Flash MCU Family Expands Membership By Two

Representing the latest additions to the PIC16F87x family of flash microcontrollers, the PIC16F870 and PIC16F871 offer 4K x 14 and 8K x 14 of flash program memory, respectively. Both 8-bit MCUs are drop-in compatible with current devices in the family and both feature brownout detection, up to 5-MIPS performance at 20 MHz, USART communications capability for peripheral expansion, two eight-bit timers, one 16-bit timer, and an operating voltage range of 2V to 5.5V. The PIC16F870 has a five-channel, 10-bit (±1 LSB) A/D converter. The PIC16F871 features an eight-channel, 10-bit (±1 LSB) A/D converter with a parallel slave port. Flash endurance for both devices is up to1000 erase/write cycles for program memory and EEPROM memory will endure up to 100,000 erase/write cycles. Supporting the new devices are an in-circuit debugger, MPLAB-ICD, and a universal in-circuit emulator, MPLAB-ICE. Pricing for the PIC16F870 in a 28-pin SDIP with an industrial temperature range is $3.34 each/1000 or $3.67 each/1000 in a 40-pin SDIP. The MPLAB-ICD is priced at $159 and prices start at $1995 for the MPLAB-ICE.