PIC32CM PL10: A Low-Power, Touch-Focused Cortex-M0+ MCU Designed for Real Systems

Modern embedded systems rarely do just one thing. A product that once handled simple control may now need touch input, always-on sensing, tighter power budgets and room to grow over time. That combination is exactly where Microchip’s new PIC32CM PL10 fits.

The PIC32CM PL10 is a general-purpose 32-bit Arm^® Cortex-M0+ microcontroller (MCU) designed for systems that are becoming more capable without becoming more complicated. Rather than relying on firmware to orchestrate every task, the PIC32CM PL10 emphasizes peripheral-driven operation, allowing much of the system behavior to occur in hardware.

Standout Capabilities at a Glance

Several features define how the PL10 behaves in real designs:

• An integrated Peripheral Touch Controller (PTC) for capacitive user interfaces
• A 12-bit ADC (up to 800 ksps) closely tied to touch and sensing
• Multi-Voltage I/O (MVIO) support for flexible I/O voltage domains
• An event system enabling peripheral-driven sequencing without CPU intervention
• Sleepwalking capability to keep peripherals active in standby
• Familiar core-independent peripheral operation on a 32-bit Cortex-M0+ core

These capabilities are designed to work together in systems that spend most of their time idle, periodically sensing or waiting for user interaction, while still responding predictably without continuous CPU execution.

Touch-Centric User Interface Support

At the core of the PIC32CM PL10 is our latest-generation Peripheral Touch Controller (PTC), which enables capacitive touch sensing directly on the MCU without external components. The PTC supports a wide range of touch surfaces, including buttons, sliders, wheels and multi-element interfaces. This allows designs to scale from simple user input to more complex touch layouts without relying on external components.

To support robust and repeatable touch operation in rugged, real-world environments, the PTC includes hardware features such as Driven Shield+. By actively driving adjacent electrodes, Driven Shield+ helps stabilize the touch signal and improve reliable detection. This reduces false touches and maintains consistent touch behavior in rugged conditions such as moisture exposure. These characteristics are particularly important in applications such as:

• Home and commercial appliances
• Industrial control panels
• Automotive interior interfaces

Touch configuration is supported through our touch library, which simplifies defining and configuring touch surfaces and behavior without requiring developers to manually tune low-level acquisition parameters. This allows engineers to focus on system behavior rather than touch implementation details.

Working alongside the touch controller, the integrated 12-bit ADC supports touch acquisition while also serving as a general-purpose analog sensing resource for the system. It provides fast, accurate measurements and includes a built-in low-pass filter to reduce high-frequency noise, along with internal techniques that help improve measurement accuracy and consistency.

Wide-Voltage Operation and Flexible I/O

The PIC32CM PL10 supports operation across a wide supply range from 1.8 V to 5.5 V, allowing the device to be used in both low-power and higher-voltage systems without additional regulators. Operating at higher voltages improves noise margin and robustness, which is especially valuable in industrial, appliance and infrastructure applications.

The PL10 also includes MVIO, which separates one of the port’s I/O voltage domains from the core supply. This allows the core voltage to be optimized for power efficiency while this I/O bank operates at a voltage best suited for external interfaces. Together, wide-voltage support and MVIO provide flexibility for mixed-voltage designs without adding level-shifting components to the BOM.

Autonomous Operation Through Events and Sleepwalking

The PIC32CM PL10 includes an event system that allows peripherals to trigger actions in other peripherals without CPU involvement. Events are routed directly in hardware, enabling deterministic behavior such as using a timer to periodically trigger an ADC conversion without firmware polling or interrupt overhead.

Sleepwalking extends this capability by allowing select peripherals to remain active while the core is in standby. Peripherals such as the PTC and ADC can continue monitoring inputs or performing measurements autonomously, only waking the CPU when a defined condition or threshold is met.

By keeping routine sensing and timing operations in hardware, the PIC32CM PL10 significantly reduces unnecessary CPU wakeups. This directly lowers average power consumption and enables longer battery life in systems that spend most of their time idle but must remain responsive to user interaction or sensor activity.

Familiar Peripherals You Already Know

Alongside its touch, sensing and low-power features, the PIC32CM PL10 includes a familiar set of core peripherals such as SERCOM interfaces, timers and configurable logic, allowing existing embedded design patterns to carry over without added complexity.

Bringing It All Together

Taken as a whole, the PIC32CM PL10 is built to let peripherals handle as much routine system behavior as possible. Touch sensing, periodic analog measurements and basic control can operate autonomously, while the core focuses on application-level logic and coordination. This results in simpler firmware, predictable behavior and lower average power consumption.

This combination makes the PIC32CM PL10 a strong fit for appliance interfaces, industrial control panels and other touch-driven embedded systems where robustness, responsiveness and efficient power usage matter more than peak processing performance.

Develop in the Environment You Prefer

Development for the PIC32CM PL10 is supported in Visual Studio Code using the MPLAB^® extensions, providing a modern, flexible development experience alongside Microchip’s tools and workflows. Support is also available in MPLAB X IDE for users who prefer a traditional IDE.

Learn More and Get Started

For more information on the PIC32CM PL10, visit the Microchip Technology PIC32CM PL10 device page, where you’ll find device details, documentation and the Curiosity Nano evaluation kit (EV10P22A) for quick hands-on evaluation.

A PIC32CM PL10 overview video is also linked, highlighting key device features and walking through the Curiosity Nano board to help you get started quickly. Additional code examples, application notes and development resources are available through MPLAB Discover.