Microchip Technology Announces PIC® Microcontrollers With Internal Shunt Regulator

Microchip Technology Inc. announced its first general-purpose, Flash PIC® microcontrollers with several peripherals for more cost-effective control of fans or small motors.

The 14-pin PIC16F616/610 and the 8-pin PIC12F615/609 microcontrollers can substantially reduce system component counts and costs through the integration of specialized peripherals, such as a full-bridge Pulse-Width Modulator (PWM) with deadband control, a Timer1 Gate for pulse width measurement, a comparator for hall-effect sensor interfaces, and an A/D converter for temperature and various monitoring functions. In the case of the PIC16HV616/610 and PIC12HV615/609 variants, the addition of an internal shunt regulator allows the PIC microcontroller to run from higher voltage rails without the addition of voltage regulators.

Engineers designing small-motor control systems are always looking for ways to eliminate components and reduce board size and cost, while achieving higher levels of functionality and flexibility. For example, in cooling fans, the PIC16F616/610 and PIC12F615/609 Flash microcontrollers provide greater functionality than discrete fan-control components, such as linear speed control, improved dynamic response and the ability to customize the design with firmware changes rather than expensive hardware redesigns. At the same time, board space and cost is reduced with features such as comparator hysterisis, to allow direct interfacing to a hall-effect element without additional signal-conditioning circuitry.

Many high-voltage-rail applications, such as motor control and power supplies, require components to step down the input voltage for various control devices. However, these new PIC microcontrollers are available with an integrated shunt regulator option (designated with "HV" in the part number), allow engineers to design systems without having to add a regulator, reducing costs and board space even further. Additionally, motor and power applications often require intermediate voltages for power drivers and other power components. The PIC16F616/HV616 family addresses these requirements with a built-in S/R latch to design a switch-mode power supply for these intermediate voltages.

Specific application examples include: home appliances (such as blenders, toasters, smoke alarms and thermostat controls), cooling-fan control and other motor control, power tools, system control and monitoring, battery chargers, automated door sensors, speedometers, and power supplies.

The PIC16F610/HV610 and PIC12F609/HV609 microcontrollers are expected to be available in December for general sampling and volume-production orders. Their superset counterparts, the PIC16F616/HV616 and PIC12F615/HV615 microcontrollers are available now for general sampling. In 10,000-unit quantities, the PIC16F616/610 start at $0.73 each and the PIC16HV616/610 start at $0.77 each in Pb-free, RoHS-compliant 14-pin PDIP, SOIC, TSSOP and QFN packages. The PIC12F615/609 start at $0.60 each and the PIC12HV615/609 start at $0.64 in 8-pin PDIP, SOIC, DFN and MSOP packages, also in 10,000-unit quantities.