PIC18 processor includes full Ethernet support
By Robert Cravotta, Technical Editor -- EDN, September 11, 2006
Microchip's PIC18F97J60 family of processors reduce the board space and bill-of-materials costs for 8-bit embedded-system applications needing Ethernet connectivity by eliminating the need for extra chips for the Ethernet MAC (media-access-control) and PHY(physical) layers. This family of 8-bit microcontrollers includes a complete IEEE 802.3-compliant Ethernet controller that comprises a MAC, a PHY, an 8-kbyte transmitter/receiver-RAM buffer, and a free TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) software stack in a single package. The nine members of the processor family target industrial and building automation, as well as commercial and home-control applications. The PIC18f97J60 devices are available now at prices starting at $4.24 (10,000) in 64-, eight-, and 100-pin ROHS (reduction-of-hazardous-substances)-compliant TQFPs.
In addition to the PIC18 microcontroller core and on-chip 10BaseT MAC and PHY with an Ethernet buffer, key features of these devices include 128 kbytes of flash; 4 kbytes of SRAM; a 16-channel, 10-bit ADC; five 10-bit PWMs; two comparators; two LIN (local-interconnect-network) UARTs; and two I2C/SPI peripherals. The Ethernet controller supports programmable pattern-match, filtering, and wake-up. These devices are available for the industrial-temperature range of –40 to +185°C. These devices support seamless migration to add Ethernet support to PIC18 designs.
The TCP/IP stack is a royalty-free, no-cost license that is portable to all PIC18 microcontrollers, and it is available as a download from Microchip. It has a code footprint of approximately 25 kbytes, and the MPLab C18 and Hi-Tech compilers from Microchip and Hi-Tech Software, respectively, support the stack. Microchip offers the AN833 and AN870 application notes for the TCP/IP stack and SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) agent, respectively. The PIC18F97J60 PICdem.net 2 demonstration board (DM163024) is available now for $165. The demonstration board enables developers to evaluate the new PIC18F97J60 devices as well as the discrete-component configuration of a PIC18 microcontroller with the ENC28J60 Ethernet controller.
