SLAA334B September 2006 – August 2018 MSP430BT5190 , MSP430F1101 , MSP430F1101A , MSP430F1111A , MSP430F112 , MSP430F1121 , MSP430F1121A , MSP430F1122 , MSP430F1132 , MSP430F122 , MSP430F1222 , MSP430F123 , MSP430F1232 , MSP430F133 , MSP430F135 , MSP430F147 , MSP430F1471 , MSP430F148 , MSP430F1481 , MSP430F149 , MSP430F1491 , MSP430F155 , MSP430F156 , MSP430F157 , MSP430F1610 , MSP430F1611 , MSP430F1612 , MSP430F167 , MSP430F168 , MSP430F169 , MSP430F2001 , MSP430F2002 , MSP430F2003 , MSP430F2011 , MSP430F2012 , MSP430F2013 , MSP430F2013-EP , MSP430F2101 , MSP430F2111 , MSP430F2112 , MSP430F2121 , MSP430F2122 , MSP430F2131 , MSP430F2132 , MSP430F2232 , MSP430F2234 , MSP430F2252 , MSP430F2252-Q1 , MSP430F2254 , MSP430F2272 , MSP430F2272-Q1 , MSP430F2274 , MSP430F233 , MSP430F2330 , MSP430F235 , MSP430F2350 , MSP430F2370 , MSP430F2410 , MSP430F2416 , MSP430F2417 , MSP430F2418 , MSP430F2419 , MSP430F247 , MSP430F2471 , MSP430F248 , MSP430F2481 , MSP430F249 , MSP430F2491 , MSP430F2616 , MSP430F2617 , MSP430F2618 , MSP430F2619 , MSP430F412 , MSP430F413 , MSP430F4132 , MSP430F415 , MSP430F4152 , MSP430F417 , MSP430F423 , MSP430F423A , MSP430F425 , MSP430F4250 , MSP430F425A , MSP430F4260 , MSP430F427 , MSP430F4270 , MSP430F427A , MSP430F435 , MSP430F4351 , MSP430F436 , MSP430F4361 , MSP430F437 , MSP430F4371 , MSP430F438 , MSP430F439 , MSP430F447 , MSP430F448 , MSP430F4481 , MSP430F449 , MSP430F4491 , MSP430F4616 , MSP430F46161 , MSP430F4617 , MSP430F46171 , MSP430F4618 , MSP430F46181 , MSP430F4619 , MSP430F46191 , MSP430F47126 , MSP430F47127 , MSP430F47163 , MSP430F47166 , MSP430F47167 , MSP430F47173 , MSP430F47176 , MSP430F47177 , MSP430F47183 , MSP430F47186 , MSP430F47187 , MSP430F47193 , MSP430F47196 , MSP430F47197 , MSP430F477 , MSP430F478 , MSP430F4783 , MSP430F4784 , MSP430F479 , MSP430F4793 , MSP430F4794 , MSP430F5131 , MSP430F5132 , MSP430F5151 , MSP430F5152 , MSP430F5171 , MSP430F5172 , MSP430F5304 , MSP430F5308 , MSP430F5309 , MSP430F5310 , MSP430F5324 , MSP430F5325 , MSP430F5326 , MSP430F5327 , MSP430F5328 , MSP430F5329 , MSP430F5333 , MSP430F5336 , MSP430F5338 , MSP430F5340 , MSP430F5341 , MSP430F5342 , MSP430F5418 , MSP430F5418A , MSP430F5419 , MSP430F5419A , MSP430F5435 , MSP430F5435A , MSP430F5436 , MSP430F5436A , MSP430F5437 , MSP430F5437A , MSP430F5438 , MSP430F5438A , MSP430F5500 , MSP430F5501 , MSP430F5502 , MSP430F5503 , MSP430F5504 , MSP430F5505 , MSP430F5506 , MSP430F5507 , MSP430F5508 , MSP430F5509 , MSP430F5510 , MSP430F5630 , MSP430F5631 , MSP430F5632 , MSP430F5633 , MSP430F5634 , MSP430F5635 , MSP430F5636 , MSP430F5637 , MSP430F5638 , MSP430F6433 , MSP430F6435 , MSP430F6436 , MSP430F6438 , MSP430F6630 , MSP430F6631 , MSP430F6632 , MSP430F6633 , MSP430F6634 , MSP430F6635 , MSP430F6636 , MSP430F6637 , MSP430F6638 , MSP430FE423 , MSP430FE4232 , MSP430FE423A , MSP430FE4242 , MSP430FE425 , MSP430FE4252 , MSP430FE425A , MSP430FE427 , MSP430FE4272 , MSP430FE427A , MSP430FG4250 , MSP430FG4260 , MSP430FG4270 , MSP430FG437 , MSP430FG438 , MSP430FG439 , MSP430FG4616 , MSP430FG4617 , MSP430FG4618 , MSP430FG4619 , MSP430FG477 , MSP430FG478 , MSP430FG479 , MSP430FW423 , MSP430FW425 , MSP430FW427 , MSP430G2001 , MSP430G2101 , MSP430G2102 , MSP430G2111 , MSP430G2112 , MSP430G2121 , MSP430G2131 , MSP430G2132 , MSP430G2152 , MSP430G2201 , MSP430G2201-Q1 , MSP430G2211 , MSP430G2212 , MSP430G2221 , MSP430G2231 , MSP430G2231-Q1 , MSP430G2232 , MSP430G2252 , MSP430G2302 , MSP430G2312 , MSP430G2332 , MSP430G2352 , MSP430G2402 , MSP430G2432 , MSP430G2452 , MSP430L092
Like any other erasable memory, flash devices have a limited number of erase and write cycles they can withstand without failure. The reason for the limitation depends on either charge trapping characteristics or the dielectric breakdown characteristics of the tunnel oxide. This introduces a term called endurance. Endurance is a measure of the number of erase and write cycles that a flash array can achieve while retaining data integrity. According to IEEE Standard Definitions and Characterization of Floating Gate Semiconductor Arrays [2], endurance is defined as "The measure of the ability of a nonvolatile memory device to meet its data-sheet specification as a function of accumulated nonvolatile data changes." Table 2 lists the flash endurance specified in MSP430 data sheets.
| PARAMETER | MIN | NOM | MAX | UNIT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program and erase endurance | 104 | 105 | cycles |
The data sheet specifies a minimum of 10000 read and write cycles, while the devices typically fulfill 100000 read and write cycles.
MSP430 endurance testing shows that most devices easily achieve more than 100000 cycles at ambient or high temperature, while the number of cycles at low temperature is in the range of a few ten thousands. Failures are always a single bit failing erase. Measurements show improvement in the number of cycles if a quiescent period after erase operations is added.
The most common problem is stuck cells caused by charge trapping. Charge trapping occurs in the insulating tunnel oxide during erase operations, causing the cell to read a logic 0 although erased. This is a self-healing effect and usually detraps automatically in the quiescent period after an erase cycle. During endurance testing at Texas Instruments, the flash cells are continuously erased and rewritten. With a delay of at least one or two seconds between two erase and write cycles, the flash endurance increases significantly during the tests.