Microchip Makes Jump to 32 Bits

Eight-bit heavyweight Microchip Technology Inc. announced today it has entered the 32-bit market, making it easier for users of low-end microcontrollers to scale up to higher-end devices in future product designs.

Known as the PIC32, Microchip’s new 32-bit microcontroller family is based on MIPS Technologies Inc.’s M4K processing core. The family includes seven new devices, ranging in operating frequency from 20-72 MHz, in Flash memory from 32-512 KB and in RAM from 8-32 KB.

Although they are neither the fastest nor the lowest-power 32-bit microcontrollers on the market, industry analysts say the PIC32 introduction is significant because of Microchip’s powerful following in the eight-bit market. Since 1991, the company has climbed from 23rd on the eight-bit market share list to first as of 2006. Moreover, the eight-bit market is still the semiconductor industry’s biggest.

“Current Microchip customers who already like their set of peripherals will think this is great,” says Tom Starnes, a semiconductor market analyst for Objective Analysis, Ltd. “They can continue to go with those peripherals, where they already have experience, and now they have the top end covered, too.”

Starnes believes that a large market migration toward 32-bit is inevitable, given the natural evolution of software complexity in hundreds of different types of electronic devices, ranging from industrial controllers and security systems to GPS and handheld computers. Because of a “price compression” that causes 32-bit MCUs to be only slightly more costly than 16-bit, and because 32-bit devices have strong design tools, Starnes says he expects adoption of 32-bit technology to continue its steep market climb.

“The design tools, particularly the software development tools, are more robust in 32-bit architectures,” says Starnes. “Instead of small, third-party vendor tools, 32-bit has a much better selection of tools that can make your software development go easier.”

Microchip’s decision to go to 32 bits, however, represents a significant change in thinking for the Arizona-based chipmaker. For years prior to today’s announcement, Microchip has targeted the low end of the market.

“Here we have the guys who said that eight bits would be enough to serve the world, and now they’ve jumped to 32 bits,” Starnes says. “But the world has moved up, and in some ways, Microchip is following that movement, as opposed to leading it.”

Microchip executives say they had development simplicity in mind when they made the decision to jump to 32 bits.

“All the development tools we provide for our eight- and 16-bit controllers will also support 32-bit,” says Patrick Johnson, director of the High Performance MCU Division for Microchip. “A customer can do a development in a single environment and use our 32-bit (device), or use that same development environment in eight or 16 bits. So it makes it easy for them to migrate their applications across eight, 16 and 32 bits.”

	Microchip’s PIC32 family includes seven new devices, ranging in operating frequency from 20-72 MHz and in Flash memory from 32-512 KB.