Low-power MCUs simplify LCD application design

1st June 2017

Alice Matthews

0 0

Datasheet

A new family of low-power microcontrollers (MCUs) has been announced by Microchip featuring Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) and intelligent analogue for driving Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD). The nine member PIC16F19197 family includes a battery-friendly LCD drive charge pump; 12-bit ADC with computation (ADC2); a low-power comparator; and active clock-tuning of its high-frequency oscillator. They are the first 8-bit MCUs to be optimised for popular low-power and battery-powered touch-enabled LCD applications.

The PIC16F19197 family consists of 28- to 64-pin devices with up to 56KB Flash and 4KB RAM. The charge pump ensures that LCD screens maintain consistent contrast even as battery-voltage drops. The ADC2 automates signal acquisition and processing tasks, making robust touch buttons and sliders easy to implement. Additionally, the Active Clock-Tuning feature provides customers with a stable oscillator across the entire voltage and temperature operating range. The PIC16F19197 family is able to accomplish this entirely in hardware rather than relying upon software.

The family also features a Real Time Clock and Calendar (RTCC) with battery backup and high-current I/O pins to directly drive the LCD backlighting. In addition, the IDLE/DOZE low-power modes and Peripheral Module Disable (PMD) extend battery life. All of these features are offered together with the ability to drive up to 360 LCD segments, making the PIC16F19197 family a suitable choice for battery-powered LCD applications.

The family is supported by the MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC), which is a free plug-in for MPLAB X and MPLAB Xpress Integrated Development Environments, providing a graphical interface for the configuration of peripherals and functions specific to each application. The Microchip LCD XLP Explorer Development Board (DM240314) supports evaluation of the PIC16F19197 family of MCUs.