It is, however, most vital for designers of embedded control products to select the most suitable controller and companion devices. Embedded control products are found in all market segments: consumer, commercial, PC peripherals, telecommunications (including personal telecom products), automotive and industrial. Most embedded control products must meet special requirements: cost effectiveness, low-power, small-footprint and a high level of system integration.

Typically, most embedded control systems are designed around a MCU which integrates on-chip program memory, data memory (RAM) and various peripheral functions, such as timers and serial communication. In addition, these systems usually require complementary Serial EEPROM, display drivers, keypads or small displays.

Microchip has established itself as a leading supplier of field-programmable embedded control solutions. The combination of high-performance MCUs from the PIC12CXXX, PIC16C5X, PIC16CXXX, PIC17CXXX and PIC18CXXX families, along with non-volatile memory products, provide the basis for this leadership. Microchip is committed to continuous innovation and improvement in design, manufacturing and technical support to provide the best possible embedded control solutions to you.

PICmicro MCU Overview and Roadmap
Microchip PICmicro MCUs combine high-performance, low-cost, and small package size, offering the best price/performance ratio in the industry. More than 120 million of these devices ship each year to cost-sensitive consumer products, computer peripherals, office automation, automotive control systems, security and telecommunication applications.

Microchip offers four families of 8-bit MCUs to best fit your needs: PIC16C5X 12-bit program word, PIC16CXXX 14-bit program word, PIC17CXXX 16-bit program word, PIC18CXXX enhanced 16-bit program word and PIC12CXXX 8-pin 12-bit/14-bit program word MCU families.

All families offer OTP, low-voltage and low-power options, with a variety of package options. Selected members are available in ROM, EEPROM or reprogrammable Flash versions.

The widely-accepted PIC16C5X, PIC16CXXX and PIC17CXXX MCU families employ a modified RISC architecture. Today, the industry’s first 8-pin MCU family – the PIC12CXXX, joins these families. The PIC12CXXX family combines the 8-bit high-speed RISC architecture of the PICmicro MCUs with the smallest footprint MCU. Microchip pioneered the use of RISC architecture to obtain high speed and instruction efficiency.

PIC12CXXX: 8-Pin, 8-Bit Family
The PIC12CXXX family packs Microchip’s powerful RISC-based PICmicro architecture into 8-pin DIP and SOIC packages. These PIC12CXXX products are available with either a 12-bit or 14-bit wide instruction set, a low operating voltage of 2.5V, small package footprints, interrupt handling and a deeper hardware stack. All of these features provide an intelligence level not previously available in applications because of cost or size considerations.

PIC16C5X: 12-Bit Architecture Family
The PIC16C5X is the well-established base-line family that offers the most cost-effective solution. These PIC16C5X products have a 12-bit wide instruction set and are currently offered in 18-, 20- and 28-pin packages. In the SOIC and SSOP packaging options, these are among the smallest footprint MCUs. Low-voltage operation, down to 2.0V for OTPs, makes this family ideal for battery operated applications. Additionally, support is available for PIC16HV5XX that can operate directly from a battery at wide voltage ranges up to 15 volts.

PIC16CXXX: 14-Bit Architecture Family
With the introduction of new PIC16CXXX family members, Microchip now provides the industry’s highest performance Analog-to-Digital Converter capability at 12-bits for an 8-bit MCU. The PIC16CXXX family offers a wide-range of options, from 18-pin to 68-pin packages as well as low to high levels of peripheral integration. This family has a 14-bit wide instruction set, interrupt handling capability and a deep, 8-level hardware stack. The PIC16CXXX family provides the performance and versatility to meet the more demanding requirements of today’s cost-sensitive marketplace for mid-range 8-bit applications.

PIC17CXXX: 16-Bit Architecture Family
The PIC17CXXX family offers the world’s fastest execution performance of any 8-bit MCU family in the industry. The PIC17CXXX family extends the PICmicro MCU’s high-performance RISC architecture with a 16-bit instruction word, enhanced instruction set and powerful vectored interrupt handling capabilities. A powerful array of precise on-chip peripheral features provides the performance for the most demanding 8-bit applications.

PIC18CXXX: 16-Bit Architecture Family
The PIC18CXX2 is a family of high performance, CMOS, fully static, 16-bit MCUs with integrated analog-to-digital (A/D) converter.All PIC18CXX2 MCUs employ an advanced RISC architecture. The PIC18CXXX has enhanced core features, 32 level-deep stack, and multiple internal and external interrupts sources. The separate instruction and data busses of the Harvard architecture allow a 16-bit wide instruction word with the separate 8-bit wide data. The two-stage instruction pipeline allows all instructions to execute in a single cycle, except for program branches, which require two cycles. A total of 68 instructions (reduced instruction set) are available. Additionally, a large register set gives some of the architectural innovations used to achieve a very high performance of 10MIPs for an 8-bit MCU.The PIC18CXXX family has special features to reduce external components, thus reducing cost, enhancing system reliability and reducing power consumption. These include programmable Low Voltage Detect (LVD) and Brown-Out Detect (BOR).