eXtreme Low Power Solutions for Wearable Applications

eXtreme Low Power Solutions for Wearable Applications
Overview
Small Form Factor
Extremely small, wearable devices are quickly becoming
popular, either as stand-alone accessories or as companions
for use with a smartphone. New wearable technology is
being developed for many applications including medical
diagnostics, fitness monitoring and personal entertainment.
Every millimeter counts in wearable device design, forcing
you to view the system from a different perspective than
that of typical embedded applications. Our PIC MCU
portfolio also takes a different approach, giving you the
functional “building blocks” needed to architect your
system with as few external components as possible.
Developers of wearable devices face many unique design
challenges. To be successful, a wearable application must
have long battery life, be extremely space efficient and
offer effortless connectivity to the Cloud—while at the
same time protecting sensitive user data against intrusions
of privacy. Microchip’s long-standing focus on enabling
our customers to develop highly-integrated, cost-effective
embedded systems has given rise to an MCU portfolio that
meshes perfectly with the needs of wearable designs.
Ultra-Tight Power Budgets
Wearable devices run on batteries that are expected to
last for weeks or months. To extend the battery life in
these power-sensitive applications, PIC® microcontrollers
with eXtreme Low Power (XLP) technology offer the
industry’s lowest currents for Run and Sleep modes.
When sensing data and executing code, wearable devices
need to process and transmit information as fast and
efficiently as possible, and then go back to sleep in order
to optimize battery life. PIC MCUs with XLP technology
operate as low as 30 μA/MHz and with speeds up to
16 MIPS, enabling power-efficient applications.
Typically, wearable devices spend most of their time in
sleep mode until they are needed to measure biometric
data. PIC MCUs with XLP technology consume sleep
currents as low as 9 nA with flexible wake-up sources and
a variety of low-power modes, retaining state, RAM and
time. Also, PIC MCUs offer supervisory circuits to protect
stored data and to ensure safe operation when batteries
are depleted or changed.
Flexible, integrated Core Independent Peripherals are
designed to take the load off the CPU and reduce the
amount of code needed. PIC MCUs enable you to combine
several functional tasks onto a smaller, more cost-effective
MCU than previously possible.
In addition, on-chip Intelligent Analog peripherals (including
ADCs, op amps, Slope Compensation, and Zero Cross
Detect) on PIC MCUs can be configured to autonomously
provide data to the digital peripherals from sensors, touch
buttons and feedback circuits for low latency and quick
system response. These technologies combine to create
a higher-performance system, without higher MCU clock
speed and power consumption. Lower power consumed
equals a smaller battery. More space savings can be
achieved by taking advantage of our wide array of lowprofile and small-footprint QFN packaging. PIC MCUs are
always the right choice for optimizing wearable applications
for size and BOM cost.
Effortless Connectivity
Wireless communication is the preferred method of moving
data between a wearable device and a smartphone for
display, control or cloud computing. Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi®
are emerging as the standard communication channels for
wearable devices.
For the ultimate in flexibility and ease of design, our wireless
modules offer drop-in functionality. Modules are available
for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 and Bluetooth 4.2 (Bluetooth Low
Energy.) A space-saving module with integrated antenna
and on-board software stack enables you to add wireless
connectivity to any design with a minimum of effort. To save
even more time and money, these modules have already
been certified by the FCC and international agencies.
Securing Personal Data
A growing number of wearable applications include some
personal data and offer a cloud-based connection to access
that data from a remote location. Encrypting personal data
on the device adds another level of privacy when using
Internet-based storage.
PIC MCUs with an integrated hardware crypto engine offer
data encryption without sacrificing power consumption and
battery life for wearable applications. These devices feature
industry-standard support, up to 256-bit AES and Triple
DES. The hardware crypto engine saves power, performing
encryption 10× faster than software algorithms, with a quick
return to low-power sleep modes. Also, these MCUs include
a random number generator for creating a secure encryption
key and dedicated, secure RAM, secure OTP-based key
management with self destruct on tamper detect through pin.
We also provide extensive security software libraries
for devices that do not feature an integrated hardware
crypto engine.
Featured XLP Products for Wearable Applications
Device Family
Flash Memory
(KB)
Pins
Segmented
LCD
Touch
Sense
Core Independent
Peripherals
ADC
DAC
Op
Amps
Crypto
Engine
USB
PIC16LF1903
7
28
ü
ü
–
10-bit
–
–
–
–
PIC16F1936/7
14
28–44
ü
ü
ü
10-bit
–
–
–
–
PIC16LF1705/9
14
14–20
–
ü
ü
10-bit
8-bit
ü
–
–
PIC16F1716
14
28
–
ü
ü
10-bit
8-bit
ü
–
–
PIC16LF1454/5
14
14
–
–
ü
10-bit
5-bit
–
–
ü
PIC16LF1786/9
14–28
28–40
–
–
ü
12-bit
8-bit
ü
–
–
PIC24F16KL402
4–16
14–28
–
ü
ü
10-bit
–
–
–
–
PIC24F16KA102
8–16
20–28
–
ü
ü
10-bit
–
–
–
–
PIC24F16KM204
8–16
20–48
–
ü
ü
12-bit
8-bit
ü
–
–
PIC24F32KA304
16–32
20–44
–
ü
ü
12-bit
–
–
–
–
PIC24FJ64GA104
32–64
28–44
–
ü
ü
10-bit
–
–
–
–
PIC24FJ64GB004
32–64
28–44
–
ü
ü
10-bit
–
–
–
ü
ü
PIC24FJ128GB204
64–128
28–44
–
ü
ü
12-bit
–
–
ü
PIC24FJ128GA310
64–128
64–100
ü
ü
ü
12-bit
–
–
–
–
PIC24FJ128GC010
64–128
64–100
ü
ü
ü
12- and 16-bit
10-bit
ü
–
ü
PIC24FJ256GB412
64–256
64–121
ü
ü
ü
12-bit
–
–
ü
ü
XLP Development Tools
We offer a wide range of development tools to support your low-power design effort. All are supported by a unified
MPLAB® X IDE and comprehensive libraries for quick and easy wearable device development.
XLP Development Boards
The 8-bit and 16-bit XLP Development Boards provide a low-cost, highly configurable development platform for our wide
range of eXtreme Low Power PIC microcontrollers.
Part Number
DM240313
DM240311
DM240015
DM240314
DM240013-1/2,
DM330013-2
Board Name
Support
XLP 8-bit Development Board
XLP 16-bit Development Board
MPLAB® Starter Kit for PIC24F Intelligent Integrated Analog
LCD Explorer Development Board
8-bit PIC16 and PIC18 MCUs
16-bit PIC24F MCUs
16-bit PIC24F "GC" MCUs
16-bit PIC24F MCUs
Microstick Low-Cost Development Board
16-bit PIC24F "KA", "KL", "KM" and PIC24FJ MCUs
www.microchip.com/xlp
Visit our web site for additional product information and to locate your local sales office.
Microchip Technology Inc. • 2355 W. Chandler Blvd. • Chandler, AZ 85224-6199
Information subject to change. The Microchip name and logo, the Microchip logo and MPLAB and PIC are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. and other countries. All other
trademarks mentioned herein are property of their respective companies. © 2016, Microchip Technology Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. 6/16
DS30010080B