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.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP), 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.

Microchip Customer Support

Microchip is committed to supporting its customers by helping design engineers develop products faster and more efficiently. Customers can access four main service areas at www.microchip.com. The Support area provides a fast way to get questions answered; the Sample area offers free evaluation samples of any Microchip device; microchipDIRECT provides 24-hour pricing, ordering, inventory and credit for convenient purchasing of all Microchip devices and development tools; finally, the Training area educates customers through webinars, sign-ups for local seminar and workshop courses, and information about the annual MASTERs events held throughout the world.

About Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) is a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at www.microchip.com.