Low-power MCU suitable for industrial applications

It offers an on-chip 12-bit ADC, EEPROM, intelligent Mtouch capacitive sensing, the capability to run from a 5V supply and sleep currents down to 20nA, which is common to all XLP PIC MCUs.

The PIC24F32KA304 range expands on the PIC24F16KA range by adding twice as much Flash programme memory and 30 per cent more RAM to enhance support for wireless-communication protocol stacks.

It also integrates three times as many timers and Pulse-Width Modulators and twice as many UART, I2C and SPI channels.

The resolution of the Analogue-to-Digital Converter has been quadrupled to 12 bits and the pin count increased to 44 pins, compared with the PIC24F16KA range.

The PIC24F32KA304 MCUs' intelligent Mtouch sensing module includes a Charge Time Measurement Unit (CTMU) that performs an automated scan in sleep mode to enable extremely low-power capacitive sensing.

This CTMU is said to dramatically reduce current, conserving even more battery power in portable applications.

Full analogue performance up to 5V allows the PIC24F32KA304 to simplify power-supply design by eliminating the need for discrete voltage regulators in 5V applications such as automotive and white goods.

The PIC24F32KA304 range joins more than 100 Microchip MCUs, which feature XLP technology that is claimed to provide the industry with its lowest sleep and active currents, multiple wake-up sources and more peripherals that operate in sleep mode without CPU intervention - according to the company.

These features allow designers to add application features without the customary increase in power consumption.

Rapid development is supported by the PIC24F32KA304 Plug-In Module (MA240022), which is a plug-in for the Explorer 16 Development Board (DM240001).

Alternatively, 20- and 28-pin PDIP packages are supported by the XLP 16-bit Development Board (DM240311).

The MPLAB IDE, MPLAB C Compiler for PIC24 MCUs and dsPIC DSCs, MPLAB ICD3 In-Circuit Debugger (DV164035) and PICkit 3 Debugger/Programmer (PG164130) can also be used for development of the PIC24F32KA304 range.

The range is available in two voltage ranges; the PIC24FxxKA3xx versions operate from 1.8 to 3.6V, while PIC24FVxxKA3xx devices operate from 2 to 5V.

Pin counts range from 20 to 48 pins, with PIC24F(FV)16KA301 available in 20-pin PDIP, SOIC and SSOP packages; PIC24F(FV)32KA302 offered in 28-pin SOIC, SSOP, SPDIP and 6 x 6mm QFN packages; and the PIC24F(FV)32KA304 available in 44-pin TQFP and 8 x 8mm QFN packages, as well as a 48-pin 6 x 6mm UQFN package.