
is emulated.
2.2.3Using Mode 2 – Emulating the Speed of Flash Writes
Mode 2 is entered by pressing S1 twice, followed by S2. In this mode, the maximum speed at which flash
can be written to (at a 100% active duty cycle) is emulated on FRAM.
Similar to Mode 1, on entry into Mode 2, LED8 through LED1 light up sequentially to display the speed of
emulated flash writes. Every time the LED1 through LED8 sequence is completed, an 800KB write to flash
is emulated. In this mode, FRAM is written to at approximately 12 kBps. The entire sequence requires
approximately 80 seconds, so the demo should be observed for more than one minute to see the LED
sequence roll over.
NOTE: The time to run this sequence varies depending on the frequency source to the interval timer
(that is, the VLO).
The test uses the same scratchpad FRAM memory as Mode 1 and the same system setup. In this mode,
after every 2KB of memory is written, a UART packet is transmitted to the PC GUI to allow it to calculate
speed and endurance information.
When measuring the average power the methodology described in Section 2.2.2.1 needs to be followed.
SLAU343B–May 2011–Revised February 2012MSP-EXP430FR5739 FRAM Experimenter Board
The MSP430F2274 device was used as a benchmark device to calculate the maximum flash write speed.
For a 512-byte block of flash, the following parameters were obtained from the MSP430F2274 data sheet:
Segment erase time = 4819 × t
Where, t
FTG
= 1 / f
FTG
FTG
≈ 1 / 300 kHz
512 bytes write time ≈ 51.2 ms
Total time to write to 512 bytes ≈ 67.2 ms
Time to write to 100KB = 6.72 seconds, which calculates to 14.8 kBps
When measuring the speed of continuous flash writes on the bench, the observed speed is approximately
12 kBps, because the code execution overhead is added to the time calculated above.
This write speed is emulated with the FRAM device by maintaining a low active duty cycle and performing
one 512 byte block write every 40 ms.
Number of writes per second = 1 / 40 ms = 25
Number of bytes written per second = 512 × 25 = 12.800 kBps
The timing of the FRAM write is controlled by the VLO clock.
From these bench tests, it can be seen that writing 12 kBps to flash requires nearly 100% duty cycle,
while writing the same speed to FRAM requires less than 1% duty cycle. The rest of the time, the FRAM
device is in shutdown mode (LPM4), which results in an average current of less than 10 µA. In
comparison, for a similar write speed, flash-based MCUs can require average current up to 2.2 mA.
www.ti.com
= 16 ms
Figure 3. Comparing Average Power When Writing to Nonvolatile Memory at 13 kBps
(MSP430FR5739 FRAM vs MSP430F2274 Flash)
2.2.3.2Displaying Results on the PC GUI
When in Mode 2, the GUI provides details on the time elapsed in the mode, number of bytes written,
speed of emulated flash writes, and the endurance emulated over a 512 byte flash block.
The endurance is calculated based on the 104program/erase cycles (minimum) for the MSP430F2274. If
a 512-byte block on a flash device were written to at a speed of 12.5 kBps (that is, 25 times per second),
the endurance would exceed the minimum limit in 10000/25 or 6.6 minutes.
Note that the MSP-EXP430FR5739 board only emulates this test to demonstrate a comparison in speed
and endurance between FRAM and flash; it does not perform the test on an actual flash device.
10
MSP-EXP430FR5739 FRAM Experimenter BoardSLAU343B–May 2011–Revised February 2012
Mode 3 is entered by pressing switch S1 three times, followed by switch S2.
Upon entering this mode, the on-board accelerometer (see Figure 4) is calibrated. To aid this calibration
process, it is recommended to place the board on a level surface before entering the mode.
MSP-EXP430FR5739 User Experience Demo
Figure 4. On-Board Accelerometer
After the calibration sequence is completed, LED4 and LED5 are turned on. When tilting the board in an
upward or downward direction, the LEDs follow the direction of the tilt. S2 toggles the display on and off,
similar to other modes.
Mode 3 also writes the sampled data from the ADC to the FRAM in real time with no wait states or extra
cycles spent on setting up the FRAM. This can be observed in the ADC interrupt service routine. The
sampling takes place at more than 15k samples per second. At this speed, flash devices require that the
data be buffered in RAM before writing to flash. In FRAM devices, the only bottleneck is the speed at
which the ADC can sample, not the writes to nonvolatile memory.
2.2.4.1Displaying Results on the PC GUI
When in the accelerometer mode, the GUI mimics the LEDs that are lit up on the Experimenter Board and
are a reflection of the tilt of the board.
SLAU343B–May 2011–Revised February 2012MSP-EXP430FR5739 FRAM Experimenter Board
Mode 4 is entered by pressing switch S1 four times, followed by switch S2.
Upon entering this mode, the on-board thermistor (see Figure 5) is calibrated.
www.ti.com
Figure 5. On-Board NTC Thermistor
After the calibration sequence is completed, LED4 and LED5 are turned on. When the NTC resistor is
heated (for example, by placing a finger on it), LED3 through LED1 are turned on sequentially. When the
NTC is cooled (for example, by using a freeze spay or a keyboard dust remover that uses compressed air)
LED5 through LED8 are turned on sequentially.
Similar to Mode 3, Mode 4 also writes the sampled data from the ADC to the FRAM in real time with no
wait states or extra cycles spent on setting up the FRAM. This can be observed in the ADC interrupt
service routine. The sampling takes place at more than 15k samples per second. At this speed, flash
devices require that the data be buffered in RAM before writing to flash. In FRAM devices, the only
bottleneck is the speed at which the ADC can sample, not the writes to nonvolatile memory.
2.2.5.1Displaying Results on the PC GUI
When in the temperature sense mode, the GUI mimics the LEDs that are lit up on the Experimenter Board
and are a reflection of the thermistor's ambient temperature measurement.
12
MSP-EXP430FR5739 FRAM Experimenter BoardSLAU343B–May 2011–Revised February 2012
2.3View, Edit, or Recompile the User Experience Code Using an IDE
There are different development software tools available for the MSP-EXP430FR5739 board. IAR
Embedded Workbench™ KickStart™ and Code Composer Studio™ (CCS) IDEs are both available in a
free limited version. IAR Embedded Workbench allows 4KB of C-code compilation. CCS is limited to a
code size of 16KB. The software is available at www.ti.com/msp430.
To view, modify, or edit the User Experience code provided with the MSP-EXP430FR5739, an IDE
installation is required. The associated software package (see Section 2.1) supports both IAR and CCS
projects.
The User Experience source files and project folders are provided in the folder [Install
Path]\MSP-EXP430FR5739\MSP-EXP430FR5739 User Experience.
2.3.1Setting up the IAR Workspace for the User Experience Code
To set up the IAR workspace for the User Experience demo source code:
1. Double-click and open MSP-EXP430FR5739_Workspace.eww in IAR.
2. The Project is automatically included in the workspace.
3. Click Project → Download & Debug to download the code to the MSP-EXP430FR5739 Experimenter
Board.
4. If multiple emulation tools are connected to your PC, click Project → Options → FET Debugger →
Connection to explicitly select the experimenter board.
2.3.2Importing the CCS Project for the User Experience Code
To import the CCS project for the User Experience demo source code:
1. Create a workspace folder.
2. Open CCS and point to the newly created workspace folder.
4. Browse to the folder [Install Path]\MSP-EXP430FR5739\MSP-EXP430FR5739 User Experience that
was extracted from the associated zip file (see Section 2.1).
5. The project MSP-EXP430FR5739_UserExperience is automatically selected.
6. Click Finish to include the project in the current workspace.
7. Click the Debug icon to download the project
2.3.3Source Files
Table 1 describes the source files for the User Experience demo.
NameDescription
Main.cThis file contains the user experience demo
Main.hThis file contains the definitions that are required for main.c
FR_EXP.cThis file contains the definitions of all C functions used by main.c
FR_EXP.hThis file contains all the function declarations needed by main.c and FR_EXP.c
SLAU343B–May 2011–Revised February 2012MSP-EXP430FR5739 FRAM Experimenter Board
The primary sources of MSP430 information are the device-specific data sheets and user's guides. The
most up-to-date versions of those documents can be found at the Texas Instruments MSP430 page
www.ti.com/msp430.
Visit www.ti.com/fram to find the latest information on TI's FRAM family.
To get an inside view of the CCS and IAR IDEs, download the latest version from the MSP430 page and
read the included user's guides and documentation in the installation folder.
Documents describing the IAR tools (Workbench/C-SPY, the assembler, the C compiler, the linker, and
the library) are located in common\doc and 430\doc. All necessary CCS documents can be found in
msp430\doc inside the CCS installation path. The Code Composer Studio v4.2 for MSP430™ User’sGuide (SLAU157) and IAR Embedded Workbench Version 3+ for MSP430™ User's Guide (SLAU138)
include detailed information on how to set up a project for the MSP430 using CCS or IAR. They are
included in most of the IDE releases and on the MSP430 page.
5References
1. MSP430FR5739 data sheet (SLAS639)
2. MSP430F2274 data sheet (SLAS504)
3. MSP430FR57xx Family User's Guide (SLAU272)
22
MSP-EXP430FR5739 FRAM Experimenter BoardSLAU343B–May 2011–Revised February 2012
Texas Instruments Incorporated and its subsidiaries (TI) reserve the right to make corrections, modifications, enhancements, improvements,
and other changes to its products and services at any time and to discontinue any product or service without notice. Customers should
obtain the latest relevant information before placing orders and should verify that such information is current and complete. All products are
sold subject to TI’s terms and conditions of sale supplied at the time of order acknowledgment.
TI warrants performance of its hardware products to the specifications applicable at the time of sale in accordance with TI’s standard
warranty. Testing and other quality control techniques are used to the extent TI deems necessary to support this warranty. Except where
mandated by government requirements, testing of all parameters of each product is not necessarily performed.
TI assumes no liability for applications assistance or customer product design. Customers are responsible for their products and
applications using TI components. To minimize the risks associated with customer products and applications, customers should provide
adequate design and operating safeguards.
TI does not warrant or represent that any license, either express or implied, is granted under any TI patent right, copyright, mask work right,
or other TI intellectual property right relating to any combination, machine, or process in which TI products or services are used. Information
published by TI regarding third-party products or services does not constitute a license from TI to use such products or services or a
warranty or endorsement thereof. Use of such information may require a license from a third party under the patents or other intellectual
property of the third party, or a license from TI under the patents or other intellectual property of TI.
Reproduction of TI information in TI data books or data sheets is permissible only if reproduction is without alteration and is accompanied
by all associated warranties, conditions, limitations, and notices. Reproduction of this information with alteration is an unfair and deceptive
business practice. TI is not responsible or liable for such altered documentation. Information of third parties may be subject to additional
restrictions.
Resale of TI products or services with statements different from or beyond the parameters stated by TI for that product or service voids all
express and any implied warranties for the associated TI product or service and is an unfair and deceptive business practice. TI is not
responsible or liable for any such statements.
TI products are not authorized for use in safety-critical applications (such as life support) where a failure of the TI product would reasonably
be expected to cause severe personal injury or death, unless officers of the parties have executed an agreement specifically governing
such use. Buyers represent that they have all necessary expertise in the safety and regulatory ramifications of their applications, and
acknowledge and agree that they are solely responsible for all legal, regulatory and safety-related requirements concerning their products
and any use of TI products in such safety-critical applications, notwithstanding any applications-related information or support that may be
provided by TI. Further, Buyers must fully indemnify TI and its representatives against any damages arising out of the use of TI products in
such safety-critical applications.
TI products are neither designed nor intended for use in military/aerospace applications or environments unless the TI products are
specifically designated by TI as military-grade or "enhanced plastic." Only products designated by TI as military-grade meet military
specifications. Buyers acknowledge and agree that any such use of TI products which TI has not designated as military-grade is solely at
the Buyer's risk, and that they are solely responsible for compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements in connection with such use.
TI products are neither designed nor intended for use in automotive applications or environments unless the specific TI products are
designated by TI as compliant with ISO/TS 16949 requirements. Buyers acknowledge and agree that, if they use any non-designated
products in automotive applications, TI will not be responsible for any failure to meet such requirements.
Following are URLs where you can obtain information on other Texas Instruments products and application solutions:
ProductsApplications
Audiowww.ti.com/audioAutomotive and Transportation www.ti.com/automotive
Amplifiersamplifier.ti.comCommunications and Telecom www.ti.com/communications
Data Convertersdataconverter.ti.comComputers and Peripheralswww.ti.com/computers
DLP® Productswww.dlp.comConsumer Electronicswww.ti.com/consumer-apps
DSPdsp.ti.comEnergy and Lightingwww.ti.com/energy
Clocks and Timerswww.ti.com/clocksIndustrialwww.ti.com/industrial
Interfaceinterface.ti.comMedicalwww.ti.com/medical
Logiclogic.ti.comSecuritywww.ti.com/security
Power Mgmtpower.ti.comSpace, Avionics and Defensewww.ti.com/space-avionics-defense
Microcontrollersmicrocontroller.ti.comVideo and Imagingwww.ti.com/video
RFIDwww.ti-rfid.com
OMAP Mobile Processors www.ti.com/omap
Wireless Connectivitywww.ti.com/wirelessconnectivity