Microchip Technology has unveiled several new, peripheral-rich 8-bit PIC® microcontrollers (MCUs) with active currents of less than 50 µA/MHz and extremely low sleep currents. The PIC12F182X and PIC16F182X (PIC1XF182X) MCUs extend Microchip’s Enhanced Mid-range 8-bit core product line into the 8-pin segment, bringing the total number of Enhanced 8-bit core PIC MCUs to 16, in packages ranging from 8 to 64 pins. With their extreme low power and high levels of integration, including mTouch™ capacitive touch-sensing and multiple communications peripherals, the general-purpose PIC12F182X and PIC16F182X MCUs are well suited for wide range of applications in the appliance (e.g. coffee makers, blenders, dishwashers); consumer (e.g. vacuum cleaners, printers, remote controls); and automotive markets (e.g. LED lighting, keyless entry, body electronics), among others.

nanoWatt XLP technology remains the standard for battery-friendly MCUs, and, when combined with extremely low active-current consumption of less than 50 µA/MHz, improves overall energy efficiency in a wide variety of applications. Microchip’s Enhanced Mid-range 8-bit architecture provides an up to 50% increase in performance, and 14 new instructions that result in up to 40% better code execution over previous-generation 8-bit PIC16 MCUs. Microchip’s Enhanced 8-bit architecture provides a 50% increase in performance, and 14 new instructions that result in up to 40% better C-code efficiency, over previous-generation 8-bit PIC16 MCUs. The PIC1XF182X MCUs include dual I2C™/SPI interfaces, more PWM outputs with independent time bases, and a Data Signal Modulator that enables designers to combine many functions into a single MCU.

With active current of less than 50 µA per MHz, Microchip has set the new industry benchmark for low-power microcontrollers, these low active currents, plus sleep currents down to 20 nA and the industry-leading number of peripherals integrated onto the PIC12F182X, PIC16F182X and PIC16F19XX MCUs, enable engineers to create battery-friendly designs that also incorporate capacitive touch sensing, LCD, communications and other functions, which will help differentiate their products in the marketplace.

Microchip further solidifies its leadership in low-power operation with the introduction of the PIC1XF182X family of microcontrollers, said Mike Farquharson, “These new microcontrollers also feature several new or enhanced peripherals including mTouch capacitive touch sensing, dual I2C/SPI interfaces, 32-level built-in voltage reference, and Data Signal Modulator along with the efficiency gains due to our enhanced Mid-Range 8-bit architecture.”

PIC1XF182X MCU Features

Development Tool Support
Microchip’s PICDEM™ Lab Development Kit (part # DM163035) can be used with the PIC1XF182X MCUs. The kit comes complete with a development board containing five popular 8-bit PIC MCUs; a bag of discrete components; a debugger/programmer and a CD containing a User’s Guide, labs and application examples. The kit can be purchased from ACAL TECHNOLOGY

Designers can also use Microchip‘s complete suite of standard development tools with the new MCUs, including the user-friendly and free MPLAB® IDE, along with the HI-TECH C® compiler for PIC16 MCUs. The HI-TECH C Lite edition is a completely free, fully functional compiler with no time limitations.  For applications with limited program space, the Standard and PRO editions offer denser code and improved performance.  Additionally, there is a variety of debugging hardware, from the popular PICkit 3 In-Circuit Debugger/Programmer, to the MPLAB ICD 3 In-Circuit Debugger, MPLAB PM3 Universal Device Programmer, and MPLAB REAL ICE™ In-Circuit Emulator. All of these tools can be purchased today from ACAL TECHNOLOGY

Packaging and Availability
The PIC12F182X and PIC16F182X MCUs are available in DFN, PDIP, QFN, SOIC, and TSSOP packages of varying sizes, from 8- to 20 pins, PIC12F1822 and PIC16F1823 samples are available today. Volume production is expected to begin in Q2 2010. For further information, complete the form below or mail ACALTECHNOLOGY