Winter 2012

PERIPHERALSPOWER LIGHTING MEDICALUSB3

Sept/Oct 2013

The Microchip name and logo, the Microchip logo, dsPIC, FlashFlex, KEELOQ, KEELOQ logo, MPLAB, PIC, PICmicro, PICSTART, PIC32 logo, rfPIC, SST, SST Logo, SuperFlash and UNI/O are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. and other countries. FilterLab, Hampshire, HI-TECH C, Linear Active Thermistor, MTP, SEEVAL and The Embedded Control Solutions Company are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. Silicon Storage Technology is a registered trademark of Microchip Technology Inc. in other countries.Analog-for-the-Digital Age, Application Maestro, BodyCom, chipKIT, chipKIT logo, CodeGuard, dsPICDEM, dsPICDEM.net, dsPICworks, dsSPEAK, ECAN, ECONOMONITOR, FanSense, HI-TIDE, In Circuit Serial Programming, ICSP, Mindi, MiWi, MPASM, MPF, MPLAB Certified logo, MPLIB, MPLINK, mTouch, Omniscient Code Generation, PICC, PICC-18, PICDEM, PICDEM.net, PICkit, PICtail, REAL ICE, rfLAB, Select Mode, SQI, Serial Quad I/O, Total Endurance, TSHARC, UniWinDriver, WiperLock, ZENA and Z-Scale are trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. and other countries.SQTP is a service mark of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. GestIC and ULPP are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Germany II GmbH & Co. & KG, a subsidiary of Microchip Technology Inc., in other countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are property of their respective companies. © 2013, Microchip Technology Incorporated, All Rights Reserved.

ContentsDESIGN ARTICLES21 More Room to Operate22 Compiler Solutions for Any

PIC MCU and Any Project24 Three-Terminal Gas Sensors

and Potentiostatic Circuits26 Take a Load Off

FEATURES18 Get Great Deals on

Development Tools29 Have You Seen the

New microchipDIRECT?30 Training Your Way

SHOWCASE 4 It’s An Analog World

Intelligent PIC® MCUs integrate analog functions to enable reduced system noise and provide higher throughput

NEW PRODUCTS 7 Precision and Performance

PIC24FJ128GC010 provides Intelligent Analog and eXtreme Low Power for portable medical and industrial applications

9 A Legacy of USB LeadershipNew SuperSpeed certified USB3 controller hubs are world’s first with on-chip programmable memory

11 Turning Down the HeatWorld’s first temp sensor family offers 1.8V SMBus and I2C™ interface for latest smartphone, tablet and PC chipsets

12 Future-Proof USB ChargingIntroducing the world’s first programmable USB port power controllers for active connectors and 12W charging

NEW TOOLS 13 Let the LED Light Shine 14 Simplify the “Internet of Things” 16 chipKIT™ for Raspberry Pi®

2

Sept/Oct 2013

2

Winter 2012

PERIPHERALSPOWER LIGHTING MEDICALUSB 3.0

Sept/Oct 2013

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3

From Maker to Engineer

Afairly recent phenomenon, the maker movement really taps into the creative genius that humankind naturally has employed throughout history to design and build a myriad of things that make life easier, more enjoyable, or just plain

fun. This movement is celebrated at the various community-based and independently produced Maker Faire events which are popping up in locations around the world.

At the recent New York Maker Faire, almost 70,000 attendees wandered through the vast array of exhibits, did hands-on projects, and interacted with the maker community. The assortment of things to see and do was overwhelming, engaging all five senses in this unique venue. You’ll find more information about the event on the Maker Faire website and in this article published by The Verge.

Microchip was at Maker Faire to promote the chipKIT™ development platform and demonstrate the new chipKIT Pi development board, which is featured in this issue of MicroSolutions. The steady flow of visitors to our booth ranged from adults who were hobbyists and/or engineers, to teachers looking for classroom resources, to young people in college or high school who already had a passion for electronics, to families with little children who were fascinated by our talking skull and robotic car demos.

Our participation at Maker Faire is just one aspect of our ongoing commitment to education. We offer unique benefits and resources for educators, researchers and students worldwide including free access to labs, curriculum and course materials and discounts on many tools. Visit the Academic Corner on our website if you would like to learn more about how integrating Microchip products and technologies into the classroom can help transform the makers of today into the engineers of tomorrow.

As always, we would be happy to get your feedback on MicroSolutions. Feel free to email us at MSFeedback@microchip.com.

(continued on page 5)

Target Applications• Portable medical equipment

• Glucose meter• Portable ECG• Pulse oximeter• Blood pressure meter

• Industrial equipment • Portable gas sensors• Handheld multi-meter• Lab instrumentation• Environmental quality sensors• Sensor arrays

• Power• Power conversion• Efficient motor control• Power measurement and

monitoring• Lighting• Battery charging

SPOTLIGHT

4

The things we see, the sounds we hear, and the items we touch are not com-posed of zeros and ones. However, the

application of digital intelligence to traditional analog systems has enriched our lives in ways we don’t often think about. Many of us can’t imagine what life would be like without anti-lock braking systems, digital audio or fully automatic coffee makers.

Designers of embedded systems face the perennial problem of discovering the most efficient way to enable digital intelligence to monitor, communicate with and control systems in the real world. Ideally, all system designers would have the time and resources necessary to master both analog and digital design techniques. Unfortunately, that rarely is the case.

The real world is downsizing. Electronics continue to get smaller and smaller, forcing tighter integration of control circuitry. Engineer-ing budgets are also getting smaller, requiring designers to do more with fewer resources. To be successful in today’s world, analog en-gineers must be competent in digital design and digital engineers need to understand analog theory.

It’s An Analog WorldIntelligent PIC® MCUs Integrate Analog Functions to Enable Reduced System Noise and Provide Higher Throughput, While Dramatically Reducing Design Time and Cost

Pure analog design can be extremely difficult and inflexible and is often time consuming. It requires a different skillset and even a different mindset from those of a digital designer. Analog designers deal with highly variable signals and care about things like signal integrity, sensitiv-ity, precision and noise. They’re often not as comfortable dealing with the “off/on” nature of processors and controllers.

Digital designers, on the other hand, are all about zeros and ones. Machine logic is second nature to them and programming languages

are their strength. Analog component selection and circuit design, however, can be intimidating.

If you find yourself facing this type of design challenge, we make it easy to wear both engineering “hats”. Our Intelligent Analog microcontrollers (MCUs) and digital signal con-trollers (DSCs) seamlessly combine analog finesse with digital control. We’ve integrated commonly used analog components directly into the PIC MCUs and provided a powerful network of internal interconnects to enable both digital and analog engineers to easily design microcontroller-based closed-loop con-trol systems. With an abundance of example code to borrow, you can easily get started by

Pure analog design can be extremely difficult and inflexible and is

often time consuming.

has been increased to allow for shielding of the analog signals. When devices which sup-port features like USB are placed adjacent to analog devices, noise can be coupled. This will reduce the signal integrity. Extra shield-ing is needed, which makes the layout more complex. The board may require extra layers to allow for the routing, thereby increasing cost. Finally, more power planes may need to be added to ensure that signal integri-ty is maintained between and on the board layers, which further increases the complexi-ty and cost. This complexity can often lead to multiple revisions of the board, wasting time and money and delaying the product launch.

Using a solution from our Intelligent Analog portfolio, the design is drastically simpli-fied as shown in Figure 2. With the analog is integrated inside the PIC MCU, the PCB layout is simplified, requiring fewer traces and lower noise coupling. Shorter and more direct traces help increase noise robustness. This integration and simplification in routing leads to a much smaller board size and a lower system cost. Since the PCB is simpler, the prototyping process is faster, with fewer board revisions required. Intelligent Analog reduces the system cost, saves board space and improves the performance of the design.

downloading the free version of our MPLAB® Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and ordering free samples.

As part of our Intelligent Analog integration, we have already completed the complicat-ed task of debugging the noise sources that reduce analog signal integrity. Also, by placing the analog functionality on the chip, we’ve eliminated the communications bottle-neck between the microcontroller and analog components. This leads to consistent analog performance that can be leveraged from design to design, eliminating analog design rework. The analog is fully controlled by software using intelligent connections made inside the chip. The end result is a simplified design cycle, board space savings, faster throughput and better signal integrity. You now have a powerful solution which allows you to focus on fine-tuning your systems to produce lower-cost designs with a faster time to market.

Improving Designs with Intelligent Analog PIC MCUs The portable sensor board shown in Figure 1 has many components including ADCs, DACs, op amps, USB and LCD in addition to a microcontroller. Because it in-corporates a discrete ADC, the board size

Figure 1 – Portable Sensor Board without Intelligent Analog Figure 2– Portable Sensor Board with Intelligent Analog

(continued on page 6)

New Family of PIC MCUs for Intelligent Analog ApplicationsMicrochip’s Intelligent Analog portfolio contains 100 PIC MCUs which consist of 8/16-bit devices supporting digital power, motor control and LED lighting applications, as shown in Figure 3 on page 6.

The newest, most advanced members of this portfolio—our PIC24 “GC” family—serve the medical and industrial markets. Figure 4 contains the block diagram for the superset microcontroller from the PIC24GC family. In addition to the Analog Interconnect block, a variety of timers and communications periph-erals are located in the Peripheral Pin Select block. These features can be mapped onto alternate pins so that they do not affect the accessibility of the analog. A variety of other peripherals support display, serial commu-nications and user inputs. Along with the Intelligent Analog capability, the microcon-troller has Microchip’s eXtreme Low Power (XLP) Technology, consuming only 18 nA while asleep and 180 µA/MHz while running to preserve battery power. A variety of options to wake the device from the sleep state in-clude low-power timers, real-time clocks and interrupts. A DMA is also included to allow multi-tasking by the CPU and peripherals.

5

Development ToolsThese development tools will help you get started with your Intelligent Analog projects:

PIC24F Starter Kit for Intelligent Analog (DM240015)Supporting designs using the PIC24GC family of devices, this kit includes an analog header for clean analog signals and plugs into breadboards. The board includes con-nections for microphone, headphones as well as on-board light and temperature sensors. The segmented display showcases custom icons and a scrolling banner. The board also includes cap touch buttons, USB connection and easy connection for RF modules.

PIC24F K-Series 3V or 5V Microsticks(DM240013-1 or DM240013-2)For developing projects using the PIC24KM family, these USB-powered boards are highly flexible and low-cost starter kits with integrat-ed programmer/debugger. They easily plug into a breadboard for additional functionality.

MPLAB Starter Kit for Digital Power(DM330017)If your design uses a dsPIC33GS device, this board implements a buck and boost DC/DC converter with a single dsPIC® DSC and includes an onboard display, potentiome-ter and temperature sensor and debugging/programming via USB.

F1 PSMC Evaluation Platform(DM164130-10)This board is a development tool for the PIC16F178X Intelligent Analog family of microcontrollers.

Visit the Intelligent Analog page on the Microchip website for additional details and resources to add Intelligent Analog to your next design.

INTELLIGENT ANALOG PORTFOLIO

Medical and Industrial Sensors

• High Resolution ADCs• DAC• Op Amps

PIC24FJ128GC010 FamilyPIC24F16KM204 FamilyPIC16F1789 Family

Low Cost LED Lighting • High Speed Comparators • High Resolution Control Loop

PIC16F1709 FamilyPIC16HV753 Family

Advanced Motor Control, Digital Power, Auto Lighting, Solar Inverters

• High Speed ADC • High Resolution Control Loop • DAC• Op Amps

dsPIC33EP256MC506 FamilydsPIC33EP64GS610 FamilyPIC16F1789 Family

Low Cost Motor Control/General Purpose

• High Speed Comparators • Op Amps

PIC24F16KM204 FamilyPIC16F570 Family

100 INTELLIGENT ANALOG PIC® MCUs

Figure 3 - Microchip’s Intelligent Analog Portfolio

PIC24FJ128GC010 MCU Family

16-bit ALU

AddressGeneration

Barrel ShifterJTAG & Emul.Interface

17 x 17MPY

Register File16x16

16 MIPS 32 MHz CORE

Memory Bus

Peripheral Bus

Peripheral Pin Select

Analog

Interconnect

DeepSleep XLP

VBAT

ADC, 16-bit, 2ch Sigma Delta

ADC, 12-bit, 50ch

DAC, 10-bit, 2ch

2 Op Amps

16-bit Timers - 5

IC / OC / PWM - 5

UART - 2

SPI - 2

I2C™ - 2

USB - OTG

LCD Driver / 472 Segments

CTMU for Touch

Parallel Master Port

CRC

DS Brown-out Reset

DS Watchdog Timer

Interrupt 0

Real-Time Clock Calendar

64-128 KBFlash

6 ChannelDMA

8 KBRAM

InterruptControl

Figure 4 - PIC24FJ128GC010 MCU Family Block Diagram

Additional Resources:• Intelligent Analog Brochure• PIC24F “GC” Based Blood Pressure

Meter Demonstration (Video)

6

It reduces system cost and noise and improves signal throughput.

PIC24FJ128GC010 family integrates a full analog signal chain

NEW PRODUCT

7

Designing precision analog circuits is a challenge. To make this design task easier, the new PIC24FJ128GC010

family of microcontrollers is an analog system on a chip that integrates a full analog signal chain, including Microchip’s first ever on-chip precision 16-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and 10 Msps 12-bit ADC, plus a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and dual operational amplifiers (op amps), along with eXtreme Low Power (XLP) technology for extended battery life in portable medical and industrial applications.

This combination of analog integration and low power consumption reduces system cost and noise, and improves the signal throughput in applications such as portable medical mon-itoring devices, (e.g., blood-glucose meters and blood-pressure monitor), as well as indus-trial applications such as portable monitoring devices (e.g., voltage and current monitors, gas sensors and high-speed sensor arrays), among others. The PIC24FJ128GC010 family includes an integrated LCD display driver that provides the ability to drive up to 472 segments with information-rich user displays that include scrolling alphanumeric banners. Integrated USB supports the uploading of clinical data for

Precision and PerformancePIC24FJ128GC010 Family Provides Intelligent Analog and eXtreme Low Power for Portable Medical and Industrial Applications

First PIC® Microcontroller That Integrates 16-bit ADC, 10 Msps ADC, DAC, USB and LCD

medical equipment and can act as a service/data port for industrial equipment. Capacitive touch sensing is supported with an on-chip mTouch™ sensing solution peripheral. The in-tegration of a 16-bit ADC, USB and LCD into a single low-power MCU allows for very small form factor, battery-powered applications. The PIC24FJ128GC010 family represents a signifi-cant cost reduction over a multi-chip implemen-tation, enabling lower noise, faster throughput, smaller PCB size and faster time to market.

Development SupportA comprehensive starter kit is available to help you build your software, hardware and sen-sors—drastically improving your development time by eliminating the need to design a board. The PIC24FJ128GC010 family is supported by Microchip’s MPLAB® Starter Kit for PIC24F Intelligent Integrated Analog (DM240015), which is being offered for a special introduc-tory price of $89.99 for a limited time. This kit is focused on the family’s integrated analog to preserve signal integrity. It provides 95% of what you need to develop a handheld analog prototype—all you need to do is add sensors.

For additional information on the PIC24FJ128GC010 family of microcontrollers, contact any Microchip sales representative or authorized worldwide distributor.

Create Next-Generation Medical Devices with MicrochipIndustry-Leading Components Backed by World-Class Design Support

GET STARTED IN 3 EASY STEPS1. Get started with online medical

reference designs: www.microchip.com/medical

2. Add capacitive touch-sensing with mTouch™ technology: www.microchip.com/mTouch

3. Extend battery life with XLP technology: www.microchip.com/XLP

Add next-generation capabilities such as touch-screen capacitive sensing, wireless connectivity and longer battery life, while lowering your overall system cost and time to market. Our combination of innovative products, dependable delivery and years of experience in enabling embedded medical solutions for customers around the world makes Microchip Technology your partner of choice for medical designs.

Extend Battery Life with XLP Technology• PIC® MCUs with nanoWatt eXtreme

Low-Power (XLP) Technology• Lowest-power consumption with sleep

currents down to 9 nA

Add Touch-Sensing with PIC MCUs• mTouch™ capacitive touch-sensing for

glass and plastic• Waterproof Metal Over Cap touch technology

for stainless steel and aluminium

Add Connectivity• Agency-certified Wi-Fi® and

Bluetooth® modules• PIC MCUs with on-board USB and

enhanced CAN• Proprietary low-cost wireless

protocols (MiWi™)• Free ready-to-use ZigBee® stack• Embedded Ethernet controllers

Increase Accuracy and Reliability• Precision op amps• Battery-management ICs• Temperature sensor ICs• Mixed-signal and interface ICs• UNI/O® Serial EEPROM

World-Class Support for Medical DesignsMicrochip’s dedicated Medical Design Center helps you to simplify analog design, software development, in-circuit emulation and system level evaluation.• Low-cost development tools and

evaluation boards• Online reference designs and application

notes for medical products• Third-party Medical Design Partner Specialists

(continued on page 10)

NEW PRODUCT

9

USB553XB-5000 family provides the flexibility to create applications with both USB3 and USB2 ports

The USB3 standard is being rapidly adopted by designers of computing and peripheral platforms who want to

take advantage of its increased bandwidth of 5 Gbps and higher-power charging ports. This trend is driving a need for USB3 controller hubs with a high degree of flexibility and integration to address the pressures of market pricing, delivery and differentiation.

To meet this demand, our third-generation USB3 Controller Hubs (UCH3s) incorporate the four-member USB553XB-5000 family, which is SuperSpeed Logo Certified by the USB Implementers Forum and is the world’s first to integrate OTP Flash configuration memory. This UCH3 family is also the i ndus t ry ’s most flexi-ble, as it includes a seven-port hybrid version with a certified four-port USB3 hub and three additional USB2 lanes. The remaining three family members feature two-, three- and four-port USB3 hubs, respectively, providing a broad migration path for designers of PCs, peripher-als, computing platforms, storage solutions, networking and consumer devices, set-top boxes, docking stations and monitors.

A Legacy of USB LeadershipNew SuperSpeed Certified USB3 Controller Hubs Are World’s First with On-Chip Programmable Memory

ThirdGenerationFamilyIncludesHybridVersionwithCertified4-PortUSB3 Hub and Three Additional USB2 Lanes

This new UCH3 family lowers system costs and speeds development by integrating programmable memory that allows you to quickly customize your products and ensure op-erating system compatibility, without the added cost, complexity and board space of off-chip memory. Additionally, the hybrid controller pro-vides the flexibility to create applications with both USB3 and USB2 ports, such as mobile and PC docking stations, monitors and other peripherals. The availability of two-, three- and four-port USB3 family members enables you to easily migrate to the best UCH3 for each design within your platform.

The two-, three- and four-port USB5532B-5000, USB5533B-5000 and USB5534B-5000 are available in 64-pin QFN packages. The seven- port hybrid USB5537B-5000 is available in a 72-pin QFN package.

Development SupportThis programmable USB3 controller hub family is the latest to be supported by Microchip’s ProTouch hub configuration software tool, which is available today for free download from Microchip’s E-Services website*. ProTouch software makes it easy to generate configura-tion settings and program the UCH3’s internal OTP Flash or any external SPI Flash.

Programmable memory allows you to quickly customize

your products.

With this latest family of programmable, certified USB3 controller hubs, we are continuing our legacy of leadership in the USB market. Discover how our USB3 connectivity solutions can help you achieve your own market leadership.

*Note: An E-Services account is required. If you do not yet have an E-Services account, use the “New User Registration” link to complete a request form.

On the hardware side, two evaluation boards are available to support this family. The EVB-USB5537B supports the seven-port USB5537B-5000 hybrid controller hub with four USB3 connectors and three additional USB2 connectors. The EVB-USB5534BC supports the development of four-port USB3 applications along with battery charging.

Low Cost, Low Power, Small Pin CountPIC24 LiteCost-Sensitive Consumer, Medical and IndustrialApplications

3V and 5V OperationeXtreme Low Power MCUs

Integrated EEPROMLarge Peripheral Integration

Click to Learn More

NEW PRODUCT

10

NEW PRODUCT

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The EMC118X family serves a broad range of applications in the mobile, commercial and embedded computing markets

Our thermal-management portfolio is one of the most extensive in the in-dustry, offering devices that monitor

system voltages and temperatures and also provide the capability to automatically control cooling fans to protect today’s high-heat small form factor de-signs. The latest generation of smartphone, tablet and PC chipsets utilize advanced pro-cess geometries which have a 1.8V upper voltage limit for I/O signals, requiring that temperature sensor ICs support 1.8V SMBus and I2C communications to interface to these chipsets.

There are few temperature sensors with 1.8V I2C/SMBus interfaces. The new six-member EMC118X family is the world’s first family of temperature sensor ICs to provide this ca-pability, along with a flexible set of integrated feature options. This integrated low-voltage I/O support reduces cost and board space because it is accomplished without an external voltage level shifter.

It is also difficult to extend analog traces near noisy components, such as DC/DC converters and backlight inverters. The EMC118X are also

Turning Down the HeatWorld’s First Temp Sensor Family Offers 1.8V SMBus and I2C™ Interface for Latest Smartphone, Tablet and PC Chipsets

First Temperature Sensor ICs with Advanced Frequency-Hopping Filters for 8 Inch Traces in Noisy Environments; Provide Flexible Dual, Triple and Quad Monitoring Options

the first temp sensors to use an advanced sam-ple-frequency-hopping filter, which avoids the injection of coherent noise and enables traces of up to 8 inches while maintaining accurate temperature readings.

The EMC118X family serves a broad range of applications in the mobile, commercial and em-bedded computing markets by combining the above features with options for dual, triple and

quad temperature monitoring, along with hard-wired system-shutdown settings that can’t be overridden by software.

The EMC1182 is offered in 8-pin DFN and TDFN packages. The EMC1183, EMC1184, EMC1187 and EMC1188 are all available in a 10-pin DFN package. The EMC1186 is offered in an 8-pin TDFN package.

As 1.8V communication compatibility has become important for all leading system chipsets—from tablets to PCs to smartphones—the new EMC118x temp sensor family is ready to meet this requirement while also delivering a number of other advanced features.

This integrated low-voltage I/O support

reduces cost and board space.

NEW PRODUCT

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Programmable USB port power controllers can be updated for future charging profiles

Expanding on our popular UCS1001 and UCS1002 series of USB port power controllers, three new devices in the

UCS100X family provide advanced USB-based charging capabilities for designing host devic-es, such as laptops, tablets, monitors, dock-ing stations and printers; as well as dedicated AC-DC power-supply and charging products, such as wall adapters.

The UCS1001-3, UCS1001-4 and UCS1002-2, which all come in a 20-pin QFN package, offer higher current and priority charging for smart-phones and tablets. The UCS100X also have added support for active cables, such as the Apple® Lightning™ connector, along with 12W charging. The UCS1002-2 features a built-in current sensor that can report on the amount of charging current. This allows a system to optimize its charging current and appropriately allocate power.

The UCS100X can support future USB prod-uct designs via a flexible method for detecting and creating charging emula-tion profiles. This allows designers to update their systems as new

Future-Proof USB ChargingIntroducing the World’s First Programmable USB Port Power Controllers for Active Connectors and 12W Charging

UCS100X Family Offers Programmable Charging Emulation and an Integrated Current Sensor for Wider Charging Compatibility at Higher Currents

products are introduced to the market, while providing compatibility with a wider range of existing products.

Development SupportTo assist you with your designs, the UCS100X family is supported by the UCS1001-3/4 Evalu-ation Board (ADM00540) and the UCS1002-2 Evaluation Board (ADM00497) .

With this expansion of our programmable USB port power controller portfolio, we continue to charge portable systems better than any-body else. The UCS1002 continues to be the only series of programmable USB port power controllers on the market that can be updated for future charging profiles. This flexibility is vital to preventing the obsolescence of a USB charging port. UCS100X

DPIN DPOUT

DMOUT

VBUS

COMM_SEL / ILIMALERT#A_DET#

PWR_ENSELEM_ENM1M2SMCLK / S0SMDATA / LATCH

DMIN

VDDVDD

VDD

VS

GND UVLO,OVLO

Attach Detector

PowerSwitch

Charger Control,Measurement,

OCL

Temp Interface,Logic

USB 2.0 HS Switch& Charger Emulator

UCS100X Block Diagram

NEW TOOL

13

DALI Starter Kit

DMX512A Starter Kit

Intelligent control provides lighting engineers with the ability to offer improved user in-terfaces and value to the lighting market-

place. If you are looking for ways to help you develop innovative yet cost-effective lighting solutions, our new Lighting Communications Development Platform makes the job easier.

Offering you a complete “out-of-the-box” experience, this full-featured, universal light-ing development platform provides all of the components required to create a DMX512A or DALI lighting network. This enables you to design intelligent lighting and control systems with a large array of our 8-, 16- and 32-bit PIC® microcontrollers as well as our analog, wireless, and human-interface solutions.

With the ability to create fully customized lighting solutions, this new platform greatly reduces costs and provides quicker time to market via our free DMX512A and DALI software librar-ies, which are written in C and can be ported to any PIC microcontroller. Using a PIC MCU, you can add numerous feature enhancements into your smart lighting infrastructure designs, including increased efficiencies, reduced costs and an improved user experience. Additionally, the platform enables easy integration into an existing lighting communication network for the development of advanced network applications.

Let the LED Light ShineNew Lighting Communications Development Platform Eases the Creation of Solid-State Lighting Systems

The Starter Kit includes two main boards, two communications-interface adapters (DALI or DMX512A), one prototype board and the re-quired cables/power supplies. If you are new to lighting communications, you can quickly and easily start creating connected lighting applica-tions via a simple board-to-board network. This platform utilizes a single, low-cost 8-bit PIC MCU for the user interface, LED control and communications. Additionally, the kit features the Cree® XLamp® MC-E Color LED, enabling high-lumen output in a small form factor, along with a LEDnLIGHT collimator LLC19N optic and holder by Gaggione for high-quality color mixing and tight beam control. Industry-stan-dard lighting communication connectors and isolation devices are also included. The Light-ing Communications Development Platforms are available now, including the DALI Starter Kit (DV160214-1) and DMX512A Starter Kit (DV160214-2) options.

In collaborating with industry leaders in LED lighting, Microchip has developed a greater understanding of what is required to accelerate the market transition to solid-state lighting. Our focus on providing solutions for Intelligent Light-ing and Control will help enable a smart light-ing infrastructure, which will allow solid-state lighting to realize its full potential.

The platform is pre-certified on the Verizon

Wireless network.

(continued on page 15)

NEW TOOL

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M2M Development Platform for CDMA

Enabling the “Internet of Things” (IoT), Machine-to-Machine (M2M) connectivi-ty brings remote control and monitoring

to a broad spectrum of applications, improving efficiency and convenience for users. However, the cost of entry and complexity of development make it challenging to design M2M platforms. To help you add remote-management capability to your designs at a low cost of entry, our new Verizon Wireless Certified Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Development Platform for CDMA offers a fully featured hardware platform which includes the most common communication peripherals along with application processing capability.

The M2M Development Platform for CDMA (DM320017) was developed by Twisthink, LLC, a Microchip Authorized Design Partner. It en-ables custom embedded firmware application development on PIC32 microcontrollers with local area and remote cellular connectivity. The platform is pre-certified on the Verizon Wireless network with two-way communication capability. It enables you to develop on a standard 32-bit platform to collect data, share locally over 10/100 Ethernet and ZigBee® and communicate to a cloud application. The M2M Development Plat-form for CDMA, which is FCC Part 15 certified, includes GPS for location-aware applications, a

Simplify the “Internet of Things” with PIC32 M2M Development Platform for CDMAEases the Development of Solutions with Cloud Connectivity; Pre-Certified on the Verizon Wireless Network

serial communication interface for simple wired connectivity, microSD™ card support for code, event or image storage, and an on-board 3-axis accelerometer to monitor motion. The platform also includes temperature and light sensors and two expansion ports for custom sensing or connectivity development.

The Verizon Advanced M2M client is included as a binary library in the platform’s source code. Verizon’s framework allows you to push the system intelligence out to the edge the network,

enabling your design to work autonomously and only consume data services when

needed. The kit also makes use of Verizon’s Application Enablement Services (AES), which allows you to dynamically change the configu-ration, monitoring, and thresholds of sensors without re-flashing the device’s application.

Solutions that are able to communicate status, alarms and even location can be developed with this new platform, making it useful for applications in the consumer, industrial and telematic markets. Some sample applica-tions which require remote monitoring include

Exosite, a very flexible and intuitive online development environment. This combination of hardware and an enabling ecosystem eliminates the need for you to become a cloud or cellular technology expert.

The M2M Development Platform costs $379.99 and is available for purchase today. For additional information, contact your local MicrochipSalesOffice.

alarm systems, home automation, remote pipeline equipment, vending machines and fleet management.

You can integrate your code with pre-validated communication blocks for a remotely mon-itored and controlled application. Visit Twisthink’s website at twistm2m.com to sign up for an M2M account for your purchased platform. This will allow you to monitor its various parameters on the twistm2m portal or develop and link to a portal hosted by

Want to Learn More?Read our article in ECN to learn more about M2M communications:• Machine to machine communications – The Facebook of smart devices

Low-Cost and High PerformancePIC32MX3/MX4 Series

Solutions in Connectivity

GraphicsTouch Sensing

Digital Audio General Purpose Embedded Control

NEW TOOL

15

(continued on page 17)

NEW TOOL

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The chipKIT Pi’s 32-bit PIC32 MCU is in an

SPDIP package.

The Raspberry Pi is widely viewed as one of the easiest and most affordable com-puters on which to program. Testifying

to its popularity, recently more than one million units were shipped in less than a year on the market. To help simplify Arduino™-based ap-plication development for the Raspberry Pi, Microchip has partnered with element14, ex-panding its chipKIT platform ecosystem to pro-duce a new Raspberry Pi tool, the chipKIT Pi Expansion Board.

The Raspberry Pi’s processor is a 3.3V chip so its digital I/O and communications (I2C™, UART, SPI) pins also require 3.3V. The chipKIT Pi Expansion Board is the world’s first to enable the development of 3.3V Arduino-compatible applications for the Raspberry Pi using a 32-bit, high-performance MCU in a prototyping-friendly package. Existing prototyping-friendly Arduino boards, which are all based on 5V 8-bit MCUs, require users to create or purchase additional components to translate the voltages. The chipKIT Pi can inter-face directly to the Raspberry Pi I/O Expansion header without any additional components, reducing both cost and design complexity.

chipKIT™ for Raspberry Pi®Microchip and element14 Announce Raspberry Pi chipKIT Expansion Board; World’s First with Prototyping-Friendly 32-bit MCU Package

In addition to being 3.3V-compatible, the chipKIT Pi is also the only Arduino-compatible board that brings a 32-bit MCU in a prototyping-friendly package to Raspberry Pi users. Previously, hobbyists, academics, makers and professionals who wanted to de-velop Arduino applications for the Raspberry Pi using prototyping-friendly, through-hole pack-ages were forced to use boards based on 8-bit MCUs. The chipKIT Pi’s 32-bit PIC32 MCU is in an SPDIP package, so even non-experi-enced users can easily swap out the pre-pop-

ulated PIC32 with a new one without having to replace the entire board. This enables all users to benefit from the PIC32’s high performance, memory and

integrated peripherals while using the basic hobbyist prototyping equipment that is found in most home workshops

On the software side, volunteers from the chipKIT and Arduino communities collaborated with Microchip’s engineers to expand the free chipKIT Multi-Platform IDE (MPIDE) to allow users to create, compile and program Arduino sketch-based chipKIT applications within the Raspberry Pi operating system. The chipKIT

further enable users to tap into the large repository of available Arduino tutorials, reference materials, curricu-lum and more, to create a diverse array of designs.

The chipKIT Pi Expansion Board (chipKIT Pi) is priced at $28 and can be ordered from element14 or microchipDIRECT. The Raspberry Pi-compatible version of the chipKIT MPIDE can be downloaded for free from the chipKIT.net Community website. You’ll also find more information and addi-tional chipKIT resources there to help you get started today with your chipKIT design.

MPIDE is open source and compatible with the Arduino programming language and development environment.

The PIC32’s high level of performance, memory and integrated peripherals allows users to create applications with great-er functionality, including touch sensing, audio processing and advanced control. Additionally, users can take advantage of the PIC32’s Peripheral Pin Select feature, which provides the flexibility to re-map certain peripheral I/O pins to suit their applications. The chipKIT Pi board and the Raspberry Pi compatible version of the MPIDE software

Don’t Break the Bankwith Your Next Design

Use the PIC16F150X family of 8-bit microcontrollers for built-in savings

On-Chip Configurable Logic

High-Resolution PWM Capability

Complementary Waveform Generation

Low Power Performance

NEW TOOL

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DEVELOPMENT TOOLS

18

Get Great Deals on Development ToolsEvery month of the year, Microchip gives you great new deals on a select development tools with a savings of up to 50% off regular prices. These are limited time offers so take advantage while the deals are available and supplies last. Don’t forget to check our Development Tool Deals page every month to see what’s new.

October 2013 Deals – Prices Effective Through October 27, 2013To take advantage of these sale prices, click the “Buy Now” link under each product to go to the microchipDirect.com website and add the item to your cart. Add the coupon code during checkout.

MRF24WB0MA Wi-Fi® PICtail™/PICtail Plus Daughter Board (AC164136-4)The Wi-Fi PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board is a demonstration board for evaluating Wi-Fi connectivity using PIC® microcontrollers and the MRF24WB0MA module. This product is com-patible with the Explorer 16 Development Board (DM240001), PICDEM.net2 Development Board (DM163024) and PIC32 Starter Kit (DM320001) with I/O Expansion Board (DM320002).

Sale Price: $20.00

40% Savings – Use Coupon Code TP1344

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chipKIT Uno32 Development Board (TDGL002)chipKIT™ by Digilent is an easy-to-use platform for developing microcontroller-based applications. chipKIT uses a modified version of the original Arduino™ IDE for compatibility with existing code examples, tutorials and resources. This board is pin-compatible with many Arduino shields that can operate at 3.3V.

Sale Price: $21.50

20% Savings – Use Coupon Code TP1345

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DEVELOPMENT TOOLS

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MRF24J40MA PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board (AC164134-1)The MRF24J40MA PICtail/PICtail Plus Daughter Board is a demonstration and development daughter board for the agency-certified MRF24J40MA 2.4GHz IEEE Std. 802.15.4™ +0 dBm RF Transceiver Module. The module is surface-mounted to a PICtail/PICtail Plus daughter board that allows it to plug into multiple Microchip Technology demonstration and development boards like the PIC18 Explorer Board (DM183032) for 8-bit microcontroller development or the Explorer 16 Development Board (DM240001) 16-bit microcontroller development.

Sale Price: $12.49

50% Savings – Use Coupon Code TP1346

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RN-171 Wi-Fi PICtail Development Board (RN-171-PICTAIL)Based on Roving Networks ultra-low-power RN171 Wi-Fi module, this Wi-Fi PICtail daughter board allows Microchip customers to develop Wi-Fi applications using Microchip 8-, 16-, and 32-bit microcontroller development systems.

Sale Price: $21.99

45% Savings – Use Coupon Code TP1347

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More Room to OperateSmall Form Factor Memory Gives You Freedom to Innovate in Medical Applications

Keeping up with the rapid pace of innovation in portable and wearable medical device designs can be challenging. Form factors are limited and, therefore, component sizes are critical. Medical devices are also becoming more sophisticated, requiring more memory for

storing calibration data and test results. Therefore, designers are constantly looking for solutions that offer high density non-volatile memory in the smallest possible packages.

To help solve these challenges, Microchip offers a wide array of EEPROM and Flash memory products in wafer, die and Chip Scale Package (CSP) options. Buying whole wafers enables a lot of options for customization, such as custom wafer thicknesses down to 5 mils for ultra-thin designs. However, buying whole wafers presents challenges when it comes to handling, storage, and assembly, which are beyond the capabilities of some manufacturers. In addition, most wafers contain tens of thousands of die per wafer, making it unsuitable for low volume applications. For these designs, CSP is an excellent solution. It provides the small size of bare die while solving most of the challenges of handling and working with bare die. The CSP eliminates the need for bond wires and can be assembled using the same methods as traditional surface mount devices. In an article entitled, “Miniaturized Packaging of Memory Products for Wearable Medical Applications” which was recently published in EE Catalog, you can learn more about how the CSP helps overcome the technical challenges of working with bare die.

Typical applications for our memory devices include digital thermometers, blood pressure monitors, glucometers and pulse oximeters. To find out more about the benefits of designing with Microchip’s memory products in medical applications, visit our new Medical Memory design center on the Microchip website or contact your local MicrochipSalesOffice.

The Chip Scale Package (CSP) is a die sized package which uses a redistribution layer to connect solder balls directly to the bond pads of the die.

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Compiler Solutions for Any PIC® MCU and Any Project

Our MPLAB® XC Compilers produce highly optimized code and provide a comprehensive solution for your project’s development software needs. They integrate with the MPLAB X Integrated Development Environment to provide a full graphical front end which runs on

Windows®, Linux® and Mac® OS X platforms. Offered in PRO, Standard and Free editions to suit your specific needs, they are updated periodically to support new PIC devices and deliver new features and functionality.

Latest UpdatesMPLAB XC8 supports PIC10, 12, 16 and 18 devices. It was recently updated to version 1.20 to add support for new PIC MCU devices, fix some reported issues and incorporate some additional capabilities. Support for the ELF/DWARF debugging file format was added to allow for a better debugging experience from the IDE. Only MPLAB X IDE will support this format, and you must ensure that you are using a version of this IDE that has support for XC8 ELF/DWARF files. Be sure that this new format is selected if you want to try it out. If you use the Free edition of this compiler, you’ll find that the assembler’s jump-to-jump optimizations can now be enabled in this version. This option is disabled by default, but you can now turn it on to further reduce code size.

Version 1.20 of the MPLAB XC16 compiler, which supports PIC24 MCUs and dsPIC® DSCs, is scheduled for release soon and may even be available by the time you are reading this article. In addition to adding support for new parts and fixing some issues, this new version introduces fixed-point support. This will allow you to quickly and easily define fixed-point types and values and then perform C-arithmetic computations with them. The compiler will support saturating and non-saturating fixed-point types, accumulating and non-accumulating types, and it will offer a number of different rounding and truncation methods. The compiler will take advantage of some DSP instructions, if available, but fixed-point can be used with all 16-bit devices. Another enhance-ment allows the compiler to access extended RAM more efficiently on certain EP devices when the -mconst-in-data memory model is used. This might be significant if you need to access large amounts of data RAM in this model.

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The MPLAB XC32 compiler for PIC32 devices has been updated to version 1.21

to just incorporate support for new devices.

New Installation and Activation ProcedureIf you’ve ever been asked to reactivate your MPLAB XC compiler after just installing an update to an already activated version, you’ll know how confusing this can be. We’ve re-cently made some changes to simplify the installation and activation of the compilers. The installer application has been modified to only install the compiler and not go through the activation process. If an already-activated compiler is being updated, it will remain acti-vated and ready for use after installing the new compiler version. The installer application will

clearly indicate that this is the case. If you are installing a compiler which has not yet been activated, the installer will direct you to a web-site where you can purchase a license, use the 60-day evaluation license, or activate your license purchase.

This new procedure and the updated installer application are included in the MPLAB XC8 1.20 and MPLAB XC16 1.20 compilers, and will be rolled out to MPLAB XC32 in a future release.

Additional details on updates to these compilers can be found in the latest release notes. You can also find additional information on the MPLAB XC Compilers page on the Microchip website.

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Three-Terminal Gas Sensors and Potentiostatic Circuits

Toxic gases can be grouped into three main types of hazards: combustion, long-term exposure at low concentrations and asphyxiants. The demand for reliable gas monitoring systems is growing to help ensure the safety of employees who work in potentially haz-

ardous environments where toxic gases may be present. Industries in which toxic gas sensing is used include oil and gas exploration, chemical processing plants, hospitals, semiconductor manufacturing facilities, sewage treatment plants and enclosed areas such as parking garages and tunnels.

Both two- and three-terminal electrochemical gas sensors are in use today. Most of the more recent sensors employ three terminals: a sensing electrode, a reference electrode and a counter electrode (see Figure 1). A two-terminal sensor does not have a reference electrode. As the target gas passes through the membrane, it reacts with the surface of the sensing (or working) electrode, causing either an oxidation or a reduction. If the sensing and counter electrode are connected on the outside of the cell, a current will flow that is proportional to the amount of gas concentration. The reference electrode is used to provide a stable voltage potential for the sensing electrode. The working electrode will produce a varying amount of current depending on the applied poten-tial, hence a reference electrode is used to keep the working electrode in its “linear” region (called the diffusion limited plateau). Small changes in potential do not affect the accuracy of the sensor. This maintains a constant sensitivity, good linearity and minimizes sensitivity to interfering gases.

Hydrophobic Membrane

Sensing Electrode

Reference Electrode

Counter Electrode

Electrolyte

Capillary Di�usion Barrier

Figure 1 - Three-Terminal Gas Sensor

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Since the electrochemical sensor produces a current that is proportional to the gas con-centration, it is considered to be an ampero-metric sensor. External circuitry is required to properly measure this current and to provide control for the sensor. This circuitry is called a potentiostatic circuit and serves three main functions: control, current measurement and biasing. A typical potentiostatic circuit is shown in Figure 2.

The first function is control, in which the circuitry maintains the proper voltage between the reference and the working electrode. The control circuitry provides current to the counter electrode in order to balance the ionic current that is flowing from the counter to the working electrode.

The second function is to accurately mea-sure the current that results from the pres-ence of the target gas. This is accomplished via a transimpedance amplifier circuit, which converts the current to an equivalent voltage, along with some gain and filtering.

Finally, it is common to implement a field-effect transistor (FET) that shorts the reference and working electrodes when power is removed. This ensures that the sensor will be ready

immediately once power is re-applied. If the sensor is left open circuit when powered off, it could take a few hours for the sensor to stabilize once power is applied.

The control amplifier should not draw any current from the reference electrode, so a low bias current is required. Any offset on this amplifier will cause a shift in the working elec-trode’s potential when the circuit is switched

on. Since these sen-sors are highly capac-itive, a small shift in potential can create large current flows. This means a low offset is important. The output of the control amplifier drives the counter elec-trode and needs suffi-cient voltage swing to drive the counter to the required potential (and with sufficient current).

For the measurement amplifier, low offset is again important as any offset error will contribute to the measured current. Since the source is low impedance, low current noise is more important than low voltage noise to optimize performance. Finally, the generated current can be bi-directional—depending on if the reaction is an oxidation or a reduction—so the measurement amplifier must be able to handle sinking sufficient current.

Microchip offers a wide variety of amplifiers that are suitable for use in three-terminal gas detection systems. Zero drift amplifiers such as the MCP6V11 offer exceptional performance and low power, while the MCP6421 offers a more cost-effective alternative while still pro-viding low offset and current noise. Contact your local Microchip Sales Office for more information on these products.

Working

S

DG

Ref

Counter

VDD

_

+Voltage Output

_

+

Figure 2 - Typical Potentiostatic Circuit for a Three-Terminal Gas Sensor

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Take a Load OffUnleash Your Creativity with Core Independent Peripherals

Every day, our 8-bit PIC® microcontrollers are finding their way into new applications like smart phones, audio accessories, video gaming peripherals and advanced medical devices. If you are looking for a creative solution for your new design, our PIC microcontrollers with

Core Independent Peripherals take 8-bit MCU performance to a new level. They incorporate a number of on-board modules designed to increase capability in any control system and offer you the best value for your embedded designs.

Core Independent Peripherals are designed to handle their tasks with no code or supervision from the CPU to maintain operation. As a result, they simplify the implementation of complex control systems, which gives you the flexibility to innovate. They offer the following key attributes:

• Self-Sustaining – Once initialized in a system, Core Independent Peripherals can provide steady-state closed loop embedded control with zero intervention from the MCU’s core. The CPU can then be idled or put into Sleep mode to save system power.

• CPU Free – Core Independent Peripherals are smartly interconnected to allow near zero latency sharing of data, logic inputs or analog signals without additional code or interrup-tion of the CPU. This frees the CPU to perform other system tasks and reduces Flash memory consumption.

• Significant Savings – By taking the load off the CPU, Core Independent Peripherals allow smaller, lower-power PIC MCUs to perform extremely complex tasks, such as high-power lighting control and communication. In addition, significant BOM cost savings can be realized by replacing off-board discrete components with these integrated peripherals.

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Featured Core Independent Peripherals

Configurable Logic Cell (CLC): The CLC provides devices from the PIC10F32X and PIC1XF150X families with programmable com-binational and sequential logic. It also enables the on-chip interconnection of peripherals and I/O, thereby reducing external components, saving code space and adding functionality.

Features• User-configurable real time logic control• CLC configuration GUI for quick

turn development• Seven configurable logic functions• Select from 32 input sources• Output available to other peripherals or any

digital I/O• Operation while in Sleep

Numerically Controlled Oscillator (NCO): The Numerically Controlled Oscillator is a programmable precision linear frequency gen-erator, ranging from <1 Hz to 500 KHz+. The NCO offers a step up in performance and a simplification in design for applications using the PIC10F32X and PIC1xF150X families of devices that require precise linear frequency control such as lighting control, tone genera-tors, radio tuning circuitry, fluorescent ballasts and Class D audio amplifiers.

Features• Up to 20-bit frequency resolution• True Linear frequency control• Multiple internal and external clock sources

available• Two output modes:

• Fixed 50% duty cycle• Pulse Frequency Modulation

Complementary Waveform Generator (CWG) and Complementary Output Generator (COG): The CWG provides a complementary waveform with rising and falling edge dead band control, enabling high efficiency synchro-nous switching with no processor overhead.

The CWG also incorporates auto shutdown and auto restart and can interface directly with other peripherals/external inputs. The COG improves upon the functionality of the CWG with the addition of blanking and phase con-trol. The CWG and COG are available on the PIC10F32X, PIC1XF150X, PIC16F145X, and PIC1XF75X families of devices.

Features• Provides non-overlapping

complementary waveform• Various input sources inclusive of

comparators, PWM, CLC, NCO• Blanking control for transient filtering

(COG only)• Phase control for output delay (COG only)• Auto shutdown/restart• Independent rise and fall• Dead band control• Polarity control

High Resolution PWM (HRPWM): Available in the PIC10F32X and PIC1xF150X fami-lies, this is a patented solution using the CLC and NCO to provide High (Effective) Resolu-tion Pulse Width Modulation at much higher switching frequencies than achievable with standard PWMs. This feature allows the use of smaller inductors and capacitors and has the ability to induce jitter, lower cost and improve EMC performance.

Features• Up to 17 effective bits PWM capability at

high frequency• 15 ps Pulse Widths at 500 KHz switching• Induced jitter with improved EMC

performance

Programmable Switch Mode Controller (PSMC): If you are using the PIC16F178X family of MCUs, the PSMC is a high perfor-mance 16-bit PWM with six configurable out-puts that can operate in multiple modes. With a dedicated 64 MHz clock and the flexibility

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to interface to external inputs as well as integrated peripherals/clock sources, the

PSMC offers the highest level of advanced PWM control and accuracy in an 8-bit MCU. The PSMC can simplify the implementation of a wide array of applications such as motor con-trol, lighting and power supplies.

Features• 16-bit PWM with up to six configurable

outputs• Various clock sources: external, system

clock, independent 64 MHz oscillator• Various input sources: comparators,

external pins, other peripherals• Blanking control for transient filtering• Independent rising/falling edge control• Dead band with independent rise and

fall control

• Polarity control/auto shutdown and restart• Output Gating – externally control activate/

deactivate• Flexible PWM output modes

To learn more, visit the new Core Independent Peripherals area on the Microchip website. There you will find links to a number of doc-uments including user guides and application notes, as well as tips and tricks for implement-ing these peripherals in your designs. You can also take some self-paced training sessions and watch some videos to help you become familiar with their features and applications.

Let our 8-bit MCUs with Core Independent Peripherals help you unleash your creativity to bring more innovative solutions to market.

microchipDIRECT Memory Programming

We Can Now Program Memory Devices microchipDIRECT can now program our high running memory parts. If you

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Families of devices we can program:

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Later this year we will also be able to program: SST Flash memory

24xxxx series EEPROMs

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Have You Seen the New microchipDIRECT?

Ordering from microchipDIRECT has never been easier. Our simplified home page and updated web interface will help you quickly locate the right Microchip product, add it to your cart and checkout. Other new features include:

• Easy re-order from past orders

• Connectivity focus with easy-to-find links to our newly acquired Roving Networks and SMSC products

• Credit card transactions hosted securely with CyberSource Corporation, a VISA company

With sales support for 68 countries—and more to be added—microchipDIRECT gives you convenient access to the largest inventory of Microchip products, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Visit www.microchipDIRECT.com and place your order today!

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Training Your Way

We know that solving technical problems and getting your product to market quickly is vitally important to your business. Microchip is dedicated to providing you with the re-sources you need to help you get the job done, including many ways to acquire knowl-

edge to solve your problems or meet your opportunities. Since training needs can vary widely by individual or business requirements, we offer a range of opportunities, from face-to-face training at events like our MASTERs, instructor-led web-based classes or pre-recorded training over the web on a number of timely and informative topics, some available as self-paced learning modules.

Get the Competitive Edge at a MASTERs ConferenceMicrochip’s MASTERs Conference provides system design engineers of all levels of expertise with face-to-face training and extensive product information help them scale the learning curve and get their products to market more quickly. Classes cover a broad range of topics and are taught by Microchip’s application and design engineers. From now through the end of 2013 there are seven MASTERs Conferences scheduled in various locations around the globe. If you live near one of these locations, don’t miss this opportunity to attend this premier technical training event. Click on the links below for detailed information on each location’s program.

Location Date LanguageSão Paulo, Brazil November 5 PortugueseShanghai, China November 6 – 8 ChineseTaipei, Taiwan November 11 – 13 ChinesePune, India November 21 – 22 EnglishSeoul, Korea November 26 – 27 KoreanShenzhen, China November 27 – 29 ChineseBangalore, India December 17 – 18 English

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Are You Looking for Quick, Topic-SpecificTraining?Our Self-Paced modules are free, interactive pre-recorded training sessions focused on a single topic. Running 20 minutes or less, they are available on demand whenever you have the time to view them. You can take them in any order or just go directly to the topics that interest you. Each module has been created by an expert, goes

directly to the heart of the topic and provides focused training on that specific subject. The training includes knowledge checks to help you decide if you need to repeat the material or are ready to move on. Most have code examples to demonstrate the material.

For more information on these and other training options available from Microchip, visit the Training page on our website.

Self-Paced Training Modules

The following training modules are currently available on Microchip’s Technical Training website:

Applications:• TCP-IP Intro Part 1: Local Network TCP-IP Communication• TCP-IP Intro Part 2: TCP-IP 5 Layer Model and Applications• TCP-IP Intro Part 3: TCP-IP Client Server Model• TCP-IP Intro Part 4: TCP-IP Sockets and Ports• TCP-IP Intro Part 5: Local Network and Internet TCP-IP Communication

Peripherals:• Digital Input Output on 8-bit Microchip PIC® MCU• Using the Configurable Logic Cell• Using the Timer1 Gate Function to Measure the Width of a Pulse• Using the Numerically Controlled Oscillator• Using the Complementary Waveform Generator

Tools and Software:• Preparing Your Computer for Online Training Labs• MPLAB® X IDE Installation• MPLAB X IDE Plugin Installation• MPLAB XC C Compiler Installation