Embedded World 2017 - New tinyAVR MCUs increase system throughput

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Microchip has expanded its AVR microcontroller (MCU) portfolio with the addition of three new devices to the tinyAVR MCU family.

The ATtiny1617 series of MCUs expands the range of AVR devices that feature Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs), which help to increase system throughput while lowering overall power consumption.

The devices extend the memory offering for these next-generation MCUs with new 16 KB Flash options, while remaining pin- and code-compatible with the recently released ATtiny817 series. In addition all members of the family are supported by Atmel START, an online tool for intuitive graphical configuration of embedded software projects.

The 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 such as the Event System Controller, which allows peripherals to communicate without using the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and enables designers to customise the configuration of the MCU for their specific application. The on-chip Peripheral Touch Controller (PTC) has been designed to simplify 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 Analogue-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.

The new devices are fully supported by the Atmel Studio 7 Integrated Development Environment (IDE), the STK600 platform and Atmel START, a free online tool to configure peripherals and software for easy development.

The three new tinyAVR MCUs are available for sampling and in volume production.