In addition, the integrated Charge Time Measurement Unit (CTMU) peripheral—along with the royalty-free mTouch™ Sensing Solution software development kit—enables designers to add a capacitive-touch user interface without any external components. Combining this with Microchip’s free QVGA Graphics Software Library, engineers have access to a cost-effective, USB-enabled user interface solution.
The devices offer up to four UARTs, three SPI ports and three I2C™ ports to expand control capabilities and also feature the “Peripheral Pin Select” pin-mapping function, which provides advanced I/O flexibility by enabling designers to map digital peripherals to different pins.
To allow design re-use, the PIC24FJ256GB1 family maintains pin, peripheral and software compatibility with Microchip’s 32-bit USB microcontroller family. Microchip’s complete portfolio of 8-, 16- and 32-bit devices is supported by a single Integrated Development Environment—the free MPLAB® IDE.
All PIC24F family members are supported by Microchip’s range of world-class development tools, including the MPLAB IDE, the MPLAB C30 C compiler, and the MPLAB REAL ICE™ emulation system. Existing owners of the Explorer 16 development board can purchase a USB OTG PIC24F plug-in module (part number MA240014) and a USB PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board (part number AC164131).
The MPLAB Starter Kit for PIC24F (part number DM240011) comes complete with everything that developers need to get started, including the USB-powered MCU board, the MPLAB IDE and MPLAB C30 C complier, documentation, sample projects with tutorials, schematics, and 16-bit compatible peripheral libraries. Microchip’s free USB Host Stack, Device Stack, USB OTG Stack, Class Drivers (HID, MSD, CDC, Custom), and File Management software are available now at www.microchip.com/USB.
The new PIC24FJ256GB1 family is offered in 64-, 80-, or 100-pin TQFP package options, and all are available now for general sampling with volume production expected in May 2008.