Tiny DSC Targets Sensors

Microchip is pushing small (6 by 6 mm) digital signal controller (DSC) chips out the door to tackle intelligent sensor applications. The 40 MIPS dsPIC33FJ12GP family is compatible with its larger brethren but pares down memory to 12 kbytes of flash and 1 kbyte of RAM. The 18- and 28-pin packages start at $1.99. The DSCs also have a 10-channel analog-to-digital-converter (ADC) with a 10-bit or12-bit mode. The 10-bit mode-enables simultaneous sampling that can eliminate the lag time between samples. Other peripherals include a UART, an SPI port, and an I²C port. Peripheral ports can be mapped to any pin using the Peripheral Pin Select support. The chip works with the Digital Filter Design tool and dsPICworks.
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