Microchip Launches New Real-Time PIC18-Q43 Microcontroller Family, Curiosity Nano Dev Board
Designed for real-time control applications, the PIC18-Q43 range includes six-channel DMA and 12-bit ADCC features.
Microchip has officially launched a new family of microcontrollers, the PIC18-Q43 range, which combines the company's Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) with a suite of development tools that, it claims, will help speed development.
"The PIC18-Q43 family is well suited for a wide range of real-time control applications including industrial control, consumer, automotive, motor control, capacitive touch sensing and the Internet of Things (IoT)," says Microchip's Stephanie Pinteric of the new range. "Its CIPs simplify development and enable quick response time to system events. These hardware-based CIPs significantly reduce the amount of software you need to write and validate, saving you time and effort."
"They also independently manage tasks and reduce the amount of processing required from the CPU, freeing it to handle more complex tasks within the system or go to sleep to save power. This eliminates the need for additional code and external components and reduces power consumption, allowing for deterministic response time and decreased validation time. CIPs can connect to the CPU, each other or directly to memories for multi-tasking and near zero latency for improved system response."
Each PIC18-Q43 includes a six-channel direct memory access (DMA) controller, eight configurable logic cells (CLCs), 16-bit pulse-width modulation (PWM) outputs, a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter with computation (ADCC), and multiple communications interfaces — all designed to reduce development time while keeping latency to a minimum.
For an entry point into the family, Microchip has launched the PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity Nano Evaluation Kit, which offers a Feather-like, breadboard-compatible pin-and-castellation layout based on two 28-pin header strips. The board is supported by the MPLAB X IDE and MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC) at launch.
More information on the PIC18-Q43 range in general can be found on Microchip's website, while the Curiosity Nano Evaluation Kit is available to purchase now.
