Unlock the Power and Versatility of 8-bit MCUs

In this edition of the Microchip Insider LinkedIn newsletter, join us as we explore the ongoing relevance and versatility of 8-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) in modern design and showcase our PIC? and AVR? families .

While they have been around for over five decades, 8-bit MCUs are more capable, essential, smarter, safer and easier to use than ever as they power applications across industries from automotive systems and consumer goods to industrial equipment and IoT solutions. No longer are they simple compute devices, either. Rather, they have become full-fledged system-on-chip (SoC) devices designed to accomplish many of today’s embedded tasks, and are finding their way into new applications such as smartphones, audio accessories, video gaming peripherals?and advanced medical devices.

Whether you’re designing new, innovative products or improving existing systems, 8-bit MCUs can increase the capabilities of a control system while reducing power consumption, cutting development time and accelerating time to market.

How to Get the Most out of PIC and AVR MCUs - Today and in the Future

Regardless of your skill level, Microchip’s 8-bit MCUs allow you to easily bring your ideas to life. They are also evolving to keep pace with new demands as innovations like Microchip’s expanding offering of Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) and on-chip analog enable them to accommodate a broadening range of market needs. And our commitment to the long-term availability of our 8-bit MCUs ensures that you can continue using your existing parts or easily migrate to other fully compatible device family members to increase functionality without requiring extensive redesign.

Read on to explore some of the applications and use cases where these MCUs are making the biggest difference today as they help designers meet a variety of challenging performance and functional requirements.

I3C? Interfacing

Microchip’s compact PIC18-Q20 MCU with integrated I3C peripherals can be used in a variety of applications to provide a robust upgrade path and compatibility for I2C and SPI implementations. As our MCU team explained in a recent article published in EDN magazine, incorporating this type of MCU has become an essential solution for creating successful IoT devices that align with market requirements, can be used for facilitating backward-compatibility as embedded systems are gradually updated and to perform system management tasks in data center and enterprise environments.

Read more at @EDN Network : Elevating Embedded Systems with I3C

For a deeper dive into this high-speed, multi-controller communication interface, visit our I3C Peripheral web page , or see our recent LinkedIn Newsletter: Spotlight on I3C

Distance Sensing

Microchip’s PIC16F13145 MCU family enables standard ultrasonic sensors to be used for object detection and distance sensing in automotive applications like self-parking assistance and anti-collision systems. The MCU's Configurable Logic Block (CLB) module eliminates the need for external logic chips, and it works seamlessly with the CLB Synthesizer to allow you to visualize designs without having to code.

Learn more from this GitHub step-by-step guide, which explains how standard ultrasonic sensors can be employed for object detection and distance sensing using the PIC16F13145 MCU and its CLB peripheral that enables them to incorporate hardware-based custom logic into their application.

Find the GitHub guide here: Zero-Software Ultrasonic Distance Sensing

USB Communications

Embedded systems requiring USB communications integration can benefit from Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or a microcontroller with USB hardware support. Designers going the MCU route can choose from among a variety of controllers, from high-efficiency 8-bit to high-performance 32-bit devices, with 8-bit MCUs offering a good fit for simple applications such as keyboards, mice and USB-UART converters. To learn more, check out this article for embedded.com by Microchip application engineer @Robert Perkel , who offers a detailed example of how designers can use the AVR DU family with our free MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC) tool to implement a USB to SPI/I2C converter that works without a custom driver.

Read the article here: Implementing USB in embedded systems

Learn more about the AVR DU product family: AVR DU Product Family

Bi-directional level shifting

In industrial IoT applications, voltage mismatches between components can be a challenge. Instead of using a level shifter to solve this challenge, which adds Bill of Materials (BoM) costs and takes up Printed Circuit Board (PCB) space, designers can instead take advantage of the Multi-Voltage I/O (MVI/O) ports of our PIC? and AVR? MCUs. These ports operate in a different voltage domain than the rest of the microcontroller, enabling true bi-directional level-shifting as opposed to the use of high-voltage tolerant pins. This makes it easier to solve many of the challenges of interfacing between different voltage domains.

Want to learn more about these MVI/O ports inside the PIC18-Q24 and other PIC and AVR microcontrollers and how they work? Read our blog article: Integrated Level Shifters in PIC Microcontrollers .

Functional Safety

In safety applications like gas leak detection, hardware must pass a number of standard functional safety tests to help ensure that faults are identified and dealt with if they occur. Microchip’s AVR64EA48 MCU supports the process of qualifying, testing and verifying this hardware to meet Class B safety standards so that the ultimate application does not act differently than expected and pose potential harm to users or the environment.

Learn how to implement a simple ammonia gas detector on our GitHub site. We’ll show you how the Microchip PIC? and AVR? UL-certified IEC 60730 Class B software diagnostic library is used to implement functional safety tests: Ammonia Gas Sensor Example

Visit our website to learn more about the AVR EA family and its built-in features that support safety-critical applications: AVR EA Product Family

Maker Projects

Since the inception of the maker movement, Microchip’s MCUs have been a favorite among hobbyists, starting with our 8-bit AVR family.

More recently, our PIC16F13145 MCU is being used to power a variety of exciting maker and DIY projects like the Zero-Software eDice shown in the video below. A small Configurable Logic Block (CLB) inside the MCU runs all behavior, eliminating the need to write executable code. All initialization code is generated by Microchip’s MPLAB? Code Configurator (MCC) tool .

Beneath the Zero-Software eDice example, you can check out the “Clifford’s Claw Machine” demo that will be presented at Maker Faire , October 18-20, 2024 at Mare Island, California. It nicely demonstrates what is possible in 16 hours with two MCUs and a love for fun engineering, and how 8-bit MCUs are bringing the magic of technology to a new generation of innovators.

In Summary

Microchip’s 8-bit MCUs continue to demonstrate their versatility, value and ability to simplify designs while shouldering more and more work in today’s embedded systems across a growing variety of markets and applications. PIC MCUs continue to find their way into a? growing variety of new applications, while our AVR MCUs continue to reinforce their position as one of the most well-known 8-bit architectures, while both continue adopting new capabilities.

Whether you’re working on industrial, consumer or maker projects, our 8-bit MCUs are up to the task, enabling smarter, stronger and safer solutions.

Get started with our uniquely configurable PIC MCUs using Microchip’s comprehensive MPLAB development ecosystem, which includes an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), C and C++ compilers, production-ready code generation tools and development boards. Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for you to quickly get your first prototype up and running, regardless of your skill level. You’ll also find an interactive guide to help you quickly find the resources you need—give it a try now.

You can find similar resources for our 8-bit MCUs on our Microchip Developer Help Page: Getting Started with 8-bit PIC Microcontrollers.

Thank you for reading this edition of Microchip insider. We look forward to supporting your next innovation with our versatile 8-bit MCU solutions.