Microchip expands PIC24 Lite microcontroller portfolio with lowest-cost 16-bit PIC MCU family

In order to optimise low-cost applications, these products include flexible peripherals, such as the Master Synchronous Serial Port (MSSP), which enables designers to configure either an I2C™ or Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), as well as the Enhanced Capture/Compare/PWM (ECCP) peripheral that allows designers to customise for multiple PWM and input-capture configurations. The “KL” family of products is available in 14-, 20- and 28-pin packages.

Today’s manufacturers are under intense pressure to cut costs, even as they deliver more sophisticated, lower-power products. With a combination of features in low pin-count packages, the PIC24 “KL” MCUs provide an ideal entry-level 16-bit solution for applications with lower I/O and memory requirements, such as low-cost electronic toys, electric shavers and portable blood-pressure monitors. The MCUs perform at up to 16 MIPS with a flexible peripheral set, enabling customers to differentiate their products in the marketplace while keeping costs low.

Development of the PIC24F “KL” MCUs is supported by a USB-powered Microstick for PIC24F 3V K-series (DM240013-1) which is available today. This easy-to-use development platform features everything designers need to get started with PIC24F “KL” MCUs, including an on-board debugger/programmer and Device-Under-Test (DUT) socket for easy device swapping. At about half the size of a credit card, it is extremely portable, and can be plugged into a prototyping board. This Microstick ships with a USB cable, header pins for proto board use, and the PIC24F16KL402, and PIC24F16KA102 MCUs. It is supported by Microchip’s free MPLAB® Integrated Development Environment (IDE), and is compatible with all 3V PIC24F K-series MCUs in 28-pin SPDIP packages.

The PIC24F16KL402 MCUs are available in 14-, 20- and 28-pin PDIP, SOIC, SPDIP, SSOP, TSSOP and QFN packages as small as 5 mm x 5 mm.