Microchip Technology Inc., a provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, has announced a new family of low-cost 8-bit Flash PIC microcontrollers. The 28- and 40-pin PIC16F72X MCUs are capable of operation down to 1.8V and feature a 16 MHz internal oscillator; up to 14 Analog-to-Digital Converter channels; communication SPI, I2C, AUSART and two Capture, Compare and PWM modules; plus the mTouch Sensing Solution peripheral. The highly integrated devices are well-suited for a wide range of general-purpose applications in the appliance, industrial, consumer electronic and many other markets.

The PIC16F72X MCUs have an operating voltage range of 1.8 - 5.5V, with the low-power PIC16LF72X devices offering lower standby and other power-consumption specifications from 1.8 - 3.6V. Both variations feature a Timer1 Gate that runs from the internal 16 MHz oscillator, providing ease in conditional event counting and measurements. With up to 14 ADC channels, two CCP modules and communication peripherals, the MCUs increase design flexibility with the ability to interface with external devices such as environmental sensors, as well as provide additional system control and monitoring. The mTouch Sensing Solution peripheral makes it easy to add proximity sensing or capacitive touch-sensing user interfaces in place of mechanical buttons or switches, if designers so choose. Additionally, the mTouch peripheral can operate while the device is in "sleep mode," bringing further power savings to the user.