The QE devices offer a series of ultra-low power features that reduce costs and improve system efficiency. First, there is the addition of the Low Power Run and Low Power Wait operating modes. In both of these modes, the CPU clocks are running at a reduced speed of 125kHz and the voltage regulator is put into a standby or loose regulation state. These low power modes enable full operation of the microcontroller even at the reduced frequency to enhance power efficiency. However, power consumption is reduced the most when the clocks to the unused peripherals are disabled. The second ultra-low power feature on the QE128 is clock gating. Clock gating is the ability to turn clocks off to unused peripherals in the system greatly reducing the overall current in Run and Wait mode since unnecessary clocks are not running and consuming power. This is a great way to ensure the most efficient use of power in the system by using only the clocks that are needed. The internal regulator and oscillator are other ultra-low power features for the QE128. The internal regulator provides a regulated lower-voltage source to the central processing unit and other internal circuitry of the microcontroller. This regulated lower voltage reduces the overall power consumption in the system and, along with the low power oscillator, enables fast start up (typically between 6 and 7 microseconds) from stop modes. Other ultra-low power features on the first series of Flexis devices are the internal clock source and oscillator. The internal clock source provides clock source options for the microcontroller and eliminates the need for an external clock which can reduce system cost and power consumption. The internal clock also provides signals to control the low power oscillator which supports lower frequency operations for ultra-low power applications. Finally, the ultra-low power real time counter on the QE128 device family is an 8-bit modulus counter that can have a binary or decimal based prescaler. This counter can be used in all Run, Wait, and Stop modes and is used with either an internal or external clock source in conjunction with the ultra-low power oscillator to ensure power efficient operation.