Expanded dual and single-core DSC family builds larger, more robust applications

Microchip has released new dual and single-core dsPIC33C Digital Signal Controllers (DSCs) with more options to meet varying application demands across memory, temperature and functional safety. These options will assist system developers in creating high-end embedded control applications which require flexible options to offer scalability as projects increase in complexity. The new dsPIC33CH512MP508 dual-core DSC allows support for applications with larger programme memory requirements. The dsPIC33CK64MP105 single-core DSC adds a cost-optimised version for applications that require smaller memory and footprint. Developers can easily scale across product lines using the new devices, which are pin-to-pin compatible within the dsPIC33CH and dsPIC33CK families. The family expands the recently introduced dsPIC33CH with Flash memory growing from 128KB to 512KB and triples the programme RAM from 24KB to 72KB. This allows support for larger applications with multiple software stacks or larger programme memory, such as automotive and wireless charging applications. More memory is required to accommodate AUTOSAR software, MCAL drivers and CAN FD peripherals in automotive applications. Implementing wireless charging in automotive applications requires additional software stacks for the Qi protocol and NFC, driving the demand for even more programme memory. Using Live Update ability for real-time firmware updates is necessary for high-availability systems but also doubles the overall memory requirement. In the dual-core devices, one core can function as a master while the other is created as a slave. The slave core is beneficial for executing dedicated, time-critical control code while the master core is busy running the user interface, system monitoring and communications functions. All devices in the family incorporate a fully featured set of functional safety hardware to ease ASIL-B and ASIL-C certifications in safety-critical applications. Functional safety features include multiple redundant clock sources, FSC), IO ports read-back, Flash ECC, RAM BIST, write protection, analogue peripheral redundancies and more. A robust set of CAN-FD peripherals, together with the new support for 150C operation, make these devices ideal for use in extreme operating conditions such as under-the-hood automotive applications.