Microchip largesse economic 8-bit PIC Microcontrollers

Microchip Technology from its quarter has announced the PIC16(L)F170X and PIC16(L)F171X family of 8-bit microcontrollers (MCUs), which combine a rich set of intelligent analog and core independent peripherals, along with cost-effective pricing and eXtreme Low Power (XLP) technology at the Embedded Systems Conference in San Jose, California.

These fresh devices also offer built-in Zero Cross Detect (ZCD) to simplify TRIAC control and minimise the EMI caused by switching transients.  Moreover, these are the first PIC16 MCUs with Peripheral Pin Select, a pin-mapping feature that provides designers the flexibility to designate the pinout of many peripheral functions.  The PIC16F170X/171X are general-purpose MCUs that are ideal for a broad range of applications, reading in the league of consumer (home appliances, power tools, electric razors), portable medical (blood-pressure meters, blood-glucose meters, pedometers), LED lighting, battery charging, power supplies and motor control.

“The PIC16F170X/171X MCUs deliver a rich set of analog and digital peripherals, along with XLP performance at cost-effective price points. With features such as internal Op Amps, ZCD, Peripheral Pin Select, CLC, COG and NCO, these MCUs reduce design complexity and cost for a wide variety of general-purpose applications,” alleged Steve Drehobl, Vice-President of Microchip’s MCU8 Division.

The PIC16F170X/171X family features Core Independent Peripherals, such as the Configurable Logic Cell (CLC), Complementary Output Generator (COG) and Numerically Controlled Oscillator (NCO).  These “self-sustaining” peripherals take 8-bit PIC MCU performance to a new level, as they are designed to handle tasks with no code or supervision from the CPU to maintain operation.