10 Jan 2012

Microchip has just announced the latest addition to its eXtreme Low Power (XLP) microcontroller family with the PIC24F "GA3" series. The new PIC24FJ128GA310 family has the lowest active current available for 16-bit Flash MCUs and offers several flexible new low-power sleep modes. The active current is rated at 150 microamperes/MHz, and the current for a new low-power sleep mode with RAM retention is 330 nA. With the new idle and sleep modes, clock speeds can be reduced on the fly and peripherals can be selectively shut down for significant power reduction.

These devices are the first PIC MCUs with battery backup of the On-Chip Real-Time Clock Calendar, which allows an application's Real-Time Clock to continue running when primary power is removed. A VBAT pin is used to supply power for this and draws only 400 nA. They are also the first MCUs that are able to directly drive LCDs  in low power sleep mode (up to 480 LCD Segments or 60 segments by 8 common lines) which can work with more informative and flexible displays that include descriptive icons and scrolling. A six-channel DMA supports all types of peripheral modules.

Along with several enhanced peripheral features, the device includes many useful analog features such as  a 10/12-Bit, 24-Channel Analog-to-Digital (A/D) Converter where conversion can be done in idle mode, an on-chip programmable voltage reference, a Charge Time Measurement Unit (CTMU) which is used for capacitive touch sensing for up to 24 channels, and CTMU temperature sensing.  12-bit ADC features works in conjunction with the CTMU to further reduce power consumption by performing proximity sensing while in sleep mode.

The PIC24F GA3 devices have the potential to provide more efficient, less expensive designs for consumer, industrial, medical, metering, and other types of applications. Microchip also offers the PIC24FJ128GA310 Plug-In Module for use with the Explorer 16 Development Board with a built-in 480-segment LCD display for customers who would like to evaluate or develop designs for customized applications.