Microchip PIC32MZ Flash Microcontroller is the World's Fastest 32-bit MCU

Microchip Technology has introduced the new Microchip PIC32MZ 32-bit Flash microcontroller, possibly the most powerful 32-bit microcontroller today, with performance superior to the ARM® Cortex-M4. The Microchip PIC32MZ boasts a 5-stage pipelined core, up to 2 MBytes of Flash, up to 512 KBytes of SRAM, and an ADC accurate to within 0.5 LSB.

The PIC32MZ crunches at a whopping 330 DMIPS at 200MHz, easily beating any popular competitor in it's price class. The core of the Microchip PIC32MZ boasts a grand total of 32 General Purpose Registers (GPRs) and quickly shovels instructions through a 5-stage pipeline. The Microchip PIC32MZ also boasts extremely efficient bit manipulation for a 32-bit processor, making it very efficient for control-oriented applications.

The DSP engine adds 159 new instructions and supports SIMD instructions, integer and fractional data types, saturate and rounding options, and 38 Multiply/Accumulate (MAC) instructions. Hardware multiply includes 32x32, 32x16, 16x8, 16x16, dual 16x16 and dual 8x8. According to Imagination Technologies, the PIC32MZ outperforms the ARM Cortex-M4 by up to 90% faster when performing DSP operations.

Microchip PIC32MZ Features
Features of the new Microchip PIC32MZ 32-bit microcontroller family include:

• 32-bit MIPS32 microAptiv Core @ 200MHz
  - 5-stage pipeline, CPU + DSP
• Hardware Crypto Engine (optional)
  - Random Number Generator (RNG), AES, 3DES, SHA, MD5, and HMAC
• Up to 2 MBytes Flash
  Dual-panel Flash with Live Update (see below)
• Up to 512KBytes RAM
• 16 KBytes L1 Program cache
• 4 KBytes L1 Data cache
• Watchdog timer
• Nine 32-bit timers
• Nine output-compare PWM
• 8-channel DMA
• 18-channels of peripheral-specific DMA
• 10/100 Ethernet MAC
• Two CAN 2.0b peripherals
• Six UARTS
• Six SPI
• Six I2S
• Five I2C
• USB with Host/Device/OTG support
• Up to 48 channels 12-bit ADC @ 28MSPS with sample & hold
  - Differential non-linearity ±0.5 LSB

Live-update allows the flash memory to be updated in the field while application code is still running, all in a fail-safe manner.

Interrupt latency is a mere 10 cycles, faster than most competing 32-bit architectures. L1 caches are attached to both program and data memory, further improving performance. The core supports the addition of a Memory Management Unit (MMU) for virtual addressing.

Quote from an Important Person
"Our new PIC32MZ family was designed for high-end and next-generation embedded applications that require high levels of performance, memory and advanced-peripheral integration," quipped Rod Drake, Director of Microchip’s MCU32 Division.  "The PIC32MZ enables designers to add features such as improved graphics displays, faster real-time performance, and increased security within a single microcontroller, lowering both cost and complexity."

PIC32MZ Development Support
Development tools for the Microchip PIC32MZ are available now. The PIC32MZ EC Starter Kit contains everything needed to get started at $119, and comes with and without the crypto engine.  Microchip's Multimedia Expansion Board II is available at a discount price of only $299 for the first six months, and paired with a Starter Kit supports development for graphics, HMI, connectivity and audio applications.

PIC32MZ Pricing and Availability
"The first 12 members of the PIC32MZ family are expected starting in December for sampling and volume production, while the remaining 12, along with additional package options, are expected to become available at various dates through May 2014.  The crypto engine is integrated into eight of the PIC32MZ MCUs, and there is an even split of 12 MCUs with 1 MB of Flash and 12 MCUs with 2 MB of Flash.  Pricing starts at $6.68 each in 10,000-unit quantities.  The superset family members and their package options are the 64-pin QFN (9x9 mm) and TQFP (9x9 mm) for the PIC32MZ2048ECH064; 100-pin TQFP (12x12 and 14x14 mm) for the PIC32MZ2048ECH100; 124-pin VTLA (9x9 mm) for the PIC32MZ2048ECH124; and 144-pin TQFP (16x16 mm) and LQFP (20x20 mm) for the PIC32MZ2048ECH144.  The superset versions with an integrated crypto engine are the PIC32MZ2048ECM064, PIC32MZ2048ECM100, PIC32MZ2048ECM124 and PIC32MZ2048ECM144."

About Microchip Technology
"Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:  MCHP) is a leading provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide.  Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality."

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