Microchip bares two controllers

Electronic News, Sept 26, 1994

CHANDLER, ARIZ.--Sticking to its commitment to 8-bit microcontrollers, Microchip rolled out a new entry engineered to handle busy embedded systems environments and separately announced an energy management controller that makes AC motors less power-hungry.

The mid-range PIC16C74, featuring a RISC architecture, is designed for applications requiring multiple I/O sensing, high processing speed and extensive communications with other processors. It touches a wide range of applications, including consumer, industrial, telecommunications, automotive and electronic data processing. It offers one-time programmable memory (OTP) and a low-power analog-to-digital converter on-chip for $5.95 in 1,000-piece quantities.

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"It is one of the few 40-pin devices on the market which supports analog technology and OTP memory at an attractive price," said Ron Cates, strategic marketing manager at Microchip. Aboard the PIC16C74 is a Harvard architecture RISC MPU featuring 200-nanosecond microcycle times and 35 single-cycle instructions, each 14 bits wide.

On-chip program memory can handle 4,096 words of EPROM, supplemented by 192 bytes of RAM for data memory. The chip can also switch to sleep mode and turn off the A/D circuitry when idle, making it suited for battery-powered systems or applications that generate debilitating heat. "The A/D also simplifies overall embedded system design by facilitating direct inputs from temperature, pressure, motion and other sensors," Mr. Cates said.

The device's format also gives the PIC16C74 such communications capabilities as an 8-bit synchronous slave port that interacts with other MPUs and MCUs. Samples are now available and volume production is slated for December 1994.

Microchip's MTE1122 energy management controller, meanwhile, purports to cut electrical consumption by 30 percent in certain AC motordriven applications such as refrigerators, freezers and other household appliances. Integrating the company's 8-bit RISC PIC16/17 MCU, the energy management controller uses an algorithm to digitally monitor the AC signal and sense when the motor is consuming more power than it has to. During light power loads, the device modifies the AC signal to use less power while continuing its rotational speed. The 5V device also features automatic power-on reset.

The MTE1122 was developed in collaboration with Coast Energy Management of Phoenix and was tested by Arizona State's electrical engineering department. The 18-pin controller, packaged in PDIP, is listed at $7.49 in 1,000-piece quantities. The chip is also available in an SOIC package.