Microchip's PIC32MZ 32-bit microcontrollers offer best-in-class performance

Microchip announces the new PIC32MZ Embedded Connectivity (EC) family, formed by
24 32-bit microcontrollers. Provides the best features within its category,
330 DMIPS and 3,28 CoreMarks^™/MHz, plus dual-panel Flash and real-time updating (up to 2MB), large RAM (512KB), and peripheral connectivity – including 10/100 Ethernet MAC, Hi-Speed ​​USB MAC/PHY (for first time for PIC microcontrollers^®) and two CAN ports – all necessary to cover today's demanding applications. The PIC32MZ family also achieves the highest code density in its category, 30% higher than its competitors, along with a 28 Msps A/D converter that offers one of the best data throughput rates for 32-bit microcontrollers. bit. To complete the high level of integration of this family, they have a high-performance hardware cryptographic engine with a random number generator for high-speed data encryption/decryption and authentication such as AES, 3DES, SHA, MD5 and HMAC, as well as the first SQI interface on a Microchip microcontroller and the largest number of serial channels inside the PIC32.

Embedded system designers face ever-increasing requirements for added functionality that demands more features and memory from the microcontroller. At the same time, they hope to reduce cost and complexity by using fewer microcontrollers. The PIC32MZ family triples the performance and four times the memory compared to the PIC32MX families of the previous generation, as well as a high level of integration of advanced peripherals. For applications that need embedded connectivity, the family incorporates Hi-Speed ​​USB, Ethernet and CAN, as well as a large number of protocol stacks for wired and wireless connections. Many embedded applications are incorporating better graphics displays, and the PIC32MZ family can even support WQVGA displays without external graphics chips. Streaming/digital audio applications can take advantage of this family's 159 DSP instructions, large memory, peripherals such as I²S and available software.

Field upgrades represent another increasingly important challenge for engineers and designers. The PIC2MZ family's 32MB of internal Flash allows for real-time updates via two independent panels providing a secure way to update while working at full speed.

"Our new PIC32MZ family is designed for next-generation, high-end embedded applications that demand high levels of performance, memory, and advanced peripheral integration," said Rod Drake, director of Microchip's MCU32 Division. "The PIC32MZ family allows designers to add features such as advanced graphical displays, higher real-time capabilities, and higher security with a single microcontroller, thereby lowering cost and complexity."

The PIC32MZ is Microchip's first microcontroller to use the microAptiv MIPS core.^™ from Imagination, which adds 159 new DSP instructions that enable execution of DSP algorithms with up to 75% lower cycle count than with the PIC32MX families. This core also provides the microMIPS instruction set architecture.^®, which improves code density while working at near full speed, instruction and data cache, and with its 200 MHz/
330 DMIPS triples the performance of the PIC32MX.

“Microchip is a standard bearer of the MIPS architecture in microcontrollers and has based the creation of its line of high performance PIC32 on MIPS. In addition, Microchip has been a valuable partner in defining the features of the new microAptiv MIPS CPU, which has been designed to meet the demand of next-generation applications for higher levels of performance and functionality,” said Tony King-Smith, Executive Vice President of Marketing at Imagination Technologies. “With its new microAptiv-based PIC32MZ family, Microchip is once again taking microcontroller performance and feature innovation to new levels. We at Imagination are delighted with this new achievement stemming from our strategic collaboration with Microchip to meet the changing needs of the market.”

Microchip has three new development tools available today for the PIC32MZ. The PIC32MZ EC Complete Starter Kit (PIC32MZ EC Starter Kit) is priced at $119 and comes in two versions to support family components with or without an integrated cryptographic engine (DM320006-2). The Multimedia Expansion Board II (DM320006-320005) comes at a special introductory price of $2 for the first six months and can be used with the starter kit to develop HMI graphics, connectivity, and audio applications. . The 299-pin to 320006-pin Starter Kit Adapter (AC168) is priced at $132 and allows development with Microchip's extensive catalog of application-specific daughter cards. The plug-in module (PIC59MZ32EC Plug-in Module – MA2048) is priced at $320012 and is aimed at existing users of the Explorer 25 modular development board.

Availability of the first 12 members of the PIC32MZ family is planned for September 2013 for sampling and volume production, while availability of the other 12 members, as well as other package options, is planned for various dates through May. 2014. The crypto engine is built into eight of the PIC32MZ microcontrollers; In addition, there are 12 microcontrollers that have 1 MB of Flash and another 12 have 2 MB of Flash.

Here are the family members and their packaging options: 64-pin QFN (9x9mm) and TQFP (9x9mm) for the PIC32MZ2048ECH064; 100-pin TQFP (12x12 and 14x14mm) for the PIC32MZ2048ECH100; 124-pin VTLA (9x9mm) for the PIC32MZ2048ECH124; and 144-pin TQFP (16x16mm) and LQFP (20x20mm) for the PIC32MZ2048ECH144. The versions with integrated cryptographic engine are PIC32MZ2048ECM064, PIC32MZ2048ECM100, PIC32MZ2048ECM124 and PIC32MZ2048ECM144.