Date: 21/09/2010

New 8-bit PIC microcontroller family from Microchip for energy-monitoring apps.

Microchip has released the 8-bit PIC18F87J72 microcontroller (MCU) family for single-phase, multi-function smart-metering and energy-monitoring applications. These PIC MCUs feature a dual-channel, high-performance 16-/24-bit Analog Front End (AFE) and ensures International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) class 0.5 performance. The family includes 64 or 128 KB Flash program memory and 4 KB RAM. These MCUs features a high level of peripheral integration such as a LCD driver, hardware Real-Time Clock/Calendar (RTCC) and a Charge-Time Measurement Unit (CTMU) that enables a capacitive-touch user interface.

"The PIC18F87J72 MCU family addresses market demands for an integrated smart energy metering and power-monitoring MCU," said Mitchel Obolsky, vice president of Microchip's Advanced Microcontroller Architecture Division. "These new MCUs expand Microchip's existing energy-metering and power-monitoring portfolio. Customers now have the option of selecting the PIC18F87J72 MCU with AFE for small size, or a separate Microchip MCP390X AFE with a standard PIC MCU for maximum flexibility."

The PIC18F87J72 Single-Phase Energy-Meter Reference Design can be obtained through Microchip sales representatives for evaluation. This design features a shunt-based single-phase meter with energy-calculation firmware and GUI-assisted software calibration, the reference design that enables calculation of active/reactive energy, forward/reverse energy, active/reactive/apparent power and RMS current/Voltage. The PIC18F87J72-based Energy Monitoring PICtail Daughter Board can be plugged into Microchip's Explorer 16 Development Board for development of energy-measurement and -monitoring devices.


Package: 80-pin 12 mm x 12 mm x 1 mm TQFP.

Price: Starts at each US$3.93 for 10K pieces

Availability: The PICtail board is expected to be available in November 2010.