Microchip expands 8-bit PIC MCU portfolio with new 20-pin family

CHANDLER, USA: Microchip Technology Inc., a leading provider of microcontroller, analog and Flash-IP solutions, announced an expansion of its existing 28-/40-pin PIC16F72X microcontroller (MCU) family with two new 20-pin devices—the PIC16F(LF)720 and PIC16F(LF)721.

The new MCUs feature low power consumption, making them suitable for various low-power and battery-powered applications. These MCUs offer up to 7 KB of self-write Flash program memory, a temperature-indicator module, an 8-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC), a capture/compare PWM module, and various serial communication peripherals, such as I2C, SPI and AUSART.

The highly-integrated MCUs enable engineers to reduce board size, component count and overall cost for a variety of applications in the appliance (e.g. blenders, refrigerators, dishwashers); consumer/home electronic (e.g. TV remote controls, toys, phones, set-top boxes); industrial (e.g. digital water heaters, security systems, humidity sensors); and automotive (remote lock systems, power seats, level sensors, lighting control) markets, among others.

The PIC16F(LF)720/1 are general-purpose MCUs that offer integrated control peripherals with newer features, such as self-write memory and a temperature indicator module. The self-write Flash program memory can be used to perform remote firmware updates, while the temperature-indicator module provides a means for measuring the temperature of the surrounding environment.

Additionally, the integrated communication peripherals can be used for serial data transfer between other devices on or off the PCB. These MCUs are available in packages as small as a 4 mm x 4 mm QFN, to enable space-constrained applications.

“The PIC16F(LF)720/1 family provides customers with a general-purpose platform for developing cost-sensitive applications,” said Steve Drehobl, vice president of Microchip’s Security, Microcontroller & Technology Development Division. “The addition of smaller pin-count options, self-write program memory and temperature indicator module further expands this family into even lower-cost applications.”