• PIC24F “GB6” MCU family has dual-partition Flash with Live Update for always-on capability
  • First 16-bit PIC MCU with up to 1 MB Flash with Error Correction Code and 32 KB RAM
  • Eliminates external memory and supports low-power operation for extended battery life
  • Designed for industrial, computer, medical/fitness and portable applications

Microchip announces the expansion of its Low Power PIC microcontroller (MCU) portfolio. Features of the new PIC24F “GB6” family include up to 1 MB of Flash memory with Error Correction Code (ECC) and 32 KB of RAM, making it the first 16-bit MCU in Microchip’s portfolio to offer such a large memory size. Also featuring dual-partition Flash with Live Update capability, these devices can hold two independent software applications, permitting the simultaneous programming of one partition while executing application code from the other. This powerful combination of features makes the PIC24F “GB6” family ideal for industrial, computer, medical/fitness and portable applications that require a long battery life, and data transfer and storage without the need of external memory. These applications include electricity metering, HVAC control, fingerprint scanners and gaming.

MCUs in the PIC24F “GB6” family have Active current consumption as low as 190 µA/MHz and 3.2 µA in Sleep mode. With the ability to perform over-the-air firmware updates, designers can provide a cost-effective, reliable and secure method for updating their applications.

The robust peripheral set for these devices includes a 200 ksps, 24 channel, 12-bit analogue-to-digital converter (ADC); up to 12 timers, six UARTS and USB-OTG to act as a USB device or host. Microchip Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) that run without the CPU are also integrated into the family, including a Configurable Logic Cell (CLC) for real-time logic control and Direct Memory Access (DMA) that enables faster throughput and lowers power consumption.

The PIC24F “GB6” family is supported by Microchip’s standard suite of world-class development tools, and the new PIC24FJ1024GB610 Plug-In Module (MA240023), priced at $25.00. The Plug-in-Module is available today for use with the Explorer 16 Development Board (DM240001) which is priced at $129.99.

PIC24F product variants are available in 64-pin, 100-pin and 121-pin packages, with Flash memory ranging from 128KB to 1MB.

For more information, including a family table showing all device options, visit Microchip’s website.