Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology


PIC32

Targets: General Purpose

Microchip Technology PIC32 Block Diagram

The PIC32 family extends the PIC microcontroller line to 32 bits, making Microchip able to offer an 8-, 16-, and 32-bit product line supported by a singular development environment. The PIC32 family adds more performance and more memory while maintaining pin, peripheral and software compatibility with Microchip's 16-bit MCU/DSC families.

The PIC32 family features products that run at 40 MHz and 80 MHz, offering up to 92 Dhrystone MIPS of performance. The PIC32 product line offers code- and data-space capacities up to 512-kbytes of Flash and 128-kbytes of RAM. The PIC32 can run code from RAM, a new feature for PIC microcontrollers. The PIC32 family also includes integrated peripherals such as an Ethernet MAC, up to two CAN 2.0B modules, a USB 2.0 OTG controller, a DMA controller to offload data movement tasks from the CPU, and a 16-bit Parallel Master Port supporting external displays, additional memory and peripherals. The PIC32 features integrated analog functions such as a 10-bit 1 Msps ADC, Analog comparators and an on-chip voltage regulator that requires only a single-supply voltage.

Microchip offers the PIC32 Starter Kit for less than $50. There is a USB Starter Board for USB connected applications and Ethernet Starter Kit that provides a low cost method to experience 10/100 Ethernet development with the PIC32. The PIC32 supports USB Device, Host, Dual Role and On-The-Go functionality. All of these starter boards feature an on-board debugger, saving the need for an external debug probe. The starter kits have an expansion capability to enable further prototype development. There is also a PIC32 Plug-In-Module (PIM), which plugs directly into the modular Explorer 16 development board.

A suite of free software complements the PIC32 family. These include Peripheral, Math, Audio and Graphics libraries, TCP/IP, USB and CAN communication stacks and drivers, as well as a collection of code examples and "getting started" tutorials.