Microchip Introduces New MCU to Simplify Low-Power LCD Application Design

Microchip Technology Inc. has introduced a new line of low-power microcontrollers (MCUs) for driving liquid crystal displays (LCDs), integrating core-independent peripherals (CIP) and intelligent analog. The PIC16F19197 family of nine devices includes a battery-friendly LCD-driven charge pump, a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter with computational power (ADC2), a low-power comparator, and an active clock tuning feature for the high-frequency oscillator. They are the first 8-bit MCU family optimized for the popular low-power, battery-powered, touch-enabled LCD applications.

The PIC16F19197 family of devices has pin counts ranging from 28 to 64, with flash memory up to 56KB and RAM up to 4KB. Its charge pump ensures that the LCD screen maintains consistent contrast even when the battery voltage is reduced. The ADC2 automates signal acquisition and processing tasks, making it easy to implement powerful touch buttons and sliders. In addition, the active clock tuning feature helps customers ensure that the oscillator operates smoothly over the entire voltage and temperature operating range. The new PIC16F19197 family of devices can do this completely in a hardware environment without relying on software.

The devices also include a real-time clock and calendar (RTCC) with battery backup and high current I/O pins to directly drive the LCD backlight. In addition, its low-power mode, such as idle/hiccup, and Peripheral Module Disable (PMD) feature help extend battery life. At the same time, the new device can drive up to 360 LCD segments. All of these features make the PIC16F19197 family ideal for battery-powered LCD applications.

Steve Drehobl, vice president of 8-bit MCUs at Microchip, said: "The introduction of the PIC16F19197 family simplifies the design of low-power LCD applications. All of these new features can be set up in the MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC), which drastically reduces development. Time and speed up the pace of product launch."

Relevant PIC16F series products

Author：Brittany Antonia （The author of article owns the copyright.）