Low-power PIC MCUs can extend battery life and eliminate external memory

Microchip has announced the expansion of its low-power PIC microcontroller (MCU) portfolio. Features of the new PIC24F 'GB6' family include up to 1MB 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, the 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 the PIC24F GB6 family 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 PIC24F GB6 family have Active current consumption as low as 190µA/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 200ksps, 24 channel, 12-bit analogue-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. The PIC24F GB6 family is supported by Microchip’s standard suite of world-class development tools, and the new PIC24FJ1024GB610 Plug-In Module (MA240023). The Plug-in-Module is available for use with the Explorer 16 Development Board (DM240001). PIC24F product variants are available in 64-pin, 100-pin and 121-pin packages, with Flash memory ranging from 128KB to 1MB, says the company.