Microchip’s crystal-free USB 2.0 microcontroller
Microchip has added to its range of certified Full-Speed USB 2.0 device PIC microcontrollers portfolio 15 scalable 8-bit MCUs ranging from 14 to 100 pins with up to 128kbyte of flash.
The MCUs have internal clock sources with the 0.25% clock accuracy necessary for USB communication, and so eliminate the need and cost of an external crystal.
All devices offer power consumption down to 35µA/MHz in active mode and 20nA in Sleep mode.
“These crystal-free USB microcontrollers are the first to be offered with pin-counts ranging from 14 to 100 combined with such a high level of integration and low power consumption,” said the supplier.
Available in packages as small as 4×4 mm and featuring a wide array of integrated peripherals, the three-member family enables embedded applications that require USB connectivity in addition to capacitive touch sensing, such as pulse oxymeters, PC accessories and security dongles.
The PIC18F2X/4XK50 devices are available in 28- and 40/44-pin packages
The three family members feature 1.8-5V 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.
Available in 64-, 80- and 100-pin packages, the nine-member family offers a 60×8 LCD controller, for a total of 480 segments, which eliminates the need for an external controller in applications with large segmented displays. The family also integrates a real-time clock/calendar with battery back-up for end products such as home-automation or security panels, handheld scanners and single-phase energy meters.
For development, the downloadable and open-source USB Framework within the free Microchip Library of Applications (MLA) includes USB drivers for many common USB classes, including HID, CDC, Mass Storage, Win-USB and Audio-MIDI. These drivers can be used with all 15 of the new PIC MCUs.
In addition to providing free USB software drivers and stacks, Microchip hardware development tools are available for purchase.