Microchip Technology unleashes world's first 8-pin microcontrollers.CHANDLER, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 28, 1996--Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :MCHP MCHP Maryland Children's Health Program MCHP Microchip Technologies (stock symbol) MCHP Micro-sized Combined Heat and Power (American Honda Motor Co. & Climate Energy, LLC) MCHP Maine Community Heritage Project ), a leading supplier of field-programmable 8-bit microcontrollers, serial EEPROMs and other products for embedded control applications, Tuesday introduced the world's first 8-pin one-time-programmable (OTP (1) (One Time Programmable) Refers to programming content or logic into chips such as EPROMs and EEPROMs, which cannot be reversed. See antifuse. (2) (One Time P ) microcontrollers. The new PIC12CXXX family packs Microchip's powerful RISC-based PIC16/17 architecture into 8-pin PDIP (Plastic DIP) See DIP. and SOIC (Small Outline IC) A small-dimension, plastic, rectangular, surface mount chip package that uses gull-wing pins extending outward. See gull-wing lead, SOJ and chip package. packages, creating the world's smallest 8-bit microcontrollers. These new 8-pin devices provide intelligence to applications where microcontroller performance was not previously possible because of cost and space constraints. The first two members of this revolutionary product family, the PIC12C508 and PIC12C509, feature 512 words of program memory with 25 bytes of user RAM and 1024 words of program memory with 41 bytes of user RAM, respectively. The PIC12C508 and PIC12C509 offer six I/O (Input/Output) The transfer of data between the CPU and a peripheral device. Every transfer is an output from one device and an input to another. See PC input/output. I/O - Input/Output pins with on-chip clock oscillator oscillator Mechanical or electronic device that produces a back-and-forth periodic motion. A pendulum is a simple mechanical oscillator that swings with a constant amplitude, requiring the addition of energy at each swing only to compensate for the energy lost because of air , 33 single-word instructions, full-speed 1 microsecond One millionth of a second. See space/time and ohnosecond. (unit) microsecond - One millionth (10^-6) of a second. instruction cycle at 4 MHz (MegaHertZ) One million cycles per second. It is used to measure the transmission speed of electronic devices, including channels, buses and the computer's internal clock. A one-megahertz clock (1 MHz) means some number of bits (16, 32, 64, etc. , seven special function hardware registers, two-level deep hardware stack, 8-bit real time clock/counter with 8-bit programmable prescaler, watchdog timer, direct LED drive, low 2.5-5.5 operating voltage and <2 mA @ 5 volts, 4 MHz low power consumption. In-circuit serial programming of the OTP microcontroller offers a true, self-contained intelligent system on a chip. Steve Sanghi, Microchip's president and chief executive officer, stated, "Microchip's vision is to put a microcontroller in every end product that has power applied to it, no matter how inexpensive the application. "The introduction of the world's first 8-pin microcontrollers takes a significant step towards that goal. These unique products are expected to drive the proliferation of microcontroller intelligence in a wide variety of applications to even greater levels of usage." The 8-pin PIC12CXXX microcontroller family allows easy integration of first-time intelligent features into electromechanical The use of electricity to run moving parts. Disk drives, printers and motors are examples. Electromechanical systems must be designed for the eventual deterioration of moving components that wear over time. The first TVs were electromechanical systems (see video/TV history). designs and will compete directly with many 4-bit microcontroller products while providing significantly enhanced performance. Typical applications for the PIC12C508 and PIC12C509 include personal care appliances, remote transmitters, sensors and detectors, portable voice recorders, security systems, transponders, RF tags, rheostats and rechargeable battery modules. "Many designers looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a general-purpose microcontroller do not want the cost of unneeded peripherals and large pin counts typically found on many 4-bit and 8-bit devices," said Damon Chu, Microchip's strategic marketing manager. "Microchip's new 8-pin microcontrollers offer the mathematical and Boolean performance not available on most 4-bit microcontrollers. "And, the low pin count of the new OTP PIC12CXXX family makes it extremely cost effective and flexible versus higher pin-count and ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) Pronounced "a-sick." A chip that is custom designed for a specific application rather than a general-purpose chip such as a microprocessor. devices." With nine devices planned for introduction during the next 12-16 months, the PIC12CXXX family will provide a full range of features, including on-chip clock oscillator; serial I/O ports; on-chip sensors; flash memory technology for rewriteable program memory; nonvolatile EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) A rewritable memory chip that holds its content without power. Although EEPROMs spawned flash memory, EEPROMs are byte addressable at the write level, whereas flash chips must erase a block of bytes before rewriting. , 1.8 volt operation; direct LED drive; optional oscillator modes and in-circuit serial programming. Future products will offer enhanced EPROM EPROM in full erasable programmable read-only memory Form of computer memory that does not lose its content when the power supply is cut off and that can be erased and reused. program memory, RAM data memory and a suite of analog peripherals, such as comparators and analog-to-digital converters. All 8-pin products are pin-for-pin compatible within the PIC12CXXX family. Each PIC12CXXX device is code compatible with Microchip's popular PIC16/17 8-bit OTP microcontroller family, allowing for easy migration of code to higher performance silicon solutions. "The affordable OTP capabilities offered by the PIC12CXXX family solve a range of critical business problems for our customers," said Chu. "Engineering managers can react faster to code changes and reduce the time required to fix bugs or respond to special customer requests for changes. OTP also reduces the design verification cycle, which can be as long as 16 weeks with non-OTP-based devices. "OTP and serial in-circuit programming address procurement issues by reducing and limiting work-in-progress liability and facilitating code revision," Chu explained. "Additionally, our Quick-Turn Programming (QTP QTP Quick Time Performance QTP Qualified Tuition Program (US IRS) QTP Quick Test Professional (Mercury Interactive) QTP Quantum Theory Project QTP Quality Teacher Programme ) and Serialized Quick-Turn Programming (SQTP SQTP Serialized Quick Turn Programming SQTP Subcutaneous Terbutaline Pump Therapy SQTP Software Quality Test Plan (SM)) programs can significantly shorten lead times by ensuring fast delivery of pre-programmed parts. "Microchip's distributors stock OTP inventory, allowing customers to meet any up-side sales opportunities or accommodate engineering changes off the shelf." The PIC16/17 8-bit microcontroller family features a high performance RISC RISC in full Reduced Instruction Set Computing Computer architecture that uses a limited number of instructions. RISC became popular in microprocessors in the 1980s. architecture, low cost, low power and small package size, providing the best price-performance ratios in the industry. To date, more than 300 million PIC16/17 microcontrollers have been shipped for high-volume embedded control applications in the automotive, consumer, communications, industrial control and office automation markets. According to industry analyst Dataquest, Microchip ranked number six in worldwide shipments of 8-bit microcontroller units for the most recently available period. Available in 8-pin PDIP and SOIC packages, pricing in 50,000-unit quantities is less than $0.99 each for both the PIC12C508 and the PIC12C509 (commercial temperature version). Product samples are planned for July 1996 with volume shipments expected in September 1996. Contact any Microchip sales representative or authorized worldwide distributor for more information. The PIC12C508 and PIC12C509 are supported by the PICMASTER(R)-16D Universal Development System, the industry's most complete, fully-integrated programming development and emulation system (available July 1996). Operating in the Microsoft Windows(R) environment, the comprehensive PICMASTER-16D is available for $2,490 without the PRO MATE II device programmer ($3,345 with PRO MATE II). The development system now features the MPLAB(TM) Integrated Development Environment See IDE. integrated development environment - interactive development environment , which gives users the flexibility to edit, compile, emulate and program parts all from a single user interface -- at no additional cost. A CE-compliant version of PICMASTER is available for European applications. A low-cost PIC16/17 MCU (1) (MicroController Unit) A computer on a single chip. See microcontroller. (2) (Multipoint Control Unit) A device that is used to moderate a videoconference of three or more end points (users at computers or groups of users development option is PICSTART(R) Plus, a development software suite and a programmer supported by assembler and simulator software tools (available July 1996). Other support and development tools include a C compiler, programming development support, MPASM microcontroller assembler and MPLAB-SIM software simulator. Microchip Technology Inc. is a leading supplier of field-programmable 8-bit microcontrollers, complementary ASSPs, related specialty memory products and KeeLoq(R) code hopping devices for high-volume embedded control applications in the consumer, automotive, office automation, communications and industrial markets. The company focuses on high volume applications that feature the industry's most economical OTP (one-time-programmable) as well as EEPROM and ROM memory capability. The company is headquartered near Phoenix in Chandler, and operates wafer fabrication facilities in Chandler and Tempe, Ariz. Assembly and test operations are performed in Taiwan, Thailand and other locations. Microchip employs more than 1,600 people worldwide and has sales offices throughout Asia, Europe, Japan and North America. -0- NOTE TO EDITORS: The Microchip name and logo, PIC, PICMASTER, PICSTART and KeeLoq are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Inc. in the USA and other countries. MPLAB is a trademark of Microchip Technology in the USA and other countries. SQTP is a servicemark of Microchip Technology in the USA and other countries. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Visit Microchip at http://www.microchip.com Product photo available upon request. CONTACT: Microchip Technology Inc., Chandler Damon Chu, 602/786-7539 Eric Sells, 602/786-7478 For Literature Inquiries, 602/786-7668 |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion