0.7V tinyAVR®
A typical microcontroller requires at least 1.8V to operate, while the voltage of a single battery-cell typically ranges from 1.2V to 1.5V when fully charged, and then drops gradually below 1V during use, still holding a reasonable amount of charge. This means a regular microcontroller needs at least two battery cells.
Atmel has solved this problem by integrating a boost converter inside the ATtiny43U, converting a DC voltage to a higher level, and bridging the gap between minimum supply voltage of the microcontroller and the typical output voltages of a standard single cell battery. The boost converter provides the microcontroller with a fixed supply voltage of 3.0V from a single battery cell even when the battery voltage drops down to 0.7V.
This allows non-rechargeable batteries to be drained to the minimum, thus extending the battery life. Programmable shut-off levels above the critical minimum voltage level avoid damaging the battery cell of rechargeable batteries.
For more information on how to use our 0.7V tinyAVR®, please consult the following application notes: AVR188, AVR652, AVR602.