Why Review the Microchip Range

Microchip offers two well-known 8-bit microcontroller families, the PIC and the AVR, a 32-bit PIC32 family, and a broad serial EEPROM range, and the whole set is supported by one toolchain and one development environment. The datasheets give the numbers, but the datasheet only tells part of the story. This review examines the MCUs and the EEPROM from the perspective of an FAE who supports customers through selection and validation, focusing on the core, the peripheral set, the toolchain, the cost and the data retention.

The PIC Family

The PIC family spans a compact 8-bit core with a small instruction set, the enhanced PIC18 with more memory and USB, and the 32-bit PIC32 with the MIPS32 M4K core. On the bench the 8-bit PIC parts ran at their rated clock and their peripherals behaved as the datasheet describes, and the small instruction set makes the code easy to read. The PIC18F4550 brings USB 2.0 full-speed into an 8-bit part, and the PIC32MX brings a 32-bit core and USB into a small package, so the family covers a wide range with one toolchain.

The AVR Family

The AVR family spans the 8-pin ATtiny, the mainstream ATmega328P and the large ATmega2560, all with a single-cycle RISC core and 32 general-purpose registers. On the bench the core reached about one MIPS per MHz and the code density was good, and the large library of code and examples makes a design quick to start. The wide voltage range and the internal oscillator simplify the board.

The Serial EEPROM Range

The Microchip serial EEPROM covers the I2C 24-series and the SPI 25-series from 128 bits to 512 Kbit, with about one million write cycles and a 40-year retention. On the bench the write and the read were reliable across the temperature range, and the page write and the write-protect kept the data safe. The 24AA02E48 adds a factory-programmed EUI-48 node address in a small 5-pin package, which is a neat way to give every unit a unique identity.

Data Retention and Endurance

The retention of about 40 years and the endurance of about one million cycles suit the settings that must last the life of the product, which is the practical reason to choose a serial EEPROM over a volatile memory. Confirm the write rate against the endurance and use the page write to reduce the cycles.

One Toolchain Across the Range

The strength of the Microchip range is that one toolchain, the MPLAB environment and the XC compilers, serves the PIC, the AVR and the PIC32, and a large library of code and examples supports them all. A team can move between the families with modest effort, and a design can start on a small part and grow. The consistent support path is a real advantage for a project that spans several products.

Verdict

The Microchip range earns its reputation. The PIC and AVR MCUs give a broad choice of 8-bit cores with a rich peripheral set and a familiar toolchain, the PIC32 adds a 32-bit option with memory and USB, and the serial EEPROM gives a reliable, long-life data store with the 24AA02E48 adding a factory identity. BeiLuo holds the mainstream models in regional stock and ships them with an import declaration, a certificate of origin and a RoHS compliance file, so you can evaluate a sample and move to production without a supply gap.