CHANDLER, Ariz., Sept. 19, 2007 - Microchip Technology Inc. today announced the first eight members of the PIC18F high-performance 8-bit microcontroller family.

This new family of microcontrollers sets a new benchmark for lower power consumption, low cost and high-performance operation.  To control power consumption, the new 28-, 40- and 44-pin microcontrollers provide nanoWatt Technology features that include power-managed modes, an operating voltage range of 1.8V to 3.6V and efficient on-chip peripherals.

Speeds of 16 MIPS (64 MHz) can be achieved at 3V operation from the internal oscillator, offering high performance while maintaining low power consumption.  All of these features make the PIC18F4XK20/2XK20 family ideally suited for general-purpose control, and a broad range of battery-operated or low-power applications.

This new family continues Microchip’s easy migration strategy, providing full code, pin-out and tool compatibility with Microchip’s comprehensive portfolio of 8-bit microcontrollers.

“With this new family, Microchip is offering a fast, cost-effective and easy way to migrate to the lowest power consumption and highest level of performance that any 8-bit microcontroller can provide,” said Steve Drehobl, vice president of Microchip’s Security, Microcontroller and Technology Development Division.

Key Features
Enhanced on-chip peripherals available with the PIC18F4XK20/2XK20 family include a software-selectable, precision 16 MHz (16 MIPS) internal oscillator with Phase Lock Loop (PLL); a Master Synchronous Serial Port (I2C™/SPI) module with address masking; a four-channel, 10-bit Enhanced Capture/Compare Pulse-Width Modulation module with PWM steering capability; up to 14 10-bit Analog-to-Digital Conversion channels with a 1.2V fixed voltage reference; and dual rail-to-rail comparators. 

Other key features include:

• Up to 64 KBytes of Flash program memory
• Up to 3,936 bytes of RAM
• Up to 1,024 bytes of Data EEPROM memory
• Programmable Brown-Out Reset, with a software-enable option
• Extended Watchdog TimerEnhanced low-power Timer 1
• EUSART with LIN compatibility
• Two-speed oscillator start-up

Development Tools
To reduce time-to-market, all eight members of the PIC18F4XK20/2XK20 microcontroller family are supported by Microchip’s standard, high-performance development systems, including:  the free MPLAB? Integrated Development Environment (IDE) with Visual Device Initializer, the MPLAB C18 C Compiler, the MPLAB ICD 2 In-Circuit Debugger, and the $49.99 PICkit™ 2 Debug Express (part # DV164121).

Availability
With prices starting at $1.56 each in 10,000-unit quantities, the eight-member PIC18F4XK20/2XK20 family is offered in the following package options:  28-pin PDIP, SOIC, SSOP and QFN, 40-pin PDIP, and 44-pin TQFP and QFN.

Availability is as follows:

• PIC18F45K20, PIC18F25K20, PIC18F44K20, PIC18F24K20
     Now sampling and volume production is expected in the fourth calendar quarter of 2007
• PIC18F46K20, PIC18F26K20:
     Now sampling
• PIC18F43K20, PIC18F23K20
     Sampling is expected in the fourth calendar quarter of 2007

Microchip Customer Support
Microchip is committed to supporting its customers by helping design engineers develop products faster and more efficiently.  Customers can access four main service areas at Microchips website. The Support area provides a fast way to get questions answered; the Sample area offers free evaluation samples of any Microchip device; microchipDIRECT provides 24-hour pricing, ordering, inventory and credit for convenient purchasing of all Microchip devices and development tools; finally, the Training area educates customers through webinars, sign-ups for local seminar and workshop courses, and information about the annual MASTERs events held throughout the world.

About Microchip Technology
Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:  MCHP) is a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, 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.