Microchip Launches the PIC32A Range, Offering Plenty of Peripherals for Intelligent Sensing and More
New parts include 12-bit ADCs and DACs, 100MHz GBWP op-amps, and 64-bit FPUs to accelerate tinyML and sensor fusion workloads.
Microchip has announced a new string to its popular PIC32 microcontroller bow, designed for both general-purpose projects and those looking to implement machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML and AI) on the edge: the PIC32A family.
"Targeting intelligent sensing and control applications, the PIC32A MCUs [Microcontroller Units] augment our existing 32-bit portfolio by balancing cost effectiveness, performance, and advanced analog peripherals," claims Microchip's Rod Drake of the new parts. "High-speed peripherals and other integrated functionalities reduce the need for certain external components, decreasing system complexity while delivering a high-performance solution."
The PIC32A family runs at clock speeds of up to 200MHz and comes with up to 16kB of static RAM (SRAM) and 128kB of program memory, both with error correcting code (ECC) support, depending on model. While the chips themselves are 32-bit, they come as standard with a 64-bit floating-point unit (FPU) — designed, the company says, to accelerate performance of "computationally intensive applications" and make the chips more suited to on-device tinyML model deployment inference.
The new chips also come with a suite of high-speed analog peripherals, designed to reduce the need for external components in common sensing designs: 12-bit analog to digital converters (ADCs) offering up to 40 megasamples per second (MSps) depending on model, 12-bit digital to analog converters (DACs) with high-speed 5-nanosecond comparators, and 100MHz gain bandwidth product (GBWP) op-amps.
Other peripherals include three UART< two I2C, and three SPI or I2S buses, two SENT buses, eight-channel high-resolution pulse-width modulation (PWM), a quadrature encoder interface, four configurable logic cells, a peripheral trigger generator, and virtual remappable pins.
More information on the parts is available on the Microchip website; pricing starts at $1.21 per unit in 5K tray quantities for the PIC32AK3208GC41036-I/M7 in VQFN package, which offers 8kB of RAM, 32kB of program memory, and 36 pins. The company also offers a development bundle that includes a PIC32A system-on-module and Curiosity Platform carrier board, priced at $116.