Low-power PIC microcontrollers

25 November 2015 DSP, Micros & Memory

Microchip announced the expansion of its low-power PIC microcontroller (MCU) portfolio. Features of the new PIC24F ‘GB6’ family include up to 1 MB of Flash memory with Error Correction Code (ECC) and 32 KB of RAM, making it the first 16-bit MCU in Microchip’s portfolio to offer such a large memory size.

Also featuring dual-partition Flash with Live Update capability, these devices can hold two independent software applications, permitting the simultaneous programming of one partition while executing application code from the other. This powerful combination of features makes them ideal for industrial, computer, medical/fitness and portable applications that require a long battery life, and data transfer and storage without the need of external memory. These applications include electricity metering, HVAC control, fingerprint scanners and gaming.

MCUs in the new family have active current consumption as low as 190 μA/MHz and 3,2 μA in sleep mode. With the ability to perform over-the-air firmware updates, designers can provide a cost-effective, reliable and secure method for updating their applications.

The robust peripheral set for these devices includes a 200 KSps, 24-channel, 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC), up to 12 timers, six UARTS and USB-OTG to act as a USB device or host. Microchip Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) that run without the CPU are also integrated into the family, including a configurable logic cell (CLC) for real-time logic control and direct memory access (DMA) that enables faster throughput and lowers power consumption.

PIC24F product variants are available in 64-pin, 100-pin and 121-pin packages, with Flash memory ranging from 128 KB to 1 MB.

For more information contact Shane Padayachee, Avnet South Africa, +27 (0)11 319 8600, [email protected], www.avnet.co.za

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