Microchip Technology (Korea Representative: Byung-Don Han), a global specialist in microcontroller, analog, and flash IP solutions, unveiled a new family of low-pin 32-bit PIC32 microcontrollers (MCUs) today at the Embedded World Conference held in Germany. Designed for designs where smaller board space and cost are critical considerations, the new family features 61 DMIPS of performance in a small package measuring just 5mm x 5mm. The PIC32 "MX1" and "MX2" MCUs are the industry's smallest and most affordable PIC32 microcontrollers and are the first PIC32 MCUs to feature dedicated audio and capacitive sensing peripherals. Additionally, these latest devices feature USB OTG (On-the-Go) capabilities, making them suitable for audio accessories used in consumer, industrial, medical, and automotive markets, as well as other applications.

Check out the presentation materials for the product introduction: http://www.microchip.com/get/6LTX

The PIC32 MX1 and MX2 MCUs are specified to operate at up to 105°C and feature up to 128KB of flash and 32KB of RAM, two I2S interfaces for audio processing, an integrated hardware peripheral for adding mTouch™ capacitive touch buttons or advanced sensors, and an 8-bit Parallel Master Port (PMP) interface for graphics or external memory. These newly released devices integrate peripherals for serial communication with the PIC32 MX2 MCU, including an on-chip 10-bit 1Msps 13-channel analog-to-digital converter (ADC) with added USB OTG. These MCUs are supplied in packages with 28 to 44 pins, a minimum size of 5mm x 5mm, and a 0.5mm pitch. Microchip’s peripheral pin selection feature allows most of the chip’s digital function pins to be “remapped,” significantly simplifying layout and design modifications and reducing design-related effort. The PIC32 MX1 and MX2 devices are compatible with Microchip’s 16-bit PIC24F product line for easy migration and are supported via MPLAB® X IDE, a single development environment for all of Microchip’s 8, 16, and 32-bit MCUs.

Sumit Mitra, Vice President of Microchip’s High Performance Microcontroller business unit, emphasized, “With the further expansion of the PIC32 MX1 and MX2 product families, customers now have access to a wider range of options for seamlessly migrating constantly changing designs.” He stated, “Based on 128K Flash, 32K pins, the industry’s best DMIP per MHz performance among 32-bit MCUs, and a small package as small as 28 pins, the PIC32 MX1 and MX2 MCUs enable designers to differentiate their products in the market while reducing design size and costs.”

Development tool support
To start development based on the newly released MCU, you can use Microchip’s MPLAB Starter Kit for PIC32MX1XX/2XX MCUs (Part Number: DM320013). This USB-powered kit includes a PIC32MX250F128D MCU with 128KB of flash and 32KB of RAM, a 2-inch color TFT display (220 x 176 pixels), capacitive touch sliders and buttons, SD card storage, and 24-bit audio playback capabilities. Additionally, a PIC32MX250F128D plug-in module (part number: MA320011) for the Explorer 16 Development Board is available with the Microstick II (part number: DM330013-2) tool. These tools are currently available for purchase at microchipDIRECT ( http://www.microchip.com/get/2W7K ).

Package and supply
The newly introduced PIC32 MX1 and MX2 MCUs are available in 28-pin SOIC, SPDIP, and SSOP packages, 36-pin VTLA package, and 44-pin QFN, TQFP, and VTLA packages, respectively. Samples are currently available for order at http://www.microchip.com/get/L7HC , and production quantities can be ordered at http://www.microchip.com/get/2W7K .
For more information, contact a Microchip sales representative or an official distributor worldwide, or visit the Microchip website ( http://www.microchip.com/get/S79W ). The products mentioned in the press release can be purchased by visiting Microchip Direct or by contacting an official Microchip distributor partner.