The 8-bit MCU market has grown steadily over the past 50 years, with Microchip's MCU devices now selling at a rate of one per person per year in the U.S. and European markets.

In the embedded design market in 2022, 8-bit PIC® and AVR® microcontroller unit (MCU) product families are expected to increase their market share as smartphones, autonomous vehicles, and 5G wireless connectivity emerge as key trends.

Microchip Technology Inc. today announced five new product families and more than 60 new individual devices that provide simple solutions to common challenges faced by embedded developers.

These product families offer processing power, the ability to easily communicate with other chips, and analog peripherals that can be easily configured without changing the printed circuit board (PCB). These devices are supported by a simple development environment that allows them to be configured as smart peripheral chips, extending the functionality of existing MCUs.

Smart peripherals such as software-controlled operational amplifiers (Op Amp), multi-voltage I/O (MVIO), and analog-to-digital converters (ADCC) with built-in math functions, implemented in the PIC16F171 family, provide new value to applications that do not typically use MCUs.

Systems containing chips that use different supply voltages often face the challenge of needing to supply multiple voltages. For example, connecting a 5V MCU to a 1.8V sensor is a common example. These types of systems typically require level-shifting devices, which increases cost.

In contrast, the MVIO peripheral featured on Microchip's latest 8-bit MCUs, including the AVR DD family, allows a single port on the MCU to operate in a different voltage domain than the rest of the MCU, eliminating the need for additional external components.

Some systems require speed and response times that are difficult to achieve with software-based processing. Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs), available across all Microchip PIC and AVR products, can be easily programmed with MPLAB® Code Configurator (MCC) to configure hardware processing chains.

This allows for the creation of custom peripherals that eliminate software processing cycle time. For example, for a WS2812 LED array that requires proper timing, a super peripheral consisting of a pulse width modulator (PWM), an SPI interface, and a configurable logic cell (CLC) can be configured to easily control the array.

As the market for 8-bit PIC and AVR MCU devices continues to grow, Microchip is focusing its product portfolio and support structure to meet long-term demand. PIC and AVR MCUs are remarkably easy to design with, and their support network accelerates time to revenue for Microchip customers.

Our 8-bit MCU portfolio is pin-to-pin compatible, allowing you to choose alternative PIC or AVR MCUs when you need higher performance or want to maximize product availability while minimizing redesign requirements.

“PIC and AVR MCUs are extremely popular because they are designed to meet our customers’ needs for both current and future applications,” said Greg Robinson, senior vice president of marketing for Microchip’s 8-bit MCU business unit. “Microchip has established a supply chain for 8-bit PIC and AVR MCUs, and we manufacture the majority of them in our own facilities.”