The Texas Instruments MSP430 family of ultralow power microcontrollers consist of several devices featuring different sets of peripherals targeted for various applications. The architecture, combined with five low power modes is optimized to achieve extended battery life in portable measurement applications. The device features a powerful 16-bit RISC CPU, 16-bit registers, and constant generators that attribute to maximum code efficiency. The digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) allows wake-up from low-power modes to active mode in less than 6μs.

The MSP430x11x series is an ultra low-power mixed signal microcontroller with a built in 16-bit timer and fourteen I/O pins.

Typical applications include sensor systems that capture analog signals, convert them to digital values, and then process the data and display them or transmit them to a host system.