Microchip Announces PIC18 MCU With High-Speed 12-bit ADC

Microchip Technology Announces PIC18 MCU With High-Speed 12-bit ADC; Eliminates Need for External ADC in Advanced Sensor Designs

PIC18F4523 Family Removes Cost and Complexity of External ADC in Advanced Sensor Designs That Require Higher-Resolution Analog-to-Digital Conversion

CHANDLER, Ariz., Sept. 25, 2006 [NASDAQ: MCHP] — Microchip Technology Inc., a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, today announced the four-member PIC18F4523 family, which is Microchip’s first family of high-end 8-bit Flash microcontrollers to include a high-speed 12-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) peripheral on-chip. Additionally, this microcontroller family includes nanoWatt Technology features, which provide design engineers with multiple options for effectively managing power consumption and extending battery life. These features eliminate the cost and complexity of interfacing to an external ADC, while providing the precision required for high-speed, high-resolution sensor measurements in applications such as medical, industrial and utility metering.

Sophisticated embedded systems are increasingly requiring advanced sensor measurement with very low power consumption and very little board space. By providing a high-end 8-bit microcontroller with a 12-bit, 13-channel ADC and advanced power management in small 28-, 40- and 44-pin packages, Microchip’s PIC18F4523 family is meeting these market needs.

“The addition of 12-bit ADCs to the PIC18 portfolio offers system designers the ability to employ advanced sensor designs that were previously out of reach without the use of external components,” said Mitch Obolsky, vice president of Microchip’s Advanced Microcontroller Architecture Division. “This saves on overall component costs but, more importantly, the effort involved in implementing complex designs.”

The PIC18F4523 family is well suited for a broad range of applications requiring precision measurement and control, including the following examples: Industrial (data logging, data conditioning); Medical (sensor measurements); Power (utility metering, power conversion, battery chargers); Appliances(sensor measurements).

Additional key features of the PIC18F4523 microcontroller family include:

• 10 MIPS performance

• 32 or 16 Kbytes of Enhanced Flash program memory

• 256 bytes of EEPROM data memory

• Up to 1,536 bytes of RAM

• 2 analog comparators with input multiplexing

• Up to two Capture/Compare/PWM modules

• Master I²C™ and SPI communication module

• Enhanced USART module with RS-485, RS-232 and LIN support

• One 8-bit and 3x 16-bit timers

• Internal Oscillator (32 MHz to 31 kHz)

Development Tools

The PIC18F4523 family maintains compatibility with Microchip’s free MPLAB^® IDE integrated development environment, MPLAB C18 C compiler, MPLAB ICD 2 in-circuit debugger and emulator, and the MPLAB PM3 universal device programmer. In addition, the PICDEM™ 2 Plus (part # DM163022) demonstrates the capabilities of the PIC18F4523 family.

Availability and Pricing

The PIC18F4523/4423/2523/2423 microcontrollers are available now for general sampling at http://sample.microchip.com and volume-production shipments at www.microchipdirect.com. The PIC18F4523/4423 come in 44-pin QFN or TQFP and 40-pin PDIP packages, and the PIC182523/2423 are available in 28-pin QFN, SOIC and SPDIP packages, all of which are RoHS-compliant. Prices start at $3.49 each in 10,000 unit quantities. For additional information, contact any Microchip sales representative or authorized worldwide distributor, or visit Microchip’s Web site at www.microchip.com/pic18f4523.

Note: The Microchip name and logo, PIC, and MPLAB are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Inc. in the USA and other countries. PICDEM is a trademark of Microchip Technology Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies.

**Photo and Block Diagram available through editorial contact**

Original text is here