New PIC16F and PIC16LF devices with Enhanced Mid-range 8-bit Core

Microchip is still investing real R&D in their lower end and mid-range PIC1x families of microcontrollers. The new PIC16LF1937 is one of their currently 6 member family with the enchanced core. For customers that have made the decision to go with the propriety PIC architecture this is definitely a very good sign. Many other companies turn away from 8-bit and focus on 32-bit devices while Microchip continues the evolution of 8- and 16-bit with excellent low-power features. With features such as Brown-Out Reset BOR,  Power-On Reset POR and a 600nA Watch Dog Timer WDT, Microchip enables low cost system design with high reliability.

Microchip Technology Inc., a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors announced the first six members of the PIC16F193X family of microcontrollers (MCUs) featuring Microchip's enhanced Mid-range 8-bit core--the PIC16F1934, PIC16LF1934, PIC16F1936, PIC16LF1936, PIC16F1937 and PIC16LF1937. The new family extends Microchip's PIC(R) MCU portfolio of over 550 compatible members, targeting a wide variety of applications in the appliance, consumer, industrial, medical and automotive markets. The family's increased memory and core capabilities deliver enhanced support for both C and Assembly programmers, and "LF" family members feature Microchip's nanoWatt XLP technology--for extreme low power consumption--enabling designs to achieve world-leading battery lifetime. Continuing in the PIC MCU tradition of integrating extensive peripherals, the new family offers Direct LCD drive and support for mTouch(TM) capacitive touch-sensing solutions.

Additional features of the PIC16F193X family include:

-- Flash program memory up to 14 KB

-- Data RAM up to 512 Bytes

-- 256 Bytes Data EEPROM

-- LCD drive (up to 96 segments)

-- nanoWatt XLP technology on the "LF" versions, resulting in sleep currents of 90 nA, Watchdog Timer (WDT) current of 500 nA, and low-power 32 kHz Timer1 oscillator current of 600 nA, all at 1.8V

-- mTouch Sensing Solutions peripheral for capacitive touch sensing (16 channels, with support for up to 64 buttons)

-- 32 MHz internal oscillator

-- Up to 5 Enhanced Capture Compare PWM peripherals with independent time base

-- Reduced Interrupt latency

-- 16-level hardware stack, with overflow/underflow interrupt

-- Low-power 1.8 to 5.5V operation, including full analog peripheral operation

-- Master SPI/I(2)C(TM) and EUSART support for RS-232/RS-485, as well as LIN support

-- Up to 14 channels of 10-bit Analog-to-Digital Conversion (ADC)

-- Two rail-to-rail input comparators with 555 Timer operation

-- 4x8-bit and 1x16-bit timers, with extreme low power Real-Time Clock (RTC) support

-- Robust and reliable operational monitors, such as Power-On Reset (POR), Brown-out Reset (BOR) and low-power Watchdog Timer (WDT)

With a total of 49 instructions, the PIC16F193X microcontrollers optimize program code and data handling, while increasing efficiency and reducing clock cycles. Future devices with the enhanced Mid-range 8-bit core, offering increased memory and additional I/O, are expected to be released later this year.

The PIC16F1936 and PIC16LF1936 are available in 28-pin PDIP package, SSOP package SOIC package and QFN package at $1.24 each for 10k-Units
The PIC16F1934 and PIC16LF1934 are available in 40-pin PDIP package, TQFN package and QFN package at $1.40 each for 10k-Units
The PIC16F1937 and PIC16LF1937 are available in 40-pin PDIP package, TQFN package and QFN package at $1.47 each for 10k-Units

Samples of the new devices are available today, at http://sample.microchip.com . Volume production quantities can be ordered today, at http://www.microchipdirect.com .