New tinyAVR® MCUs Increase System Throughput While Lowering Power Consumption in Embedded Applications

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP), a leading provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions, has further expanded its AVR^® microcontroller (MCU) portfolio by adding three new devices to the tinyAVR^® MCU family.  The new ATtiny1617 series of MCUs expand the range of AVR devices that feature Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs), which help increase system throughput while lowering overall power consumption.  The new devices extend the memory offering for these next generation tinyAVR MCUs with new 16 KB Flash options, while remaining pin and code compatible with the recently released ATtiny817 series devices.  Furthermore, all members of the family are supported by Atmel START, an online tool for intuitive graphical configuration of embedded software projects. 

The new MCUs offer 16 KB Flash, 256 B EEPROM, and 2 KB RAM in 14-, 20-, and 24-pin packages. The devices contain key features of other tinyAVR MCUs including the Event System Controller, which allows peripherals to communicate without using the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and enables designers to customize the configuration of the MCU for their specific application.  The on-chip Peripheral Touch Controller (PTC) simplifies the development of capacitive touch systems.  Other integrated features include: a 20 MHz internal oscillator, high-speed serial communication with USART, SPI, and I²C, configurable custom logic blocks, a 10-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) with internal voltage references, operating voltages ranging from 1.8 V to 5.5 V, and picoPower^® technology for sleep currents as low as 100 nA.

 “There is more growth and innovation in the AVR MCU portfolio now than at any point in the past decade,” said Steve Drehobl, vice president of Microchip’s 8-bit MCU division. “Microchip is committed to continue the AVR MCU family of products.”