JAN/FEB 2017 A MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INC. PUBLICATION
Ready for New Kids on A Fresh 7 More? 15 the Block 24 Start A MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INC. PUBLICATION JAN/FEB 2017
COVER STORY NEW TOOLS 4 Unlimited Endurance 15 New Kids on the Block Robust and Reliable I2C EERAM Memory Offers Safe Data Storage at Power Loss 16 Three Easy Steps 18 Going Long NEW PRODUCTS 20 Pressed for Time? 6 Legacy Building Core Independent Peripherals Are Now Available on 8-bit PIC18F “K40” Family of MCUs DESIGN CORNER 7 Ready for More? ® Touch Interfaces for Rain or Shine New Generation of 8-bit AVR MCUs Now Offers 22 Core Independent Peripherals 24 A Fresh Start 9 A Higher Grade 27 What’s the Difference? PIC32MZ “EF” Microcontroller Portfolio Expanded to Include Extended Temperature Series 29 Designing for Change 10 Networking Plus Touch Control Automotive-Grade LIN System-In-Package Solution Includes 32-bit Microcontroller with Touch Hardware Support 11 No Unauthorized Entry Introducing the Industry’s Lowest-Power Vehicle Access Solutions for Smart Keys and Wearables 13 Very Smart Industry’s First Seven-Port USB 3/1 Gen1 SmartHub ICs for USB Type-C™ Now Available contents
The Microchip name and logo, the Microchip logo, AnyRate, AVR, AVR logo, AVR Freaks, BeaconThings, BitCloud, CryptoMemory, CryptoRF, dsPIC, FlashFlex, flexPWR, Heldo, JukeBlox, KEELOQ, KEELOQ logo, Kleer, LANCheck, LINK MD, maXStylus, maXTouch, MediaLB, megaAVR, MOST, MOST logo, MPLAB, OptoLyzer, PIC, picoPower, PICSTART, PIC32 logo, Prochip Designer, QTouch, RightTouch, SAM-BA, SpyNIC, SST, SST Logo, SuperFlash, tinyAVR, UNI/O, and XMEGA are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. and other countries. ClockWorks, The Embedded Control Solutions Company, EtherSynch, Hyper Speed Control, HyperLight Load, IntelliMOS, mTouch, Precision Edge, and Quiet-Wire are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. Adjacent Key Suppression, AKS, Analog-for-the-Digital Age, Any Capacitor, AnyIn, AnyOut, BodyCom, chipKIT, chipKIT logo, CodeGuard, CryptoAuthentication, CryptoCompanion, CryptoController, dsPICDEM, dsPICDEM. net, Dynamic Average Matching, DAM, ECAN, EtherGREEN, In-Circuit Serial Programming, ICSP, Inter-Chip Connectivity, JitterBlocker, KleerNet, KleerNet logo, Mindi, MiWi, motorBench, MPASM, MPF, MPLAB Certified logo, MPLIB, MPLINK, MultiTRAK, NetDetach, Omniscient Code Generation, PICDEM, PICDEM.net, PICkit, PICtail, PureSilicon, QMatrix, RightTouch logo, REAL ICE, Ripple Blocker, SAM-ICE, Serial Quad I/O, SMART-I.S., SQI, SuperSwitcher, SuperSwitcher II, Total Endurance, TSHARC, USBCheck, VariSense, ViewSpan, WiperLock, Wireless DNA, and ZENA are trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. and other countries. SQTP is a service mark of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. Silicon Storage Technology is a registered trademark of Microchip Technology Inc. in other countries. GestIC and ULPP are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Germany II GmbH & Co. & KG, a subsidiary of Microchip Technology Inc., in other countries. The LoRa name and associated logo are registered trademarks of Semtech Corporation or its subsidiaries. USB Type-C™ is a trademark of USB Implementers Forum All other trademarks mentioned herein are property of their respective companies. © 2016, Microchip Technology Incorporated, All Rights Reserved.
2 EDITOR’S NOTE
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here can you go when you have an innovative design in mind but are short on time, resources and money? Now more than ever, the professional maker and Wstart-up community is on the leading edge of bringing a vast array of innova- tive products to market. However, we know that many times these efforts are hampered by a lack of manpower, technical expertise in some very complex technologies and financial support.
That’s where our new “Get Launched!” program comes in. If you fall into this category of entrepreneurs and innovators, we are here to help you overcome these challenges and successfully bring your product from concept to prototype. If you Ready for New Kids on A Fresh qualify, we have a four-pronged approach to get your project up and running: 7 More? 15 the Block 24 Start • Design – get started with our broad portfolio of hardware and software products and development tools, solutions from our third-party partners and advice from Don’t Miss the Next Issue of our authorized Design Partners, who offer expertise in a range of technologies MicroSolutions and capabilities that you might not have yourself Published six times a year, • Contract Manufacturers – connect with turnkey manufacturing partners to get MicroSolutions is a valuable resource your prototypes built for product and technology news • Funding – we can guide you to potential sources of funding for your design about Microchip’s innovative solutions. Subscribe today to receive phase and product manufacturing email notifications when each new • Production – once your prototype is ready, leverage the expertise of mentors to issue of MicroSolutions is ready. Use guide you through moving your design into production the link below: These are exciting times, and we are looking forward to seeing more and more CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE creative projects coming into the market. For additional information about our “Get Launched!” program, contact us at [email protected].
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3 COVER STORY
UNLIMITED ENDURANCE
Robust and Reliable I2C EERAM Memory Offers Safe Data Storage at Power Loss
Low-Cost NVSRAM Eliminates the Need for an External Battery to Retain Data
any metering, automotive, industrial and other applications need the Mability to constantly or instantaneous- ly record, update or monitor data. Designers of these types of applications need easy, inex- pensive and reliable memory solutions that are capable of retaining their data even in the event of a power loss. Our new low-cost, low-risk I2C EERAM memory is an easy-to-implement solution that provides unlimited endurance and safe data storage at power loss, making it ideal for a wide range of applications.
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4 COVER STORY
For automotive applications, EERAM is a robust solution that can securely save data when a random, user-generated or system-generated power loss occurs. Data recorders, data loggers and black boxes need to store critical system and user parameters related to the vehicle’s operational systems. These can range from the transmission and power train, to the instru-
EERAM combines the reliability of EEPROM with the performance ment cluster and infotainment system, to safety systems like of SRAM. airbags and ABS.
Offered in standard 8-pin SOIC, TSSOP and PDIP packages, Comprised of two familiar and reliable memory technologies the I2C EERAM family is available in 4 Kb and 16 Kb densities, on a single chip, EERAM combines the reliability of EEPROM as well as in 3.0V and 5.0V options and in industrial and auto- with the performance of SRAM. This robust and dependable motive temperature ranges (−40°C to 85°C and −40°C to data solution is also the lowest-cost nonvolatile SRAM solution 125°C). It is also available in automotive grade. available today. Its standalone SRAM memory with shadow EEPROM backup automatically retains the contents of the SRAM memory when system power is lost. EERAM does not require an external battery to safely store data during a power loss event. Instead, EERAM uses a small, external capacitor to provide the necessary energy to store the contents of the SRAM on to the EEPROM when system power is lost. The EERAM also provides instant random writes to the array with no write cycle delay.
The internal circuitry of the EERAM constantly monitors system power. Upon power down or the inadvertent loss of system power below the trip voltage (Vtrip), the contents of the SRAM EERAM is a robust solution that is ideal for smart electric meters are securely transferred to the EEPROM array using energy and automotive applications. stored in the external capacitor, which is connected to the Vcap pin (pin 1). On power up, the EERAM’s Auto-Recall feature enables the contents of the EEPROM to be transferred back to Development Support the SRAM array when the system voltage goes back above Demonstrating the features and abilities of the 47C04 and 47L16 Vtrip. The EERAM offers unlimited writes to the SRAM array and EERAM devices, the EERAM I2C PICtail™ Kit (AC500100) will over 1M erase/write cycles to the EEPROM. be available in January 2017. Check the Microchip website for more information.
EERAM offers unlimited If you are looking for an easy, inexpensive and reliable memory solution with unlimited endurance for your application, you can writes to the SRAM array. purchase the 47L04, 47C04, 47L16 and 47C16 EERAM devices from microchipDIRECT or from Microchip’s worldwide distribution network. Today’s smart electric meters need to not only accurately measure energy consumption but also to record this data almost constantly and transmit it to a data center. With its simple I2C interface, EERAM reliably enables real-time data logging. Its Want More Information? instantaneous write capability coupled with its unlimited write Visit the website at: cycles, as well as its ability to enable an external trigger to help detect tampering, make it ideal for use in data logging systems www.microchip.com/EERAM for the power grid.
5 Legacy Building NEW PRODUCTS Core Independent Peripherals Are Now Available on 8-bit PIC18F “K40” Family of MCUs
New Family Features Intelligent ADC with Filtering and Signal Analysis Capabilities Ideal for Touch and Signal Conditioning
vailable with a number of Microchip’s PIC® and now some the Analog-to-Digital Converter with Computation (ADC2). The AVR® microcontrollers (MCUs), our popular, on-chip ADC2 is an intelligent ADC which, independently of the core, ACore Independent Peripherals (CIPs) enable systems to can control data acquisition and the signal analysis functions accomplish a variety of functions in hardware while freeing up of averaging, filtering, oversampling and automatic threshold the CPU to do other tasks or go to sleep. They offer a variety of comparison that are required in sensor interface applications, benefits including reduced power consumption, deterministic such as capacitive touch sensing. response time and decreased firmware development and val- idation time. Now, building upon the legacy of the successful Consisting of 10 new devices ranging from 16-128 KB of Flash PIC18F “K20” family of 8-bit MCUs, we have introduced the memory, these cost-optimized 8-bit MCUs also feature 5V PIC18F “K40” as the first PIC18 product family to offer CIPs. operation, EEPROM and extensive peripheral integration. They are well suited for a broad range of applications and market This new series of MCUs includes a full complement of CIPs segments including touch sensing, industrial control, consumer, for safety-critical applications (CRC/Memory Scan, Windowed automotive and Internet of Things (IoT). Watchdog Timer and Hardware Limit Timer), up to seven hard- ware PWMs and multiple communications interfaces. Addition- ally, the PIC18 “K40” family offers Intelligent Analog peripherals Development Support including Zero Cross Detect (ZCD), on-chip comparator and The new PIC18F “K40” family is supported by the Curiosity High Pin Count (HPC) Development Board (DM164136) and our software development platforms that include MPLAB® Code Configurator (MCC), MPLAB X IDE, MPLAB XC8 Complier and the cloud-based MPLAB Xpress IDE.
The PIC18 “K40” devices are available in UQFN (4 × 4 × 0.5 mm), QFN, SOIC, SSOP, TQFP, and DIP packages that range from 28-64 pins. You can order them from microchipDIRECT or from Microchip’s worldwide distribution network.
Want More Information?
This new series of MCUs includes a full complement of CIPs for Visit the website at: safety-critical applications. www.microchip.com/K40
6 Ready for NEW PRODUCTS More? New Generation of 8-bit AVR® MCUs Now Offers Core Independent Peripherals
New tinyAVR® Devices Include Rich Feature Set, 4 KB or 8 KB of Flash and Are Supported by Atmel START Online Development Tool
ow that two renowned brands of 8-bit microcontrollers— feature-rich packaging in 4 KB or 8 KB of Flash memory. Other PIC® and AVR MCUs—have been combined into one integrated features include a CIP called the Peripheral Touch Nproduct portfolio, Microchip is committed to providing Controller (PTC) supporting water-tolerant touch, Event System you with more products and tools to help you innovate and get for peripheral cooperation, custom programmable logic blocks, your products to market faster. We are re-energizing our new self-programming for firmware upgrades, nonvolatile data product development efforts to not only continue to support, storage, 20 MHz internal oscillator, high-speed serial communi- but to grow, the well-loved AVR MCU portfolio. cation with USART, operating voltages ranging from 1.8V to 5.5V, 10-bit ADC with internal voltage references and sleep cur- Building on the successful integration of Core Independent rents at less than 100 nA in power-down mode with Peripherals (CIPs) into a number of 8-bit PIC MCUs over the SRAM retention. past several years, we have recently released the first tinyAVR microcontrollers to also feature CIPs. This new generation of tinyAVR MCUs includes four new devices: the ATtiny817, These devices provide all ATtiny816, ATtiny814 and ATtiny417.
These new devices provide all the right features to help drive the right features to help product innovation including small, low pin count and drive product innovation.
CIPs allow the peripherals to operate independently of the core, including serial communication and analog peripherals. With the addition of the Event System—which enables peripherals to communicate without using the CPU—applications can be optimized at a system level. This lowers power consumption and increases throughput and system reliability.
Development and Support Support for the four devices in this new AVR family is now
® available in Atmel START, a free and innovative online tool The new generation of tinyAVR MCUs includes four new devices: the ATtiny817, ATtiny816, ATtiny814 and ATtiny417. that allows you to configure software components and tailor
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7 your embedded applications. It offers an optimized framework that allows you to focus on adding differentiating features to NEW PRODUCTS your application.
To help accelerate your evaluation and development using these These devices are in production now and available in QFN new tinyAVR devices, the ATtiny817 Xplained Mini Evaluation and SOIC packaging. If you are ready to leverage the CIPs Kit (ATTINY817-XMINI) is also available. It includes an on-board and other advanced features available in this new generation mini embedded debugger and has a footprint that is compatible of 8-bit tinyAVR MCUs to power your next design, contact with Arduino® shields. The kit can be used for standalone devel- your local Microchip sales representative or authorized opment and is fully supported by the Atmel START and Atmel worldwide distributor. Studio 7 software development tools.
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8 A Higher Grade NEW PRODUCTS PIC32MZ “EF” Microcontroller Portfolio Expanded to Include Extended Temperature Series
First PIC32 MCUs to Meet AEC-Q100 Grade 1 (−40° to 125°C) Specification
ver since its launch, the PIC32MZ “EF” series of 32-bit high-speed variant is ideal for applications like high-resolution microcontrollers (MCUs) has experienced a high rate of audio that require slightly higher core performance to provide Eadoption for a wide range of applications. In an exciting faster audio processing and streaming. new advancement, this family has recently been expanded to include an extended temperature portfolio and a high-speed variant industrial temperature portfolio. It is also the first Development Support automotive-grade PIC32 MCU to be offered by Microchip. As with all PIC32 MCUs, the PIC32MZ “EF” family is supported by a comprehensive set of development resources such as The PIC32MZ “EF” family features high core performance up to MPLAB X IDE, MPLAB Harmony integrated software frame- 250 MHz, an integrated Floating-Point Unit (FPU), a wide selec- work, MPLAB XC32 Compiler, MPLAB ICD 3 In-Circuit tion of peripherals and excellent connectivity options including Debugger (DV164035) and MPLAB REAL ICE™ In-Circuit Controller Area Network (CAN). The extended temperature Emulator (DV244005). portfolio is ideal for several critical automotive and industrial applications that require reliable performance and robustness Additional tools that can be used for development with the at higher temperatures. In addition, the industrial tempera- PIC32MZ “EF” family include the turnkey PIC32MZ Embed- ture portfolio (−40° to 85°C) has been selectively expanded to ded Connectivity with Floating Point Unit (EF) Starter offer a higher-speed variant (250 MHz/795 CoreMark®). The Kit (DM320007) and PIC32MZ Embedded Connectivity with Floating Point Unit (EF) with Crypto Engine Starter Kit (DM320007-C). The PIC32MZ EF Audio 144-pin PIM (MA320018) can be used with the PIC32 Bluetooth® Audio Development Kit (DV320032) for assistance with developing audio applications, while the PIC32MZ EF PIM (MA320019) offers a range of features that can implemented using the new Explorer 16/32 Development Board (DM240001-2). Another exciting, new board that offers rapid prototyping of Internet of Things, connectivity and other general-purpose applications is the Curiosity PIC32MZ EF Development Board (DM320104).
Devices in the PIC32MZ EF family are offered in a variety of package options including TQFP, QFN, VTLA, and LQFP. To pur- The PIC32MZ “EF” series now includes an extended temperature chase these devices, visit microchipDIRECT. They can also be portfolio that is ideal for critical automotive applications. ordered from Microchip’s worldwide distribution network.
9 Networking Plus NEW PRODUCTS Touch Control Automotive-Grade LIN System-In-Package Solution Includes 32-bit Microcontroller with Touch Hardware Support
New ATSAMHA1GxxA Family Delivers Integrated Peripheral Touch Controller for Automotive HMI Applications
nique human-machine interfaces (HMIs) designed for the next generation of automobiles can provide These devices meet the Udrivers, as well as passengers, with a sense of luxury, quality and functionality and enhance brand differentiation. high quality standards of As a leader in both automotive touch and Local Interconnect Network (LIN) solutions, Microchip offers a range of innovative, the automotive industry. cost-effective solutions to help you meet your design challenges and add touch control to in-vehicle HMIs. In addition to its MCU, the ATSAMHA1GxxA series contains a The industry’s first automotive-grade LIN System-in-Package LIN transceiver and a voltage regulator. These devices are avail- (SiP) solution to include a microcontroller with integrated touch able with 16 KB, 32 KB or 64 KB Flash memory, up to 8 KB SRAM hardware support, the new ATSAMHA1GxxA family, contains and 2 KB read-while-write data Flash. They are designed to capacitive touch hardware support via its integrated Peripheral meet the high quality standards of the automotive industry, Touch Controller (PTC), an Event System and complex PWM including being qualified in compliance with AEC-Q100. The capability. This series of 32-bit MCUs is ideal for adding touch family features easy-to-create touch buttons with high sensitiv- ® buttons, touchpads, sliders, wheel or proximity sensing— ity and outstanding noise immunity, supported by our QTouch including optical and haptic feedback—to automotive as well software function library. The high electromagnetic compati- as industrial applications. bility (EMC) robustness of the LIN communication can meet the requirements of OEMs worldwide. Development Support To accelerate your programming, prototyping and testing of your new LIN designs, the ATSAMHA1G16X Xplained Pro Develop- ment Kit (ATSAMHA1G16X-XPRO) includes support from Atmel Software Framework (ASF). The ATSAMHA1GxxA device is implemented in the Atmel Studio 7 Integrated Development Envi- ronment. Various tools like GCC and IAR C/C++ compilers, ICE debuggers and a QTouch software function library are also available.
Development of new LIN designs is accelerated by the The ATSAMHA1GxxA comes in a 7 × 7 mm QFN package with ATSAMHA1G16X Xplained Pro Development Kit. wettable flanks. For more information, contact any Microchip sales representative or authorized worldwide distributor.
10 No Unauthorized NEW PRODUCTS Entry Introducing the Industry’s Lowest-Power Vehicle Access Solutions for Smart Keys and Wearables
Feature Open Immobilizer Protocol for Interoperability and Low Frequency Vector Techniques for Man-in- the-Middle Counterattack Strategies
n increased consumer demand for convenience high-sensitivity Low Frequency (LF) receivers, digital processing features—such as hands-free entry, hands-free locking unit, 128-bit crypto engine, LF vector calculation unit and an A or even personalized welcome lighting—is driving signif- ultra-low power AVR® microcontroller. The ATA5702 is also icant growth in the automotive passive entry market. However, enhanced with a built-in RF transmitter fractional-N Phase- car theft based on relay attacks of vehicles equipped with Locked Loop (PLL) to ensure a robust Ultra-High Frequency Passive Entry/Passive Start (PEPS) systems is one of the top (UHF) link that is highly immune to jammers and disturbers. security concerns automakers face. As these types of systems are becoming increasingly more prevalent, preventing car theft is critical. Solutions that provide enhanced security are vital to The LF vector calculation protecting vehicles from unauthorized access. unit allows you to Primarily intended for use in battery-powered applications, such as smart keys (i.e. PEPS) and complementary car access implement effective relay via mobile devices, smartphones and wearables where power consumption is a key consideration, our new ATA5700 and attack countermeasures. ATA5702 are currently the lowest-power PEPS solutions avail- able today. Both devices feature a 3D immobilizer, 3D The ATA5700 and ATA5702 offer the highest key localization accuracy in the market, which is critical to distinguish whether a key fob is located inside or outside the vehicle and to comply with accuracy requirements of insurance companies. In addi- tion, the devices contain an open-source, zero-cost, license- free immobilizer protocol based on AES-128 that enables interoperability, allowing large-volume customers to deploy second sourcing strategies.
Their unique, built-in counter relay (“man-in-the-middle”) attack protection measures are also a key feature. The LF vector cal- culation unit allows you to implement effective relay attack countermeasures at no additional cost. The ATA5700 and ATA5702 are primarily intended for use in battery-powered applications, such as smart keys and complementary car access. (continued on page 12)
11 These new devices also feature excellent low-frequency sensitivity, enabling convenience features such as custom- NEW PRODUCTS ized welcome lighting when approaching a vehicle or auto- matic “walk-away locking” of the vehicle with a range of up to 10 meters. The power consumption for this always-on feature use the related Car Access Reference System (CARS) Kit is industry leading, tripling the battery lifetime in the highest (ATAK51004-V2), which is available now, along with Atmel sensitivity mode. Studio 7 for developing software for the on-board 8-bit AVR microcontroller. Development Support The ATA5700 and ATA5702 are in production and come in a 5 × 7 mm QFN package with wettable flanks. To order these To get started with implementing a complete car access and devices or for more information, contact any Microchip sales security system based on the ATA5700 or ATA5702, you can representative or authorized worldwide distributor.
12 Very Smart NEW PRODUCTS Industry’s First Seven-Port USB 3.1 Gen1 SmartHub ICs for USB Type-C™ Now Available
USB58xx and USB59xx Devices Integrate a 2:1 Multiplexer to Support USB Type-C Reversible Connection Feature
martHubs are USB hubs that integrate system-level savings over previous solutions. They provide multiple direct functions that are typically associated with a separate interfaces to USB Type-C connectors for enabling 5 Gbps USB Smicrocontroller (MCU) or processor. This unique Microchip data rates in a single integrated circuit. technology, available in several generations of our USB hubs, enables I/O bridging and FlexConnect port swapping and The USB58xx and USB59xx families are ideal for applications switching to deliver expanded functionality. By eliminating such as monitors, docking stations, digital televisions, set-top the need for additional bridging ICs and high-speed switches, boxes and computing peripherals. These applications benefit SmartHub technology significantly reduces BOM cost while from the expanded number of external USB 3.1 Gen1 ports providing a more robust data interface solution. available for data connections within a single, monolithic device. Choosing a hub IC that supports seven ports will help New technologies like the USB Type-C connector and power you avoid the power and cost ramifications of tiering two four- delivery are currently changing the USB landscape. If you are port devices to provide sufficient downstream ports for your developing products that use this revolutionary, new USB con- end customer applications. Using a single chip will also nector, our USB58xx and USB59xx next-generation families of provide you with a simpler design, cost savings and reduced SmartHubs are the first seven-port USB 3.1 Gen1 hub ICs avail- component footprint. able in the market today, offering you simpler designs and cost Multiple, direct USB Type-C connections are enabled through integrated 2:1 multiplexers.
Multiple, direct USB Type-C connections are enabled through integrated 2:1 multiplexers which support the reversible con- nection feature of the USB Type-C connector. In addition, the devices can expand beyond seven ports through PortSplitting, The USB58xx and USB59xx families are ideal for applications such which allows embedded applications to only use the inter- as monitors, docking stations, digital televisions, set-top boxes face needed for their internal USB connection. Each device and computing peripherals. (continued on page 14)
13 also has built-in Billboard support for notifying users when an unsupported device has been connected in a USB Power NEW PRODUCTS Delivery application. In addition, the USB58xx and USB59xx families are supported by Microchip’s USBCheck™ Design Review, a free engineering service for reviewing schematics legacy B connector upstream, seven Type-A USB 2.0/USB 3.1 and layout designs. Gen1 downstream ports and no HFC support. The USB5926 USB 3.1 Gen1 6-Port with USB Type-C SmartHub Evalua- The choice of which device to use is based on the application tion Board (EVB-USB5926) has a USB Type-C USB connector requirements for USB Type-C interfaces. The USB59xx family upstream, two USB Type-C USB2.0/USB 3.1 Gen1 downstream supports direct upstream interface of USB Type-C, while the ports, two Type-A USB 2.0/USB 3.1 Gen1 and two Type-A USB58xx provides support for legacy, non-USB Type-C inter- USB 2.0 only downstream ports. faces. Both families support legacy battery charging including BC1.2, Apple® devices and many non-standard devices that are There are four devices available in the USB58xx family, each currently available. offered in 100-pin QFN packages. The USB59xx family features three devices also in 100-pin QFN packages. Both families of SmartHubs are also available in industrial and automotive Development Support grades. Devices can be purchased from microchipDIRECT or Several evaluation boards are available to help you get started from Microchip’s worldwide distribution network. with integrating the USB58xx or USB59xx devices into your design. The USB5806 USB 3.1 Gen1 6-Port SmartHub Eval- uation Board (EVB-USB5806) comes with a legacy B con- Want More Information? nector upstream and includes six Type-A USB 2.0/USB 3.1 Visit the website at: Gen1 downstream ports. The USB5807 USB 3.1 Gen1 7-Port www.microchip.com/USB58xx-USB59xx SmartHub Evaluation Board (EVB-USB5807) comes with a
14 New Kids on NEW TOOLS the Block Low-Cost and Feature-Rich PIC32 Curiosity Development Boards Now Available
Include Peripherals, Easy-to-Use Interface and Expansion Options for 32-bit Applications
uilding on the success of the original Curiosity have USB connectors that can be used to develop USB host or Development Board, designed for use with 8-bit PIC® device applications. microcontrollers (MCUs), we are happy to announce two B Like their 8-bit counterparts, these boards also feature a wide new, low-cost rapid prototyping boards for developing 32-bit range of peripherals, an integrated programmer debugger and applications. The PIC32MX and PIC32MZ Curiosity boards a variety of user interface and expansion options including have been carefully designed with the right feature set, afford- two mikroBUS™ click interface headers to support over 180 able price and expansion options to provide a good balance MikroElectronika click boards™. Both boards are designed to be between ease of use and rapid application development to help connected and used right out of the box; you can download and you get your designs to market quickly. run example projects in just minutes without writing any code. The PIC32MZ EF Development Board (DM320104) features The boards are fully integrated into MPLAB® X IDE as well as a 200 MHz PIC32 MCU with an integrated MRF24WN0MA ® the award-winning MPLAB Harmony software development Wi-Fi module and is ideal for designing Internet of Things framework. MPLAB Harmony is a flexible, modular, abstracted (IoT) and connectivity applications. The PIC32MX470 Devel- and fully integrated firmware development platform for PIC32 opment Board (DM320103) features a 120 MHz MCU and is ® MCUs. It provides you with access to a wide variety of peripher- an excellent choice for developing for audio, Bluetooth and al libraries, RTOS capabilities, middleware, drivers and system other related generic applications. In addition, both boards services. In addition, it features over 200 pre-tested application project codes that can be used to jump start your development. You can use the same board and ecosystem to prototype an application that is ready to go to market.
To get started with your prototyping, the Curiosity PIC32MX470 Development Board and the Curiosity PIC32MZ EF Develop- ment Board can be purchased from microchipDIRECT or from Microchip’s worldwide distribution network.
Want More Information?
The boards are fully integrated into MPLAB® X IDE as Visit the website at: well as the award-winning MPLAB Harmony software www.microchip.com/curiosity development framework.
15 Three NEW TOOLS Easy Steps Simplify Your 16-bit PIC® Microcontroller Designs
New Ecosystem Includes the PIC24F Curiosity Development Board, MPLAB® Xpress IDE and MPLAB Code Configurator
re you new to 16-bit PIC microcontrollers (MCUs) or Curiosity Board can help turn your Internet of Things (IoT) starting a new embedded design? Step into the world of design idea into a reality. unlimited possibilities through an easy-to-start ecosys- A Key Features: tem that includes the PIC24F Curiosity Development Board, MPLAB Xpress cloud-based IDE and MPLAB Code Configu- • PIC24FJ128GA204 eXtreme Low Power (XLP) MCU with an rator (MCC) to simplify your designs. This trio of tools can jump integrated cryptographic engine start your design process, making the flow from initial concept • Integrated programmer/debugger with USB interface through to the prototyping phase easy and hassle free. • Analog potentiometer, user LEDs, RGB LED and switches • Full compatibility with MPLAB Xpress IDE, MPLAB X IDE, A New Curiosity MPLAB XC16 Compiler and MPLAB Code Configurator Development Board • Functionality expansion support with mikroBUS interface for click boards Harness the power of modern • Wireless connectivity with BM71 Bluetooth Low Energy 16-bit PIC24F MCUs and (BTLE) module footprint unleash your creativity with the PIC24F Curiosity Development Board, a new addition to our Take Your Design to the Cloud existing family of Curiosity Offering a quick and intuitive way to get development boards for 8-, 16- and 32-bit PIC MCUs. The started with 16-bit PIC24F and PIC24E PIC24F Curiosity Development Board is a cost-effective, fully MCUs and dsPIC33E DSCs, MPLAB integrated 16-bit microcontroller development tool perfectly Xpress IDE for 16-bit PIC MCUs can help suited for first-time users, makers and those seeking a rapid simplify your designs. This free, online prototyping board. Designed from the ground up to take full development environment contains the advantage of our new MPLAB Xpress cloud-based IDE, the most popular features of our award-win- board includes an integrated programmer/debugger and ning MPLAB X IDE. Because it is cloud-based, there’s no need requires no additional hardware, making it a perfect starting to download the IDE and no special PC configuration require- point to explore 16-bit PIC24F MCUs. The PIC24F Curiosity ments, so you can immediately jump into developing your Board provides an ideal platform to prototype your applications project. There’s also no need to worry about storage space, with its unparalleled access to the Core Independent Peripherals and you can access your projects from any Internet-connected available on PIC24F MCUs. With its mikroBUS™ interface for computer, anywhere in the world, to collaborate effectively with adding a vast assortment of MikroElektronika click boards™ your team around the globe. and its support for Bluetooth® wireless connectivity, the PIC24F (continued on page 17) 16 Generate Your Code NEW TOOLS With your development board and IDE in place, all you need is an easy way to do your programming. As the final Get Started Now component for your design Getting started has never been so easier. Launch MPLAB toolset, MPLAB Code Config- Xpress IDE, plug in your PIC24F Curiosity Development Board urator enables you to go from and start developing your application right away with the help of concept to prototyping your design in just minutes. This free MCC. Microchip offers a series of tutorials, user code and appli- graphical programming environment supports 16-bit PIC24 and cation notes to help you with your designs. These helpful design dsPIC33 devices and generates easy-to-understand C code tips can be found on the PIC24F Curiosity Development Board that can be inserted into your project. Offering an easy-to-use web page and on the MPLAB Code Configurator web page. interface, it enables you to graphically configure a rich set of peripherals, software libraries and high-level functions specific Want More Information? to your application with just a few mouse clicks. You’ll spend less time reading the product datasheet and almost immediately Visit the website at: begin developing your application. www.microchip.com/PIC24FCuriosity
17 Going Long New Tools First Sigfox FCC-Certified Long-Range RF Transceiver and Connectivity Development Kits Now Available
Out-of-the-Box Solution Offers Easy Connectivity for Devices Running on Sigfox’s Dedicated IoT Network
urrently operating in 24 countries, Sigfox is the world’s allows developers to easily connect to Sigfox’s long-range, leading provider of global solutions for the Internet of Things two-way global IoT network, resulting in a low-cost, low-power C(IoT). It is on its way to establishing one global, seamless device-to-cloud connectivity solution. This is ideal for IoT appli- network that provides simple, ubiquitous, energy-efficient con- cations in the US, ranging from logistics, to agriculture, to smart nectivity for billions of devices that periodically will send small cities and to other Machine-to-Machine (M2M) sectors. The quantities of data over long distances. ATA8520E is also the first fully Sigfox-certified chip suitable for both North America and Europe. Microchip and Sigfox have recently teamed together to launch the industry’s first FCC-certified, fully integrated RF transceiv- er and kits for developing IoT solutions for use on the Sigfox The ATA8520X family network. These solutions will help to drive down IoT device costs, operational costs and power consumption, ultimately features a high- resulting in substantially longer battery life compared to tradi- tional cellular, Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi® connectivity. performance, low-power Powered by Microchip’s highly integrated ATA8520E—a low-power RF transceiver with an integrated AVR® microcon- SubGHz SoC transceiver. troller—the new kits contain the first FCC-certified board that
The ATA8520x family features the industry’s highest-performance, ATA8520x “Sigfox Compliant” lowest-power sub-GHz Systems-on-Chip (SoC) transceiver designed to maximize range and battery life for power-sensitive wireless systems. Offering frequency coverage for 868 MHz in
ID / PAC y Europe and 902 MHz in North America, the ATA8520x transceiv- MCU SPI Secure Key ers offer industry-leading RF performance resulting in extended Security Securit SIGFOX Protocol Layered wireless range and compliance with the industry’s most stringent DBPSK Modulation narrowband regulatory standards. The ATA8520x transceivers Sensors Transceiver provide exceptional power efficiency resulting in fewer battery replacements and/or reduced battery size. The ATA8520E is the first full Sigfox-certified chip suitable for both North America and Europe.
(continued on page 19)
18 You can either purchase the Sigfox-certified ATA8520E as a standalone kit, designed primarily to test the technology, or New Tools as a kit combined with an Xplained Pro board, a solution for system-design purposes. Both are dedicated for Sigfox’s IoT network in the license-free ISM bands. The solutions come The rapidly growing IoT market offers an almost endless complete with the Sigfox library, modulation, ID and PAC code, diversity of applications. These new FCC-certified Sigfox solu- and a security key enabling IoT developers to quickly get their tions enable the implementation an unlimited number of pos- designs to market. sibilities for billions of IoT connections. They provide any IoT application with the secure, long-range wireless connectivity There are four types of development kits available today. The required to get these ‘smart’ things connected at a fraction of ATA8520-EK1-F standalone evaluation kit and the ATA8520- the cost and power consumption of a cellular connection. EK3-F extension board for the Xplained Pro operate in the North American 902 MHZ ISM band. The ATA8520-EK4-E standalone For additional information and to purchase the kits, contact evaluation kit and the ATA8520-EK6-E extension board for your nearest Microchip sales office. Kits are also available on the Xplained Pro operate in the European 868 MHz ISM band. the Sigfox Partner Network. The Xplained Pro development board is not included in either extension kit and has to be purchased individually.
19 Pressed New Tools for Time? Speed Up Your Production Schedule with Our Easy-to-Use Clock and Timing Configuration Tools
Customize Our Oscillators and Clock Generators to Suit Your Specification Application
f your design has complex timing requirements, our extensive for all your designs. You can also use Clockworks Configurator portfolio of Clock and Timing products gives you the right to request samples of your selected device, which are sent to Icombination of solutions, configuration tools and technical you in less than two weeks. An automated email system sends support to improve performance, reduce costs and shorten out notifications to keep you and members of Microchip’s team your design cycle. When time is of the essence, the following up to date with the status of your request. tools make it easy to customize and program our devices. If you need assistance getting started or have any questions about using ClockWorks Configurator, click on the “Assistant” Made to Order link to read the user guide or use the “I Need Help” link to send a Customizing our oscillators and message to our support team. You can also watch the ClockWorks clock generators to suit your Configurator tutorial video to learn more about its features. specific application is easy with our ClockWorks Configu- rator. This online tool not only allows you to create your own designs and configu- rations, it lets you request datasheets, part numbers and samples for those designs, without the > Configure & Order Samples need to contact Microchip’s sales team for assistance. This tool speeds up your ClockWorks Configurator Tutorial Video production schedule by allowing you to optimize your system performance with custom: • Frequency range • Footprint Any Frequency, Anywhere • Frequency stability • Temperature range Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to quickly customize your MEMS • Output format • Drive strength oscillators to any frequency, anywhere? Our TimeFlash Field Programming Kit, which supports all of our MEMS oscillator Clockworks Configurator features an easy-to-use graphical package sizes, makes this possible. It identifies a device and user interface that guides you through the selection process and can either program it as required or measure its frequency. then instantly creates dynamic datasheets and block diagrams (continued on page 21) 20 The basic kit consists of a portable TimeFlash programmer, USB cable, tweezers and USB flash drive for installing the soft- New Tools ware. You can order an appropriate adapter card with the socket size that matches your selected device, or you can purchase extended kits that offer either two adapter cards (3.2 × 2.5 mm Interactive Product and 2.5 × 2.0 mm sockets), or all six cards (7.0 × 5.0 mm, 5.0 × 3.2 mm, 3.2 × 2.5 mm, 2.5 × 2.0 mm, 2.0 × 1.6 mm and Selection Guide 1.6 × 1.2 mm sockets). The kits and adapter cards are avail- To help you find a clock or timing solution that best matches able from microchipDIRECT or from Microchip’s worldwide your needs, our Product Selection Guide provides a quick look distribution network. at our product offerings based on their key features and bene- fits. This guide is a great discovery tool in which a product line Our demo video provides step-by-step instructions on how to can be viewed by clicking on the box of interest and can then be program a MEMS oscillator. drilled down to learn individual product details.
Microchip is your one-stop shop for total timing solutions. Please visit our Clock and Timing Design Center to learn more and to find the right device for your design requirements.
Want More Information?
Visit the website at: www.microchip.com/timing
TimeFlash MEMS Oscillators Field Programming Kit Demo Video
21 Design Corner
Touch Interfaces for Rain or Shine
New ATtiny Series of Microcontrollers Features Superior Water Tolerance for Touch Interfaces
ot only is the recent launch of a new series of 8-bit To meet these user expectations, the PTC generates guard tinyAVR® microcontrollers (MCUs)—the first tinyAVR signals (driven shield) to make the short circuits caused by NMCUs to feature Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs)—a moisture invisible to the MCU. The new tinyAVR series of MCUs huge milestone in Microchip’s history, it is also a groundbreaking delivers this hardware-based, water-tolerant touch capabil- advance for developers of touch applications. This is because ity without any intervention from the MCU core. As with the the ATtiny817/816/814 series of devices features a small and PIC16(L)F156x, PIC16(L)F188xx and PIC18(L)FxxK40 series cost-effective CIP called the Peripheral Touch Controller of 8-bit MCUs, this type of implementation allows the driving (PTC), which enables complete high-performance capacitive of multiple moisture guards at the same time, making it possi- touch from data acquisition to oversampling and threshold ble to design water-tolerant keypads or even 2D touchpads for comparison. This hardware-based approach frees up valuable outdoor use. MCU resources to perform other system tasks while delivering In addition to moisture tolerance, another key feature of the PTC state-of-the art touch performance, advanced noise handling that is available in the new tinyAVR series—in conjunction with and low-power operation. the PTC modular touch library—is its ability to meet the strictest A key feature that Microchip has embedded into the PTC is EMC standards and the latest requirements of home appliance support for water-tolerant touch. As touch interfaces are being and automotive applications. It offers an IEC/EN 61000-4-6 con- offered in a growing number of products and applications, user ducted immunity rating of 15 Vrms. It also features ~6 µA power expectations are evolving as well. They want their touch inter- consumption for low-power wake-on-touch operation. For the faces to work well in a range of conditions without needing to first time ever, designers have the smallest (3 × 3 mm 20-pin clean their hands or wipe them dry every time they use their QFN) and most cost-efficient AVR® devices at hand to ease their devices. Users also do not want to be hindered from interacting development of innovative and professional touch interfaces. with their devices when wearing gloves or by a wet surface. That’s not all though. The higher performance that these new However, since water can short circuit capacitive touch, touch devices feature is bundled with even easier MCU configura- interfaces have frequently not been suitable for applications tion, further supported by Microchip’s software ecosystem. The that are exposed to moisture, such as condensation, rain, spray, ATtiny817/816/814 are the first in a line of 8-bit products to be sweat or spills. supported by Atmel START, an online tool that allows designers
(continued on page 23)
22 to configure software components. Since it is a web-based tool, Atmel START will always offer you access to the latest Design Corner state-of-the-art touch libraries. The modular QTouch® Library of firmware allows you to select only the features you need to integrate touch-sensing capability into your design, resulting your requirements for adding a water-tolerant touch interface in a significantly reduced memory footprint. The integrated to your next design. We can help you take advantage of the QTouch Composer development platform—a complete set of PTC module offered in the new tinyAVR series of MCUs, or, if ® tools for developing and tuning capacitive buttons, sliders and you prefer to use PIC MCUs, we offer devices with a Capaci- wheels—offers a wizard-based design flow to intuitively guide tive Voltage Divider (CVD) or an advanced ADC with Computing ® you through the process. (ADC2), supported by MPLAB X Integrated Development Envi- ronment and MPLAB Code Configurator. Visit our Touch and Although devices in this new series of tinyAVR MCUs offer Input Sensing Design Center or contact your local Microchip significant updates in hardware and software tools, they contin- sales office to learn more about our wide range of solutions. ue to feature self- and mutual-capacitive sensing and support for a wide range of power supplies, from 1.8V to 5.5V. Want More Information? Offering decades of experience in touch technology and Visit the website at: having helped millions of proven solutions to be successfully www.microchip.com/touch deployed in many different markets, Microchip can support
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23 Design Corner
A Fresh Start
Web-Based Atmel START Includes Support for AVR® Microcontrollers
asic support for some 8-bit AVR® microcontrollers (MCUs) peripherals. The code generator also includes middleware, but is now available in the recent update to Atmel START, this is primarily focused on SAM MCUs at this point. a free and web-based software configuration and distri- B Atmel START is evolving quickly and new content is constantly bution tool. Its major functionality includes pin configuration, being added. Some tutorial videos are currently available as the ability to view the configuration of clocks and prescalers well, with more planned in the future. and a graphical configurator for the Event System, available in the newly released ATtiny817/816/814/417 devices. The project dashboard allows the adding and configuration of all peripherals. Since these new tinyAVR® devices also feature a Peripheral Touch Controller (PTC), the QTouch® device config- urator view will simplify the process of adding touch buttons to your projects.
A Brief Introduction Figure 1: Atmel START home page Supporting your development with AVR and SAM MCUs, Atmel START can be launched directly from your browser. From the main page, you can choose to create a new project or to Functionality for browse through the example projects to help jump start your AVR Microcontrollers design. These code examples are similar to what you would find In the left column of the Create New Project page, you will see in application notes and reference designs and will work out of a filter function that allows you to narrow your selection by the the box or can be easily modified to suit your requirements. If hardware features, middleware options or available drivers. If you choose the “Create New Project” option, you will be taken you select a driver, it will filter the MCU device list to only display to the code generation area. Using the graphical user interface, the devices supporting this driver. The peripheral configurations you can configure the various features and peripherals available for the AVR devices have been added to the drivers section, so in your selected MCU and export this to your favorite C compil- if you choose a USART driver, only devices with a USART will er. If you would like, you can import the code into Atmel Studio. remain on the list. Since the AVR device support is in beta right From Atmel Studio, you can even reconfigure your Atmel START now, all peripherals have not yet been added. If you select a project on the fly, whenever you need to configure additional (continued on page 25) 24 peripheral that has not yet been added to all devices, some AVR devices may not appear in the results list. Design Corner
The recommended way to use the Atmel START code generator to configure peripherals and generate initialization code is to In addition to the Dashboard, there are also other screens type the device name in the “Filter on text” (search) field. Using available. These can be selected using the options listed on the “817” as a short form for “ATtiny817-MFR” will return a list of left hand side of the page. The PINMUX (pin configuration) devices and any development boards that support this device. screen allows you to configure GPIO as outputs (set high or low) If you select a board, such as the ATtiny817 Xplained Mini, or inputs (pullup enabled or not). You can also see your project additional functionality, such as pin labels, will be available once pinouts graphically and add custom user labels (see Figure 4). you start configuring the device. The custom user label names are used by the Atmel START code generator when generating the code API. The Clock Con- figurator gives a quick reference to current clock settings of an example project and provides an easy way to change prescal- ers. The Event System Configurator provides drag and drop functionality to connect event generators and event users to configure the Event System.
Figure 2: Create New Project page in Atmel START
Once your product is selected, you are one step closer to configuring the device’s peripherals. The default Atmel START project will include a number of MCU core features that you Figure 4: PINMUX and Clock Configurator views may want to configure. For example, clock control (CLKCRL) allows you to select what clock source is used for the system Most engineers use the datasheet for their selected AVR device clock and what prescalers to use. You can also configure the as their primary programming reference. With this in mind, the Brownout Detector (BOD), the Sleep Controller (SLPCTRL) and datasheets have been very tightly integrated with the peripheral the CPU Interrupt Controller (CPUINT), as shown in Figure 3. configuration in Atmel START. Next to each configuration field there is a small question mark. If you hover over this question mark, a description and register details are displayed. However, the real magic happens when you click on this question mark. An online version of the datasheet is opened and the descrip- tion for the specific register related to the configuration field is displayed. Context-aware help is available throughout Atmel START. This also applies to Atmel Studio, where context-aware documentation is displayed when pressing the F1 key.
Figure 3: Dashboard in Atmel START
In the Dashboard view, three switches on the far right allow you to show or hide various elements to configure peripherals and other software modules. While everything is shown in the screen capture presented in Figure 3, by default most items are hidden. If you select “Add software component”, a window will open that allows you to add peripherals. In this example, the USART_0 has been added. Clicking on a peripheral, such as USART_0, will Figure 5: RTC configuration displayed on left, with linked HTML show a configuration section that enables you to configure that datasheet content on right peripheral. We will return to this topic later in this article. (continued on page 26) 25 AVR MCU users will also appreciate the readability of the generated initialization functions, which have the appearance of Design Corner code that was hand-written by an experienced developer. All registers for the peripheral are displayed, while readable BITFIELD enumerators are assigned. A series of these and you can select to see a diff, so you can determine exactly BITFIELDS are OR’ed to clearly show all options for the register how your configuration changes have affected the code. configuration. Comments are also generated for the individual Atmel START provides a strong foundation for developing code lines of code to ensure that the configuration can be even more for AVR MCUs, whether you are building an application or quickly understood (see code in Figure 6). evaluating the AVR device. In a matter of minutes, you have a basic code framework that you can continue to build to quickly develop an application.
Design Flow Atmel START is used to select and configure the AVR MCU’s core and peripherals. It can generate a code project that includes the initialization code for the configured device and peripherals, giving you a starting point for writing your code.
Figure 6: RTC configuration code using the View-code Feature, This code can then be imported directly into Atmel Studio or then viewing the same code in Atmel Studio 7 IAR Embedded Workbench.
Additional AVR devices and peripheral configurations will The generated initialization code is also efficient, as it uses continue to be incorporated into Atmel START going forward. register-level code for peripheral configuration at a level very In addition to peripheral configuration, Atmel START will also close to the hardware. However, to make the code highly read- offer peripheral drivers and middleware for AVR devices and the able and instructive, all peripheral registers are explicitly written ability to configure these software components. to when initializing a peripheral, even if writing the default value to the register. This inevitably results in code that is slightly To help you get started with using Atmel START with the new larger, but this is a deliberate compromise and an acceptable ATtiny817/816/814/417 devices, go to the “Browse Examples” trade off. If you need to optimize your code to the extreme, it area and search for “Gett” (as in “Getting started”). Select is fairly easy to identify which lines can potentially be removed. “Getting STARTed AVR Events” and open the User Guide. From there you will be able to access helpful documentation and Once imported into Atmel Studio, your Atmel START project training videos. can be reconfigured by right clicking on the project name in the Solution explorer and selecting “Reconfigure Atmel START project” (see Figure 7). Here Atmel START will open in a browser right inside Atmel Studio.
Figure 7: Reconfigure the Atmel START project directly from Figure 8: Using the “Browse Examples” area to get started with Atmel Studio new ATtiny817/816/814/417 devices
As you generate the project again, the updates are loaded right Try out Atmel START with the ATtiny817 and see how this tool into your project. Any files that you may have modified are listed can speed your development time with AVR MCUs.
26 Design Corner
What’s the Difference? +
VIN+ + VIN+
OUT OUT + + V V – – VIN–+ VIN+
A Look at Windowed Versus Non-Windowed Comparators VOUT VOUT – –
VIN– VREF ost designers are quite familiar with the function of As the name implies,+ a comparator is used to compare the
a comparator integrated circuit. After all, the word voltagesVIN+ applied to the two input pins. If the non-inverting input VREF
OUT +
+ V “compare” is right there in the name. However, there voltage is higher– than the inverting input, as shown in FigureV 3,IN +
M VIN–+ is a lesser-known, specialty-type of comparator known as the output is high. If the non-inverting input voltage is lower than OUT + V
VOUT – – VIN+ the windowed comparator. This article will take a look at theVIN –inverting input, then the output is low (assuming an activeV –
VOUT windowed comparators and how they differ from standard, high output device), as indicated in Figure 4. – non-windowed comparators. VIN– VREF VREF
5.0V +
VREF VREF
Let’s start with a standard comparator. Similar to an operational OUT + V = HI –
amplifier, a standard comparator has an inverting anda 2.5V5.0V +
VOUT = HI – non-inverting input and one output. + –
+
+ Figure2.5V 3: Non-inverting input voltage higher than inverting input LTH
VIN+ VIN+ +
1.0V – Output
VOUT VOUT REF OUT – – LTH V V
OUT + V = LOW Latch – VIN– + 2.5V1.0V Output HTH VREF VOUT
VOUT = LOW Latch
REF – V +
Figure 1: Standard comparator 2.5V – + HTH
VIN+
VIN+ –
While an operational amplifierVOUT is designed to be used with Figure 4: Non-inverting+ input voltage lower than inverting input – +
+ + VIN+ negativeVIN– feedback, a comparator is specifically designed to
VIN+ VIN+ VOUT VIN+ –
work open loop, optimized for speed and maximum slew rate. +
VOUT IN Due to the way in whichVOUT comparators are often used, it is – – – V – Although an op amp can be used as a comparator, the current
VIN– common to find comparators with an integrated voltage refer- consumption versus the output speed is not very good, hence –
VREF VREF ref Output
ence. For standard comparators with integrated V s, this ref- REF OUT + V V the need for standard comparators. REF Latch
erence voltageV can either be committed, meaning internally tied 5.0V + + Output
VOUT = HI to the inverting input pin of the comparator, or uncommitted, VREF VOUT –
VIN+ + Latch
+
2.5V –
VOUT meaning+ the reference voltage is available on a hardware pin.
– IN V + –
VIN– An uncommitted Vref is more flexible, as it allows the system
LTH VOUT – designer– to adjust the reference voltage or use it elsewhere in
1.0V + VIN– the system. Output
VREF VOUT
Figure 2: Op amp VOUT = LOW Latch –
+ VREF VREF (continued on page 28) 2.5V + HTH
5.0V 27
VOUT = HI – –
2.5V +
VIN+
–
LTH +
+ 1.0V – Output
VREF VOUT
VOUT = LOW Latch –
2.5V HTH + Output
VREF VOUT
Latch
–
+
VIN+ –
+ –
Output
VREF VOUT
Latch
+ – +
VIN+ + VIN+
VOUT VOUT – – VIN–
VREF
VIN+ +
VOUT +
– VIN+
VIN– +
+ VOUT
VIN+ VIN+ –
IN Design Corner + + V –
VOUT VOUT – VIN+ – VIN+
VIN–
VOUT VOUT VREF VREF – – + Although windowed comparators are typically monolithic VIN– 5.0VVREF
integrated circuits, they function like two comparators with a
+ VOUT = HI –
VREF +
VIN+ Figure 5: Comparator2.5V with committed Vref common reference. The two inputs to a windowed comparator
+
VOUT +
– are the low and high voltage thresholds, which are set via exter-
VIN+ VIN+ – +
VIN– + nal resistors,LTH as shown below. For an active high output com-
VOUT + OUT + – V VIN+ VIN+ –
VIN+ parator, the output will be high if Vin is between the low and high
VIN– VOUT VIN– 1.0V VOUT Output –
– VOUT VREF VOUT
– VOUT = LOW threshold, and low if Vin is outside ofLatch this range. Windowed
VIN– –
IN +
V – 2.5VVREF VREF comparators are commonly used in battery monitoring and + HTH
VREF charging, level sensors, automated test equipment and
5.0V VREF VREF –
+
+ VOUT = HI industrial alarms. – 5.0VVIN+ +
2.5V ref
VOUT = HI Figure 6: Comparator+ with uncommitted V VIN+ –
– +
+ VIN+ –
V2.5VIN–
LTH VOUT – +
– 1.0V WhileVIN– standard comparators areOutput great for comparing an input –
LTH VREF VOUT
+ VOUT = LOW voltage to a given reference, windowLatch comparators are used to – 1.0V + VREF OutputVREF
2.5V determine if a givenV inputREF is within a predefinedVOUT range. A simple Output
+ VOUT = LOW HTH Latch VREF VOUT
– Latch
5.0V block diagram of+ a windowed comparator is shown in Figure 7. +
2.5V –
VOUT = HI HTH – +
2.5V –
VIN+ –
–
LTH +
VIN+ +
+ 1.0V – Output
VREF VOUT
VOUT = LOW Latch – Figure 8: Using external resistors to set voltage thresholds
– 2.5V + Output
HTH VREF VOUT
Latch
– + Output VREF VOUT So the next time your design requires the ability to closely monitor
Latch
+ a voltage or current and ensure that it is within a predefined
VIN+ –
Figure 7: Windowed+ comparator range, consider using a windowed comparator such as the
– MIC841, which is designed specifically for this very task. –
Output
VREF VOUT
Latch
+ –
28 Design Corner
Designing for Change
Hackaday Prize Finalists ‘Make’ an Impact on Our World
very idea can have an impact, but a collective force of Not unlike 2014 and 2015, a vast majority of entries were ideas can create real social change. That’s why, for the brought to life using technology from Microchip—including four third straight year, Hackaday called upon the Maker com- of the grand prize winners. In total, this year’s contest saw 350- E ® ® munity to tap into the powers of low-cost hardware and build plus projects with AVR or PIC microcontrollers at their core. something that matters. The 2016 Hackaday Prize competi- Here’s a quick rundown of some noteworthy submissions that tion—which was proudly sponsored by Microchip, Digi-Key and not only caught our attention, but the attention of the esteemed SupplyFrame—garnered more than 1,000 entries over the course panel of Hackaday Prize judges. five consecutive challenges with varying themes, all focused on bettering our world through open-source technologies. Dtto –1st Place Twenty submissions were selected from each of the five The brainchild of Alberto Molina Perez, Dtto is a 3D-printed, rounds: Design Your Concept, Anything Goes, Citizen Scien- self-reconfigurable robot that can adopt any shape by changing tist, Automation and Assistive Technologies. Of these 100 final- the position and connection of its modules. ists, designers of the top five projects walked away with the following prizes: $5,000 for 5th place, $10,000 for 4th and 3rd place, $25,000 for 2nd place and $150,000 and a residency at the SupplyFrame Design Lab for the 1st place winner to further develop their invention.
Dtto Explorer Modular Robot
Congratulations to the winners of the 2016 Hackaday Prize (continued on page 30
29 Designed with search and rescue missions in mind, Dtto employs bio-inspired locomotion modes to navigate its way Design Corner through unexplored or unpredictable terrain. This enables it to move like a snake through small pipelines, evolve into a wheel robot for more speed, morph into a centipede robot when verti- The setup is comprised of an ATmega2560 (Arduino Mega), cal space is limited and even form into a bridge to cross a gap. an Arduino shield, and a few MOSFETS, while the dome is an off-the-shelf component. Dtto is equipped with a pair of strong servos for the hinges and three smaller ones for the coupling mechanism. Alignment magnets help the robots to index against each other before a A New High Accuracy Tilt latch locks them in place. This clever mechanism doubles as an Sensor – 4th Place ejector, so connections can be undone against the force of the alignment magnets as well. Traditionally, tilt sensors based on Linear Variable Differential Transformers (LVDTs) are built like a small tube with an iron core Each module itself consists of two boxes, rounded on one side, that can slide from one end to the other as the tube is tilted. linked together by a bar. One half houses all of the electron- Aron Molnar’s reimagined sensor turns the tube into a hollow ics, including an ATmega328 (Arduino® Nano), a Bluetooth® ring, and replaces the iron core with ferrofluid. Liquids always chip and an NRF24L01+ transceiver, while the other half leaves find their level, and different tilts will induce different voltages in space for additional features, such as a camera, microphone the primary coil. and speakers, multiple sensors, actuators and more batteries.
Affordable Reflectance Transformation Imaging Dome – 2nd Place Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) is a computational photography method that collects a series of images using a camera in a fixed position and light sources from different angles. When these images are combined, they create a 3D map of the observed object’s textures, surface features and material properties.
Although custom-made systems are available, these can cost tens of thousands of dollars. And while the technique can be A New High Accuracy Tilt Sensor handled manually, it’s both tedious and time-consuming. That’s why Leszek Pawlowicz set out to construct one of his own for Aron originally created a Linear Ferrofluid Core Differential roughly $600, minus the camera, making it the perfect tool for Transformer (FCDT), but it was only capable of measuring a citizen scientists, schools and museums looking to capture the range of up to 40 degrees. His next ingenious solution is a Toroid best image possible without digging deep into their wallets. FCDT which can measure 360 degrees of tilt to an accuracy of one ten-thousandth (0.0001) of a degree.
In order to demonstrate how it all works, Molnar crafted a presentational box that visualizes the tilt for his Linear FCDT using an IC for signal conditioning, a power supply that provides +/-15V and an ATmega328 (Arduino Uno) to drive the LCD and read the analog output of the signal conditioner.
Mechaduino – 5th Place Affordable Reflectance Transformation Imaging Dome RC servo motors are used in a wide variety of robotic and automation applications. However, they are often limited in their (continued on page 31
30 ability to produce accurate motion, unlike more robust industrial servos that are capable of highly precise and advanced motion Design Corner control. Unfortunately, that accuracy and precision comes at a cost, often over $1,000, keeping them out of reach for the average Maker—until now. mounted inside a wooden case, and an ATmega328 handles the LEDs and IR input. Joe Church and the Tropical Labs team have come up with an affordable solution, opening the door to sophisticated mecha- FlyPi: This low-cost, 3D-printed microscope is meant for tronics projects. Meet Mechaduino, an open source industrial scientific experiments and diagnostics. A modular design allows servo motor based on the SAM D21 microcontroller. for flexible control of a range of peripherals including options for optogenetic and thermogenetic stimulation and fluorescence microscopy. Andre Maia Chagas’ system is based on a Rasp- berry Pi® with a camera that does most of the heavy lifting, in addition to an ATmega328 (Arduino Nano) that takes care of the timing, light stimulation, heating, temperature sensing and any other physical interaction.
Although they may not have placed in the top 10, a couple of other entries stood out as prime examples of how PIC MCUs make a great choice for your next DIY project.
Universal Glucometer: Over time, glucose test strips can become rather expensive, and each type only works for its specific meter. This leads to many diabetic patients not mon- itoring themselves as much as they should. With this in mind, Mechaduino Tom Meehan developed a PIC16F1786-based blood glucose measuring system that would no longer require proprietary Mechaduino adds a high-accuracy magnetic encoder to any disposable strips from a single manufacturer, but instead be of several commonly available stepper motors, providing more compatible with any strip from any meter. functionality like positional awareness, velocity and torque P.A.L.: Like something out of a sci-fi film, P.A.L. is an artificial control and user interaction. The self-contained motion control intelligent robot that’s able to learn from its environment, track platform lets users develop their own custom servo mecha- objects, judge distances and even perform simple tasks. The nisms, making it a perfect drop-in servo motor for 3D printers brainchild of Hackaday.io user “ThunderSqueak,” this self-pro- and CNC machines. gramming bot uses “instincts,” which are small routines such as moving an arm five degrees or going forward, to overcome Honorable Mentions obstacles depending on the situation. P.A.L. has a chassis with treads for locomotion and a head resembling Johnny Five that Not only can Microchip be found at the heart of these four can display emotions with its eyebrows. Last but not least, the winners, several Hackaday Prize finalists also chose to embed robot has a speech output and an audio recognition system their innovations with AVR MCUs. These included: based on the PIC16F1459 microcontroller. Classroom Music Teaching Aid: To make learning the The 2016 Hackaday Prize may have drawn to a close, but the harmonica more fun and engaging, Hackaday user “Shlonkin” idea of utilizing your free time and ingenuity to make the world devised a large representation that offers audio and visual cues a better place never ends. This annual competition—which has along with instant feedback about a student’s performance. become synonymous with creating for social change—proves When a student plays an incorrect note, they’ll see what note that anyone, from hobbyist to engineer, can make a lasting they played in relation to the actual one. This would then let impact in people’s lives. A final congratulations to all those them know in which direction and how far they need to move involved, and a thank you to the majority of Makers who select- the instrument to produce the desired note. The device is ed Microchip to power their designs. We can’t wait to see what’s equipped with a Teensy 3.2 and an audio adapter breakout in store for next year! driving a small audio amp. The Teensy controls a bunch of LEDs Photos used with permission from Hackaday
31 Get in Touch with Microchip Your One-Stop-Shop for Touch Solutions
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