JAN/FEB 2017

A MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INC. PUBLICATION

7 Ready for
More?
15
New Kids on
the Block
24 A Fresh
Start
 JAN/FEB 2017
A MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INC. PUBLICATION

COVER STORY NEW TOOLS

contents
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? 22 Touch Interfaces for Rain or Shine
New Generation of 8-bit AVR® MCUs Now Offers
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

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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JAN/FEB 2017
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A MICROCHIP T ECHNOLOGY INC. P UBLICATION

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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

M
any metering, automotive, industrial
and other applications need the
ability 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.

(continued on page 5)

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
the SRAM array when the system voltage goes back above
Development Support
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

writes to the SRAM array. solution with unlimited endurance for your application, you can
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
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
A
vailable with a number of Microchip’s PIC® and now some
AVR® microcontrollers (MCUs), our popular, on-chip
Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) enable systems to
accomplish a variety of functions in hardware while freeing up
the CPU to do other tasks or go to sleep. They offer a variety of
benefits including reduced power consumption, deterministic
response time and decreased firmware development and val-
idation time. Now, building upon the legacy of the successful
PIC18F “K20” family of 8-bit MCUs, we have introduced the
PIC18F “K40” as the first PIC18 product family to offer CIPs.
This new series of MCUs includes a full complement of CIPs
for safety-critical applications (CRC/Memory Scan, Windowed
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
including Zero Cross Detect (ZCD), on-chip comparator and
This new series of MCUs includes a full complement of CIPs for
safety-critical applications.
NEW PRODUCTS
the Analog-to-Digital Converter with Computation (ADC2). The
ADC2 is an intelligent ADC which, independently of the core,
can control data acquisition and the signal analysis functions
of averaging, filtering, oversampling and automatic threshold
comparison that are required in sensor interface applications,
such as capacitive touch sensing.
Consisting of 10 new devices ranging from 16-128 KB of Flash
memory, these cost-optimized 8-bit MCUs also feature 5V
operation, EEPROM and extensive peripheral integration. They
are well suited for a broad range of applications and market
segments including touch sensing, industrial control, consumer,
automotive and Internet of Things (IoT).
Development Support
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?
Visit the website at:
www.microchip.com/K40
6
Ready for
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
N
ow that two renowned brands of 8-bit microcontrollers—
PIC® and AVR MCUs—have been combined into one
product portfolio, Microchip is committed to providing
you with more products and tools to help you innovate and get
your products to market faster. We are re-energizing our new
product development efforts to not only continue to support,
but to grow, the well-loved AVR MCU portfolio.
Building on the successful integration of Core Independent
Peripherals (CIPs) into a number of 8-bit PIC MCUs over the
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,
ATtiny816, ATtiny814 and ATtiny417.
These new devices provide all the right features to help drive
product innovation including small, low pin count and
The new generation of tinyAVR® MCUs includes four new devices:
the ATtiny817, ATtiny816, ATtiny814 and ATtiny417.
NEW PRODUCTS
feature-rich packaging in 4 KB or 8 KB of Flash memory. Other
integrated features include a CIP called the Peripheral Touch
Controller (PTC) supporting water-tolerant touch, Event System
for peripheral cooperation, custom programmable logic blocks,
self-programming for firmware upgrades, nonvolatile data
storage, 20 MHz internal oscillator, high-speed serial communi-
cation with USART, operating voltages ranging from 1.8V to
5.5V, 10-bit ADC with internal voltage references and sleep cur-
rents at less than 100 nA in power-down mode with
SRAM retention.
These devices provide all
the right features to help
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
that allows you to configure software components and tailor
(continued on page 8)
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
new tinyAVR devices, the ATtiny817 Xplained Mini Evaluation
Kit (ATTINY817-XMINI) is also available. It includes an on-board
mini embedded debugger and has a footprint that is compatible
with Arduino® shields. The kit can be used for standalone devel-
opment and is fully supported by the Atmel START and Atmel
Studio 7 software development tools.
These devices are in production now and available in QFN
and SOIC packaging. If you are ready to leverage the CIPs
and other advanced features available in this new generation
of 8-bit tinyAVR MCUs to power your next design, contact
your local Microchip sales representative or authorized
worldwide distributor.

GET LAUNCHED!
Do you have a new idea, breakthrough technology or are
you working on an innovative prototype? Microchip can
help you get your idea launched before you run out of time
or money or both.
• Support: financial and operational resources
you may need
• Mentoring: design and manufacturing expertise
• Network: introduction to people and companies that
can help you
• Product portfolio: IoT, hardware, software and
design tools

We’re Here to Help You Innovate

Microchip and our partners are here to help you get your project up and running. We are a
valuable resource to help you bring your product to market.

Design Contract Funding Production

Utilize market-leading Manufacturers Potential funding Leverage expertise
embedded hardware Connect with turnkey for your design and to design for
and software manufacturing manufacturing manufacturing
design partners partners

We help you take your product from concept to prototype to production successfully. For more
information, email GetLaunched@microchip.com.

8
A Higher Grade
PIC32MZ “EF” Microcontroller Portfolio Expanded
to Include Extended Temperature Series
First PIC32 MCUs to Meet AEC-Q100 Grade 1
(−40° to 125°C) Specification
E
ver since its launch, the PIC32MZ “EF” series of 32-bit
microcontrollers (MCUs) has experienced a high rate of
adoption for a wide range of applications. In an exciting
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
automotive-grade PIC32 MCU to be offered by Microchip.
The PIC32MZ “EF” family features high core performance up to
250 MHz, an integrated Floating-Point Unit (FPU), a wide selec-
tion of peripherals and excellent connectivity options including
Controller Area Network (CAN). The extended temperature
portfolio is ideal for several critical automotive and industrial
applications that require reliable performance and robustness
at higher temperatures. In addition, the industrial tempera-
ture portfolio (−40° to 85°C) has been selectively expanded to
offer a higher-speed variant (250 MHz/795 CoreMark®). The
The PIC32MZ “EF” series now includes an extended temperature
portfolio that is ideal for critical automotive applications.
NEW PRODUCTS
high-speed variant is ideal for applications like high-resolution
audio that require slightly higher core performance to provide
faster audio processing and streaming.
Development Support
As with all PIC32 MCUs, the PIC32MZ “EF” family is supported
by a comprehensive set of development resources such as
MPLAB X IDE, MPLAB Harmony integrated software frame-
work, MPLAB XC32 Compiler, MPLAB ICD 3 In-Circuit
Debugger (DV164035) and MPLAB REAL ICE™ In-Circuit
Emulator (DV244005).
Additional tools that can be used for development with the
PIC32MZ “EF” family include the turnkey PIC32MZ Embed-
ded Connectivity with Floating Point Unit (EF) Starter
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-
chase these devices, visit microchipDIRECT. They can also be
ordered from Microchip’s worldwide distribution network.
9
Networking Plus
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
U These devices meet the
nique human-machine interfaces (HMIs) designed
for the next generation of automobiles can provide
drivers, as well as passengers, with a sense of luxury,
quality and functionality and enhance brand differentiation.
As a leader in both automotive touch and Local Interconnect
Network (LIN) solutions, Microchip offers a range of innovative,
cost-effective solutions to help you meet your design challenges
and add touch control to in-vehicle HMIs.
The industry’s first automotive-grade LIN System-in-Package
(SiP) solution to include a microcontroller with integrated touch
hardware support, the new ATSAMHA1GxxA family, contains
capacitive touch hardware support via its integrated Peripheral
Touch Controller (PTC), an Event System and complex PWM
capability. This series of 32-bit MCUs is ideal for adding touch
buttons, touchpads, sliders, wheel or proximity sensing—
including optical and haptic feedback—to automotive as well
as industrial applications.
Development of new LIN designs is accelerated by the
ATSAMHA1G16X Xplained Pro Development Kit.
NEW PRODUCTS
high quality standards of
the automotive industry.
In addition to its MCU, the ATSAMHA1GxxA series contains a
LIN transceiver and a voltage regulator. These devices are avail-
able with 16 KB, 32 KB or 64 KB Flash memory, up to 8 KB SRAM
and 2 KB read-while-write data Flash. They are designed to
meet the high quality standards of the automotive industry,
including being qualified in compliance with AEC-Q100. The
family features easy-to-create touch buttons with high sensitiv-
ity and outstanding noise immunity, supported by our QTouch®
software function library. The high electromagnetic compati-
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.
The ATSAMHA1GxxA comes in a 7 × 7 mm QFN package with
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

A
n increased consumer demand for convenience
features—such as hands-free entry, hands-free locking
or even personalized welcome lighting—is driving signif-
icant growth in the automotive passive entry market. However,
car theft based on relay attacks of vehicles equipped with
Passive Entry/Passive Start (PEPS) systems is one of the top
security concerns automakers face. As these types of systems
high-sensitivity Low Frequency (LF) receivers, digital processing
unit, 128-bit crypto engine, LF vector calculation unit and an
ultra-low power AVR® microcontroller. The ATA5702 is also
enhanced with a built-in RF transmitter fractional-N Phase-
Locked Loop (PLL) to ensure a robust Ultra-High Frequency
(UHF) link that is highly immune to jammers and disturbers.

The LF vector calculation

are becoming increasingly more prevalent, preventing car theft
is critical. Solutions that provide enhanced security are vital to

unit allows you to

protecting vehicles from unauthorized access.

Primarily intended for use in battery-powered applications,

such as smart keys (i.e. PEPS) and complementary car access
via mobile devices, smartphones and wearables where power
implement effective relay
consumption is a key consideration, our new ATA5700 and
ATA5702 are currently the lowest-power PEPS solutions avail-
attack countermeasures.
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-
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
is industry leading, tripling the battery lifetime in the highest
sensitivity mode.
Development Support
To get started with implementing a complete car access and
security system based on the ATA5700 or ATA5702, you can
NEW PRODUCTS
use the related Car Access Reference System (CARS) Kit
(ATAK51004-V2), which is available now, along with Atmel
Studio 7 for developing software for the on-board 8-bit
AVR microcontroller.
The ATA5700 and ATA5702 are in production and come in a
5 × 7 mm QFN package with wettable flanks. To order these
devices or for more information, contact any Microchip sales
representative or authorized worldwide distributor.
12
Very Smart
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
S
martHubs are USB hubs that integrate system-level
functions that are typically associated with a separate
microcontroller (MCU) or processor. This unique Microchip
technology, available in several generations of our USB hubs,
enables I/O bridging and FlexConnect port swapping and
switching to deliver expanded functionality. By eliminating
the need for additional bridging ICs and high-speed switches,
SmartHub technology significantly reduces BOM cost while
providing a more robust data interface solution.
New technologies like the USB Type-C connector and power
delivery are currently changing the USB landscape. If you are
developing products that use this revolutionary, new USB con-
nector, our USB58xx and USB59xx next-generation families of
SmartHubs are the first seven-port USB 3.1 Gen1 hub ICs avail-
able in the market today, offering you simpler designs and cost
The USB58xx and USB59xx families are ideal for applications such
as monitors, docking stations, digital televisions, set-top boxes
and computing peripherals.
NEW PRODUCTS
savings over previous solutions. They provide multiple direct
interfaces to USB Type-C connectors for enabling 5 Gbps USB
data rates in a single integrated circuit.
The USB58xx and USB59xx families are ideal for applications
such as monitors, docking stations, digital televisions, set-top
boxes and computing peripherals. These applications benefit
from the expanded number of external USB 3.1 Gen1 ports
available for data connections within a single, monolithic
device. Choosing a hub IC that supports seven ports will help
you avoid the power and cost ramifications of tiering two four-
port devices to provide sufficient downstream ports for your
end customer applications. Using a single chip will also
provide you with a simpler design, cost savings and reduced
component footprint.
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,
which allows embedded applications to only use the inter-
face needed for their internal USB connection. Each device
(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
Delivery application. In addition, the USB58xx and USB59xx
families are supported by Microchip’s USBCheck™ Design
Review, a free engineering service for reviewing schematics
and layout designs.
The choice of which device to use is based on the application
requirements for USB Type-C interfaces. The USB59xx family
supports direct upstream interface of USB Type-C, while the
USB58xx provides support for legacy, non-USB Type-C inter-
faces. Both families support legacy battery charging including
BC1.2, Apple® devices and many non-standard devices that are
currently available.
Development Support
Several evaluation boards are available to help you get started
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-
nector upstream and includes six Type-A USB 2.0/USB 3.1
Gen1 downstream ports. The USB5807 USB 3.1 Gen1 7-Port
SmartHub Evaluation Board (EVB-USB5807) comes with a
NEW PRODUCTS
legacy B connector upstream, seven Type-A USB 2.0/USB 3.1
Gen1 downstream ports and no HFC support. The USB5926
USB 3.1 Gen1 6-Port with USB Type-C SmartHub Evalua-
tion Board (EVB-USB5926) has a USB Type-C USB connector
upstream, two USB Type-C USB2.0/USB 3.1 Gen1 downstream
ports, two Type-A USB 2.0/USB 3.1 Gen1 and two Type-A
USB 2.0 only downstream ports.
There are four devices available in the USB58xx family, each
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
grades. Devices can be purchased from microchipDIRECT or
from Microchip’s worldwide distribution network.
Want More Information?
Visit the website at:
www.microchip.com/USB58xx-USB59xx
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

B
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
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
Easy Steps
Simplify Your 16-bit PIC® Microcontroller Designs
New Ecosystem Includes the PIC24F Curiosity
Development Board, MPLAB® Xpress IDE and
MPLAB Code Configurator
A
re you new to 16-bit PIC microcontrollers (MCUs) or
starting a new embedded design? Step into the world of
unlimited possibilities through an easy-to-start ecosys-
tem that includes the PIC24F Curiosity Development Board,
MPLAB Xpress cloud-based IDE and MPLAB Code Configu-
rator (MCC) to simplify your designs. This trio of tools can jump
start your design process, making the flow from initial concept
through to the prototyping phase easy and hassle free.
A New Curiosity
Development Board
Harness the power of modern
16-bit PIC24F MCUs and
unleash your creativity with the
PIC24F Curiosity Development
Board, a new addition to our
existing family of Curiosity
development boards for 8-, 16- and 32-bit PIC MCUs. The
PIC24F Curiosity Development Board is a cost-effective, fully
integrated 16-bit microcontroller development tool perfectly
suited for first-time users, makers and those seeking a rapid
prototyping board. Designed from the ground up to take full
advantage of our new MPLAB Xpress cloud-based IDE, the
board includes an integrated programmer/debugger and
requires no additional hardware, making it a perfect starting
point to explore 16-bit PIC24F MCUs. The PIC24F Curiosity
Board provides an ideal platform to prototype your applications
with its unparalleled access to the Core Independent Peripherals
available on PIC24F MCUs. With its mikroBUS™ interface for
adding a vast assortment of MikroElektronika click boards™
and its support for Bluetooth® wireless connectivity, the PIC24F
NEW TOOLS
Curiosity Board can help turn your Internet of Things (IoT)
design idea into a reality.
Key Features:
• PIC24FJ128GA204 eXtreme Low Power (XLP) MCU with an
integrated cryptographic engine
• Integrated programmer/debugger with USB interface
• Analog potentiometer, user LEDs, RGB LED and switches
• Full compatibility with MPLAB Xpress IDE, MPLAB X IDE,
MPLAB XC16 Compiler and MPLAB Code Configurator
• Functionality expansion support with mikroBUS interface for
click boards
• Wireless connectivity with BM71 Bluetooth Low Energy
(BTLE) module footprint
Take Your Design to the Cloud
Offering a quick and intuitive way to get
started with 16-bit PIC24F and PIC24E
MCUs and dsPIC33E DSCs, MPLAB
Xpress IDE for 16-bit PIC MCUs can help
simplify your designs. This free, online
development environment contains the
most popular features of our award-win-
ning MPLAB X IDE. Because it is cloud-based, there’s no need
to download the IDE and no special PC configuration require-
ments, so you can immediately jump into developing your
project. There’s also no need to worry about storage space,
and you can access your projects from any Internet-connected
computer, anywhere in the world, to collaborate effectively with
your team around the globe.
(continued on page 17)
16
Generate Your Code
With your development board
and IDE in place, all you need
is an easy way to do your
programming. As the final
component for your design
toolset, MPLAB Code Config-
urator enables you to go from
concept to prototyping your design in just minutes. This free
graphical programming environment supports 16-bit PIC24 and
dsPIC33 devices and generates easy-to-understand C code
that can be inserted into your project. Offering an easy-to-use
interface, it enables you to graphically configure a rich set of
peripherals, software libraries and high-level functions specific
to your application with just a few mouse clicks. You’ll spend
less time reading the product datasheet and almost immediately
begin developing your application.
NEW TOOLS
Get Started Now
Getting started has never been so easier. Launch MPLAB
Xpress IDE, plug in your PIC24F Curiosity Development Board
and start developing your application right away with the help of
MCC. Microchip offers a series of tutorials, user code and appli-
cation notes to help you with your designs. These helpful design
tips can be found on the PIC24F Curiosity Development Board
web page and on the MPLAB Code Configurator web page.
Want More Information?
Visit the website at:
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

C
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
(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
network. These solutions will help to drive down IoT device
The ATA8520X family
costs, operational costs and power consumption, ultimately
resulting in substantially longer battery life compared to tradi-
features a high-
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
Europe and 902 MHz in North America, the ATA8520x transceiv-
Layered
Security

MCU SPI Secure Key

ers offer industry-leading RF performance resulting in extended
SIGFOX Protocol
wireless range and compliance with the industry’s most stringent
DBPSK Modulation
Sensors narrowband regulatory standards. The ATA8520x transceivers
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
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
complete with the Sigfox library, modulation, ID and PAC code,
and a security key enabling IoT developers to quickly get their
designs to market.
There are four types of development kits available today. The
ATA8520-EK1-F standalone evaluation kit and the ATA8520-
EK3-F extension board for the Xplained Pro operate in the North
American 902 MHZ ISM band. The ATA8520-EK4-E standalone
evaluation kit and the ATA8520-EK6-E extension board for
the Xplained Pro operate in the European 868 MHz ISM band.
The Xplained Pro development board is not included in either
extension kit and has to be purchased individually.
New Tools
The rapidly growing IoT market offers an almost endless
diversity of applications. These new FCC-certified Sigfox solu-
tions enable the implementation an unlimited number of pos-
sibilities for billions of IoT connections. They provide any IoT
application with the secure, long-range wireless connectivity
required to get these ‘smart’ things connected at a fraction of
the cost and power consumption of a cellular connection.
For additional information and to purchase the kits, contact
your nearest Microchip sales office. Kits are also available on
the Sigfox Partner Network.
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

I
f your design has complex timing requirements, our extensive
portfolio of Clock and Timing products gives you the right
combination of solutions, configuration tools and technical
support to improve performance, reduce costs and shorten
your design cycle. When time is of the essence, the following
tools make it easy to customize and program our devices.
for all your designs. You can also use Clockworks Configurator
to request samples of your selected device, which are sent to
you in less than two weeks. An automated email system sends
out notifications to keep you and members of Microchip’s team
up to date with the status of your request.
If you need assistance getting started or have any questions

Made to Order
about using ClockWorks Configurator, click on the “Assistant”
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

Any Frequency, Anywhere

performance with custom:
• Frequency range • Footprint
• 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
and 2.5 × 2.0 mm sockets), or all six cards (7.0 × 5.0 mm,
Interactive Product
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

Touch Interfaces for
Rain or Shine
New ATtiny Series of Microcontrollers Features Superior Water Tolerance
for Touch Interfaces
N
ot only is the recent launch of a new series of 8-bit
tinyAVR® microcontrollers (MCUs)—the first tinyAVR
MCUs to feature Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs)—a
huge milestone in Microchip’s history, it is also a groundbreaking
advance for developers of touch applications. This is because
the ATtiny817/816/814 series of devices features a small and
cost-effective CIP called the Peripheral Touch Controller
(PTC), which enables complete high-performance capacitive
touch from data acquisition to oversampling and threshold
comparison. This hardware-based approach frees up valuable
MCU resources to perform other system tasks while delivering
state-of-the art touch performance, advanced noise handling
and low-power operation.
A key feature that Microchip has embedded into the PTC is
support for water-tolerant touch. As touch interfaces are being
offered in a growing number of products and applications, user
expectations are evolving as well. They want their touch inter-
faces to work well in a range of conditions without needing to
clean their hands or wipe them dry every time they use their
devices. Users also do not want to be hindered from interacting
with their devices when wearing gloves or by a wet surface.
However, since water can short circuit capacitive touch, touch
interfaces have frequently not been suitable for applications
that are exposed to moisture, such as condensation, rain, spray,
sweat or spills.
Design Corner
To meet these user expectations, the PTC generates guard
signals (driven shield) to make the short circuits caused by
moisture invisible to the MCU. The new tinyAVR series of MCUs
delivers this hardware-based, water-tolerant touch capabil-
ity without any intervention from the MCU core. As with the
PIC16(L)F156x, PIC16(L)F188xx and PIC18(L)FxxK40 series
of 8-bit MCUs, this type of implementation allows the driving
of multiple moisture guards at the same time, making it possi-
ble to design water-tolerant keypads or even 2D touchpads for
outdoor use.
In addition to moisture tolerance, another key feature of the PTC
that is available in the new tinyAVR series—in conjunction with
the PTC modular touch library—is its ability to meet the strictest
EMC standards and the latest requirements of home appliance
and automotive applications. It offers an IEC/EN 61000-4-6 con-
ducted immunity rating of 15 Vrms. It also features ~6 µA power
consumption for low-power wake-on-touch operation. For the
first time ever, designers have the smallest (3 × 3 mm 20-pin
QFN) and most cost-efficient AVR® devices at hand to ease their
development of innovative and professional touch interfaces.
That’s not all though. The higher performance that these new
devices feature is bundled with even easier MCU configura-
tion, further supported by Microchip’s software ecosystem. The
ATtiny817/816/814 are the first in a line of 8-bit products to be
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
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
in a significantly reduced memory footprint. The integrated
QTouch Composer development platform—a complete set of
tools for developing and tuning capacitive buttons, sliders and
wheels—offers a wizard-based design flow to intuitively guide
you through the process.
Although devices in this new series of tinyAVR MCUs offer
significant updates in hardware and software tools, they contin-
ue to feature self- and mutual-capacitive sensing and support
for a wide range of power supplies, from 1.8V to 5.5V.
Offering decades of experience in touch technology and
having helped millions of proven solutions to be successfully
deployed in many different markets, Microchip can support
BUY DIRECT FROM THE MANUFACTURER
Design Corner
your requirements for adding a water-tolerant touch interface
to your next design. We can help you take advantage of the
PTC module offered in the new tinyAVR series of MCUs, or, if
you prefer to use PIC® MCUs, we offer devices with a Capaci-
tive Voltage Divider (CVD) or an advanced ADC with Computing
(ADC2), supported by MPLAB® X Integrated Development Envi-
ronment and MPLAB Code Configurator. Visit our Touch and
Input Sensing Design Center or contact your local Microchip
sales office to learn more about our wide range of solutions.
Want More Information?
Visit the website at:
www.microchip.com/touch
Factory Direct Pricing & Stock
Expanded Level of Services
Volume Price Quotes
SHOP NOW
23
 Design Corner

A Fresh Start

Web-Based Atmel START Includes Support for AVR® Microcontrollers

B
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-
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

Functionality for
START can be launched directly from your browser. From
the main page, you can choose to create a new project or to
browse through the example projects to help jump start your
design. These code examples are similar to what you would find
AVR Microcontrollers
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.
The recommended way to use the Atmel START code generator
to configure peripherals and generate initialization code is to
type the device name in the “Filter on text” (search) field. Using
“817” as a short form for “ATtiny817-MFR” will return a list of
devices and any development boards that support this device.
If you select a board, such as the ATtiny817 Xplained Mini,
additional functionality, such as pin labels, will be available once
you start configuring the device.
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
may want to configure. For example, clock control (CLKCRL)
allows you to select what clock source is used for the system
clock and what prescalers to use. You can also configure the
Brownout Detector (BOD), the Sleep Controller (SLPCTRL) and
the CPU Interrupt Controller (CPUINT), as shown in Figure 3.
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
show a configuration section that enables you to configure that
peripheral. We will return to this topic later in this article.
Design Corner
In addition to the Dashboard, there are also other screens
available. These can be selected using the options listed on the
left hand side of the page. The PINMUX (pin configuration)
screen allows you to configure GPIO as outputs (set high or low)
or inputs (pullup enabled or not). You can also see your project
pinouts graphically and add custom user labels (see Figure 4).
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 4: PINMUX and Clock Configurator views
Most engineers use the datasheet for their selected AVR device
as their primary programming reference. With this in mind, the
datasheets have been very tightly integrated with the peripheral
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 5: RTC configuration displayed on left, with linked HTML
datasheet content on right
(continued on page 26)
25
AVR MCU users will also appreciate the readability of the
generated initialization functions, which have the appearance of
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
BITFIELDS are OR’ed to clearly show all options for the register
configuration. Comments are also generated for the individual
lines of code to ensure that the configuration can be even more
quickly understood (see code in Figure 6).
Figure 6: RTC configuration code using the View-code Feature,
then viewing the same code in Atmel Studio 7
The generated initialization code is also efficient, as it uses
register-level code for peripheral configuration at a level very
close to the hardware. However, to make the code highly read-
able and instructive, all peripheral registers are explicitly written
to when initializing a peripheral, even if writing the default value
to the register. This inevitably results in code that is slightly
larger, but this is a deliberate compromise and an acceptable
trade off. If you need to optimize your code to the extreme, it
is fairly easy to identify which lines can potentially be removed.
Once imported into Atmel Studio, your Atmel START project
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
Atmel Studio
As you generate the project again, the updates are loaded right
into your project. Any files that you may have modified are listed
Design Corner
and you can select to see a diff, so you can determine exactly
how your configuration changes have affected the code.
Atmel START provides a strong foundation for developing code
for AVR MCUs, whether you are building an application or
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.
This code can then be imported directly into Atmel Studio or
IAR Embedded Workbench.
Additional AVR devices and peripheral configurations will
continue to be incorporated into Atmel START going forward.
In addition to peripheral configuration, Atmel START will also
offer peripheral drivers and middleware for AVR devices and the
ability to configure these software components.
To help you get started with using Atmel START with the new
ATtiny817/816/814/417 devices, go to the “Browse Examples”
area and search for “Gett” (as in “Getting started”). Select
“Getting STARTed AVR Events” and open the User Guide. From
there you will be able to access helpful documentation and
training videos.
Figure 8: Using the “Browse Examples” area to get started with
new ATtiny817/816/814/417 devices
Try out Atmel START with the ATtiny817 and see how this tool
can speed your development time with AVR MCUs.
26
 Design Corner

What’s the Difference?

VIN+ VIN+
+
VOUT
A Look at Windowed Versus Non-WindowedVININComparators
+ VIN+
+
–
–
VOUT

M
VIN–
–
ost designers are quite familiar with the function of As the name implies, a comparator is used to compare the
VIN+
+
a comparator integrated circuit. After all, the word voltages applied to the two input pins. If the non-inverting input
“compare” is right there in the name. However, there
VOUT
voltage is higher than the inverting input, as shown in FigureV3,IN+
IN+
+
V –
–
IN
is a lesser-known, specialty-type of comparator known as the output is high. If the non-inverting input voltage is lower than
VOUT
the windowed comparator. This article will take a look at the inverting input, then the output is low (assuming an active +
VIN–
VIN–
–
windowed comparators and how they differ from standard, high output device), as indicated in Figure 4.
non-windowed comparators. VIN–
5.0V
+
Let’s start with a standard comparator. Similar to an operational VOUT = HI
amplifier, a standard comparator has an inverting and a 5.0V
2.5V
+
–
non-inverting input and one output. VOUT = HI
2.5V 3: Non-inverting input voltage higher than inverting input LTH
–
Figure
VIN+ VIN+
+ +
1.0V
+
VOUT VOUT LTH
VOUT = LOW
VIN–
– –
1.0V
+
2.5V
–
VOUT = LOW HTH
VREF
Figure 1: Standard comparator 2.5V
–
HTH
VIN+
+
While an operational amplifierVOUT
is designed to be used with Figure 4: Non-inverting input voltage lower than inverting V IN+
input
feedback, a comparator is specifically designed VtoIN+
+
negative
VIN–
–
V IN+ VIN+ VOUT VIN+
+ +
work open loop, optimized for speed and maximum slew rate.
VOUT VIN– Due to the way in which
– VOUT comparators are often used, it is
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
ence. For Vstandard
REF VREF
comparators with integrated Vrefs, this ref-
the need for standard comparators. VREF can either be committed, meaning internally tied
5.0V
+ erence voltage
VOUT = HI to the inverting input pin of the comparator, or uncommitted,
VIN+
+
2.5V meaning the reference voltage is available on a hardware pin.
– +
VOUT
VIN+ An uncommitted Vref is more flexible, as it allows the system
+
VIN–
–
LTH designer to adjust theVreference
–
OUT voltage or use it elsewhere in
VIN–
–
1.0V 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 –
 VIN+
+
VOUT
VIN+
+
VIN–
–
VOUT
VIN+ Design Corner
+
VIN–
–
VOUT
VIN+
+
–
VOUT VREF VREF
– Although windowed comparators are typically monolithic
VREF
5.0V
+
integrated circuits, they function like two comparators with a
VOUT = HI
VREF common reference. The two inputs to a windowed comparator
Figure 5: Comparator
2.5Vwith committed Vref
– +
are the low and high voltage thresholds, which are set via exter-
VIN+
+
nal resistors,
LTH as shown below. For an active high output com-
–
VIN+
+ VOUT
VIN
IN+
+ parator, the output will be high if Vin is between
Output the low and high
1.0V
+
V – VOUT
–
VOUT V
threshold, and low if Vin is outside ofLatch
REF VOUT
this range. Windowed
– VOUT = LOW
VIN–
–
VREF
2.5V VREF
– comparators are commonly used in battery monitoring and
HTH
+
VREF charging, level sensors, automated test equipment and
VREF VREF
industrial alarms. –
+
Figure 6: Comparator with uncommitted Vref VIN+
VIN+
+
+ +
LTH
–
VOUT
While
V IN– standard comparators are
– great for comparing an input
Output
LTH
–
VREF VOUT
–
voltage to a given reference, window
Latch comparators are used to
V
determine if a givenVinput Output
V
REF is within a predefined range. A simple Output
REF REF
HTH
+ VOUT VREF VOUT
Latch Latch
block diagram of a windowed comparator is shown in Figure 7.
HTH
+ +
–
+
VIN+ – –

VIN+ LTH
–
+
+ Output
– VREF VOUT
Latch Figure 8: Using external resistors to set voltage thresholds

HTH
–
+ Output
VREF VOUT
Latch
Output So the next time your design requires the ability to closely monitor
–
+ VREF VOUT
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

E
very idea can have an impact, but a collective force of
ideas can create real social change. That’s why, for the
third straight year, Hackaday called upon the Maker com-
munity to tap into the powers of low-cost hardware and build
something that matters. The 2016 Hackaday Prize competi-
tion—which was proudly sponsored by Microchip, Digi-Key and
SupplyFrame—garnered more than 1,000 entries over the course
five consecutive challenges with varying themes, all focused on
Not unlike 2014 and 2015, a vast majority of entries were
brought to life using technology from Microchip—including four
of the grand prize winners. In total, this year’s contest saw 350-
plus projects with AVR® or PIC® microcontrollers at their core.
Here’s a quick rundown of some noteworthy submissions that
not only caught our attention, but the attention of the esteemed
panel of Hackaday Prize judges.

Dtto –1st Place

bettering our world through open-source technologies.

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
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-
cal space is limited and even form into a bridge to cross a gap.
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
latch locks them in place. This clever mechanism doubles as an
ejector, so connections can be undone against the force of the
alignment magnets as well.
Each module itself consists of two boxes, rounded on one side,
linked together by a bar. One half houses all of the electron-
ics, including an ATmega328 (Arduino® Nano), a Bluetooth®
chip and an NRF24L01+ transceiver, while the other half leaves
space for additional features, such as a camera, microphone
and speakers, multiple sensors, actuators and more batteries.
Design Corner
The setup is comprised of an ATmega2560 (Arduino Mega),
an Arduino shield, and a few MOSFETS, while the dome is an
off-the-shelf component.
A New High Accuracy Tilt
Sensor – 4th Place
Traditionally, tilt sensors based on Linear Variable Differential
Transformers (LVDTs) are built like a small tube with an iron core
that can slide from one end to the other as the tube is tilted.
Aron Molnar’s reimagined sensor turns the tube into a hollow
ring, and replaces the iron core with ferrofluid. Liquids always
find their level, and different tilts will induce different voltages in
the primary coil.

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
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.
Joe Church and the Tropical Labs team have come up with an
affordable solution, opening the door to sophisticated mecha-
tronics projects. Meet Mechaduino, an open source industrial
servo motor based on the SAM D21 microcontroller.
Mechaduino
Mechaduino adds a high-accuracy magnetic encoder to any
of several commonly available stepper motors, providing more
functionality like positional awareness, velocity and torque
control and user interaction. The self-contained motion control
platform lets users develop their own custom servo mecha-
nisms, making it a perfect drop-in servo motor for 3D printers
and CNC machines.
Honorable Mentions
Not only can Microchip be found at the heart of these four
winners, several Hackaday Prize finalists also chose to embed
their innovations with AVR MCUs. These included:
Classroom Music Teaching Aid: To make learning the
harmonica more fun and engaging, Hackaday user “Shlonkin”
devised a large representation that offers audio and visual cues
along with instant feedback about a student’s performance.
When a student plays an incorrect note, they’ll see what note
they played in relation to the actual one. This would then let
them know in which direction and how far they need to move
the instrument to produce the desired note. The device is
equipped with a Teensy 3.2 and an audio adapter breakout
driving a small audio amp. The Teensy controls a bunch of LEDs
Design Corner
mounted inside a wooden case, and an ATmega328 handles the
LEDs and IR input.
FlyPi: This low-cost, 3D-printed microscope is meant for
scientific experiments and diagnostics. A modular design allows
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,
Tom Meehan developed a PIC16F1786-based blood glucose
measuring system that would no longer require proprietary
disposable strips from a single manufacturer, but instead be
compatible with any strip from any meter.
P.A.L.: Like something out of a sci-fi film, P.A.L. is an artificial
intelligent robot that’s able to learn from its environment, track
objects, judge distances and even perform simple tasks. The
brainchild of Hackaday.io user “ThunderSqueak,” this self-pro-
gramming bot uses “instincts,” which are small routines such
as moving an arm five degrees or going forward, to overcome
obstacles depending on the situation. P.A.L. has a chassis with
treads for locomotion and a head resembling Johnny Five that
can display emotions with its eyebrows. Last but not least, the
robot has a speech output and an audio recognition system
based on the PIC16F1459 microcontroller.
The 2016 Hackaday Prize may have drawn to a close, but the
idea of utilizing your free time and ingenuity to make the world
a better place never ends. This annual competition—which has
become synonymous with creating for social change—proves
that anyone, from hobbyist to engineer, can make a lasting
impact in people’s lives. A final congratulations to all those
involved, and a thank you to the majority of Makers who select-
ed Microchip to power their designs. We can’t wait to see what’s
in store for next year!
Photos used with permission from Hackaday
31
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