Low-Power MCU Line Undergoes Expansion October 2006 Issue Published Date: October 12, 2006
The picoPower family of microcontrollers, noted for frugal power consumption, has added three AVR devices. They feature power-saving technology that provides multi-year battery life in lighting control, security, keyless entry, ZigBee, and other applications that spend a good amount of time in sleep mode. The picoPower technology reduces sleep-mode power consumption to as little as 650 nA, even with the 32 kHz clock running. The ATmega164P, ATmega324P, and ATmega644P 44-pin general purpose MCUs are pin and feature compatible, differing only in the size of flash, EEPROM, and SRAM. The ATmega164P provides 16 KB of self- programmable flash memory, while the ATmega324P and ATmega644P include 32 KB and 64 KB, respectively. Each device features a 10-bit a/d converter, two USARTs, SPI, 2-wire interface, and operates from a 1.8V to 5.5V supply with up to 20 MIPS of throughput. Power consumption is as little as 340 µA in active mode, 650 nA in power-save mode, and 100 nA in power down. Prices for the ATmega164P and ATmega324P are $2.23 and $2.78 each/10,000, respectively. The ATmega644P will be available for sampling in the first quarter of 2007 with production slated for the second quarter, priced at $3.72 each/10,000. ATMEL CORP., San Jose, CA. (408) 441-0311.
