Microchip Technology has developed its next-generation low-power PIC microcontroller (MCU) families with nanoWatt XLP eXtreme Low Power Technology for sleep currents as low as 20nA. These three new 8-bit and 16-bit MCU families join three other recent 8-bit families that are all part of Microchip's nanoWatt XLP portfolio, providing designers with a rich and compatible low-power migration path that includes on-chip peripherals for USB and mTouch sensing solutions.
"Microchip's new nanoWatt XLP families of PIC microcontrollers have surpassed the competition by a substantial margin to offer a new industry benchmark for the lowest sleep current consumption," said Tony Massimini, Chief of Technology at Semico Research Corp. "When you factor in the integration of EEPROM, oscillators, USB and capacitive touch sensing peripherals, the potential reduction in system-level power consumption is quite substantial."
Three of nanoWatt XLP Technology's key advantages are: Sleep currents down to 20nA, Real-Time Clock currents down to 500nA, and Watchdog Timer currents down to 400nA. The vast majority of low-power applications require one or more of these features. nanoWatt XLP Technology combines all three in a comprehensive portfolio of devices. Whether it is extended battery life, sealed batteries, or the integration of energy harvesting, Microchip's 8-bit and 16-bit PIC MCUs with nanoWatt XLP Technology provide more freedom for designers that need their products to operate longer using less power, or requiring fewer battery changes.
The three new nanoWatt XLP MCU families that were announced include the four-member, 16-bit PIC24F16KA family, which features typical sleep currents as low as 20nA along with integrated EEPROM memory, and small-footprint and low pin count (20-pin and 28-pin) package options. Additionally, this family enables applications to run for more than 20 years from a single battery. The six-member PIC18F46J11 and the six-member PIC18F46J50 8-bit MCU families feature typical sleep currents of less than 20nA. The general-purpose PIC18F46J11 MCUs provide up to 64kB of Flash program memory and the peripheral set of a typical 64-pin or 80-pin device in only 28- or 44-pins; while the PIC18F46J50 devices add integrated Full-Speed USB 2.0 to enable connectivity for embedded applications requiring remote field upgrades or the downloading of data.
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