Wokingham, U.K.: Fifteen 8-bit microcontrollers from Microchip extend the company’s certified Full-Speed USB 2.0 Device PIC series (see the figure). The microcontrollers feature internal clock sources with the 0.25% clock accuracy necessary for USB communication, which eliminates the need for an external crystal. In addition, all three families in the new additions are eXtreme Low Power compliant, with power consumption down to 35 µA/MHz active and 20 nA in sleep mode. The parts range from 14 to 100 pins with up to 128 kbytes of flash.
The 14- and 20-pin PIC16F145X MCUs are as small as 4 by 4 mm. The three-member set enables embedded applications that require USB connectivity. They also have capacitive touch sensing, such as pulse oxymeters, PC accessories, and security dongles.
The PIC18F2X/4XK50 devices, available in 28- and 40/44-pin packages, offer a cost-effective, pin-compatible migration option for customers using legacy PIC18 USB MCUs. They feature 1.8- to 5-V operation and integrate a charge time measurement unit (CTMU) for higher-performance capacitive-touch sensing, as well as measurement in applications such as audio docks and data loggers.
The full-featured PIC18F97J94 family offers integrated LCD control, real time clock and calendar (RTCC) with Vbat, and USB on a single 8-bit PIC microcontroller. Available in 64-, 80-, and 100-pin packages, the nine-member lineup offers a 60x8 LCD controller, for a total of 480 segments, which eliminates the need for an external controller in applications with large segmented displays.