Our 8-bit eXtreme Low Power (XLP) 8-bit PIC® microcontrollers (MCUs) and AVR® MCUs with picoPower® technology are ideal for conserving power in battery-powered, connected applications like wearables, wireless sensor networks and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
Low-Power Sleep Modes with Flexible Wake-Up Sources
- Sleep current down to 20 nA
- Deep sleep current down to 9 nA
- Low-power self-wake-up sources: special low-power Brown-out Reset (BOR), Power-on Reset (POR), Watchdog Timer (WDT), Real-Time Clock (RTC), INT, Asynchronous Master Clear Reset (MCLR)
- Idle and Doze lower-power modes
Flexible and Advanced Integrated Peripherals
- 20+ Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) to offload the CPU while enabling sensor interfacing, waveform control, timing/measurements, logic/math, safety/monitoring, communications and user interface functionality
- Intelligent analog features include 12-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter with Computation (ADCC), op amps, comparators, Digital-to-Analog Converters (DACs) and more
Long Battery Life with Robust and Reliable Features
- Enable battery lifetime of 20+ years
- Low-power supervisors for safer operation (BOR, WDT)
- Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) perform tasks at lowest possible energy requirement
- VBAT battery backup powered separately
- Robustness in hostile environments
- Low-power and robust touch sensing technologies
Large Portfolio and Efficient Performance Across Voltage Range
- 6–100 pins
- Up to 384 KB Flash
- Up to 16 KB RAM
- 1.6V to 5.5V operation
- Wide selection of package options
- Peripherals run autonomously in low-power modes
These 8-bit low-power MCU development boards make it easy to get started with your application. Click on the 8-bit MCU Development Tools button to see a complete list of development tools for our 8-bit MCUs.
8-bit PIC MCU Hardware Development Tools
Curiosity Development Board
Part Number: DM164137
The original Curiosity Development Board continues to be one of our most popular development boards. Curiosity is designed to support 8-, 14-, and 20-pin 8-bit PIC MCUs with low-voltage programming capability.
Curiosity High Pin Count (HPC) Development Board
Part Number: DM164136
The Curiosity High Pin Count (HPC) Development Board supports 8-bit PIC MCUs in an expanded range of pin counts. With two DIP sockets on board, the Curiosity 8-bit HPC Development Board is designed to support 28- and 40-pin PIC MCUs with low-voltage programming capability.
MPLAB® Xpress Evaluation Board
Part Number: DM164140
The original MPLAB Xpress Evaluation Board features the versatile PIC16F18855, which supports a wide range of embedded applications. This highly integrated board also features on-board LEDs, a potentiometer, and a mikroBUS™ header for expanding your design using MikroElektronika Click boards™.
8-bit AVR MCU Hardware Development Tools
ATtiny104 Xplained Nano Evaluation Kit
Part Number: ATTINY104-XNANO
The ATtiny104 Xplained Nano Evaluation Kit is a hardware platform for evaluating ATtiny102/ATtiny104 MCUs. It includes an on-board programmer and provides easy access to all device I/O, one button, and one LED.
ATmega168PB Xplained Mini Evaluation Kit
Part Number: ATMEGA168PB-XMINI
The ATmega168PB Xplained Mini Evaluation Kit is a hardware platform for evaluating the ATmega168PB MCU. It comes with a fully integrated debugger and provides access to the features of the ATmega168PB MCU to enable you to easily integrate this MCU into a custom design.
ATmega328PB Xplained Mini Evaluation Kit
Part Number: ATMEGA328PB-XMINI
The ATmega328PB Xplained Mini Evaluation Kit is a hardware platform for evaluating the ATmega328P MCU. It comes with a fully integrated debugger and provides access to the features of the ATmega328PB MCU to enable you to easily integrate this MCU into a custom design. It also features four capacitive buttons for easy evaluation of the integrated QTouch® technology Peripheral Touch Controller (PTC).
ATmega324PB Xplained Pro Evaluation Kit
Part Number: ATMEGA324PB-XPRO
The ATmega324PB Xplained Pro Evaluation Kit is a hardware platform for evaluating the ATmega324PB MCU. It supports more than 20 extension boards that can be purchased separately, including wired and wireless connectivity, security, and capacitive touch kits as well as generic I/O, segment LCD and OLED boards.
8-bit Software Development Tools
MPLAB® X IDE
MPLAB X Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is a software program that runs on a PC (Windows®, macOS®, Linux®) to develop applications for PIC, AVR, CEC and SAM microcontrollers (MCUs) and dsPIC® Digital Signal Controllers (DSCs). It supports "One-Click" Make, Program, Debug/Execute operation, includes a library of Microchip-validated code examples to help you get started right away with your code development, and combines with the MPLAB XC8 compiler to provide a complete graphical front end.
MPLAB Xpress Cloud-Based IDE
MPLAB Xpress is an online development environment that contains the most popular features of our award-winning MPLAB X IDE. A perfect starting point for new users of PIC microcontrollers (MCUs), it requires no downloads, no machine configuration and no waiting to get started. Join the MPLAB Xpress Community to share code, ideas, and knowledge.
MPLAB Code Configurator
MPLAB Code Configurator is a free graphical programming environment that generates seamless, easy to understand C code. Using an intuitive interface it enables and configures a rich set of peripherals and functions. It minimizes reliance upon product datasheet and reduces overall design effort and time while accelerating generation of production-ready code.
MPLAB XC Compilers
MPLAB XC8 provides a comprehensive solution for a project’s development software needs and comes in different optimization levels. It integrates with MPLAB X IDE to provide a full graphical front end. It can edit errors and create breakpoints to match the corresponding lines in source code.
XLP Battery Life Estimator
| XLP Battery Life Estimator is a free software utility to aid you in developing low-power applications with our low-power microcontrollers. The tool estimates average current consumption and battery life. The utility allows you to select the target device, battery type, the application’s operating conditions, such as voltage and temperature, and model the active and power-down times for your applications. |
- Application Notes
- Brochures
- Tips and Tricks
- White Papers
| Title | Download |
|---|---|
| AN1416 - Low-Power Design Guide | Download |
| AN606 - Low-Power Design Using PICmicro Microcontrollers | Download |
| AN_8349 - AVR4013: picoPower Basics | Download |
| AN_8407 - AVR1521: XMEGA-A1 Xplained Training - Low Power | Download |
| AN2515 - AVR Low-power Techniques | Download |
| AN_42056 - AVR3005: Low Power QTouch Design | Download |
| AN2812 - Low-Power Touch Design | Download |
| AN_8267 - AVR1010: Minimizing the power consumption of XMEGA devices | Download |
| AN_42456 - AT11487: Low Power Consumption Techniques for XMEGA XPLAINED Kit | Download |
| AN_32136 - AVR32917: Getting started with the picoPower Board | Download |
| AN_8318 - AVR1509: XMEGA-A1 Xplained training - Low Power | Download |
| AN_42411 - AT06549: Ultra Low Power Techniques | Download |
| AN2231 - Recommended Watch Crystals for Microchip's PIC Microcontrollers in XLP Mode | Download |
| Title | Download |
|---|---|
| PIC MCU - eXtreme Low Power Solutions for Wearable Applications | Download |
| Title | Download |
|---|---|
| PIC® MCU Tips-n-Tricks Featuring nanoWatt XLP Technology | Download |
Low Power MCU Comparision: nanoWatt XLP Vs. MSP430
Low Power MCU Comparision: nanoWatt XLP Vs. MSP430
Three of nanoWatt XLP Technologys key advantages are: Sleep currents down to 20 nA, Real-Time Clock currents down to 500 nA, and Watchdog Timer currents down to 400 nA. The vast majority of low-power applications require one or more of these features. nanoWatt XLP Technology combines all three in a comprehensive portfolio of devices. Whether it is extended battery life, sealed batteries, or the integration of energy harvesting, Microchips 8- and 16-bit PIC MCUs with nanoWatt XLP Technology provide more freedom for designers that need their products to operate longer using less power, or requiring fewer battery changes.
More Low Power MCU Comparisons: nanoWatt XLP Vs. MSP430
More Low Power MCU Comparisons: nanoWatt XLP Vs. MSP430
Three of nanoWatt XLP Technologys key advantages are: Sleep currents down to 20 nA, Real-Time Clock currents down to 500 nA, and Watchdog Timer currents down to 400 nA. The vast majority of low-power applications require one or more of these features. nanoWatt XLP Technology combines all three in a comprehensive portfolio of devices. Whether it is extended battery life, sealed batteries, or the integration of energy harvesting, Microchips 8- and 16-bit PIC MCUs with nanoWatt XLP Technology provide more freedom for designers that need their products to operate longer using less power, or requiring fewer battery changes.
The World's Lowest Power in Sleep MCU: nanoWatt XLP from Microchip
The World's Lowest Power in Sleep MCU: nanoWatt XLP from Microchip
Three of nanoWatt XLP Technologys key advantages are: Sleep currents down to 20 nA, Real-Time Clock currents down to 500 nA, and Watchdog Timer currents down to 400 nA. The vast majority of low-power applications require one or more of these features. nanoWatt XLP Technology combines all three in a comprehensive portfolio of devices. Whether it is extended battery life, sealed batteries, or the integration of energy harvesting, Microchips 8- and 16-bit PIC MCUs with nanoWatt XLP Technology provide more freedom for designers that need their products to operate longer using less power, or requiring fewer battery changes.
8-bit USB PIC Microcontrollers with Active Clock Tuning
Microchip Technology expands its Full-Speed USB 2.0 Device PIC® microcontroller portfolio with three new Enhanced Midrange 8-bit families comprising 15 scalable MCUs ranging from 14 to 100 pins with up to 128 KB of Flash. All feature internal clock sources with the 0.25% clock accuracy necessary for USB communication, which saves up to $0.15 by eliminating the need for an external crystal. Additionally, all three families are eXtreme Low Power compliant, with power consumption down to 35 µA/MHz Active and 20 nA in Sleep mode.
Demo of eXtreme Low Power (XLP) MCUs
Demo of eXtreme Low Power (XLP) MCUs
As more electronic applications require low power or battery power, energy conservation becomes paramount. Today's applications must consume little power, and in extreme cases, last for up to 15-20 years, while running from a single battery. To enable applications like these, products with Microchip's nanoWatt XLP Technology offer the industry's lowest currents for Run and Sleep, where extreme low power applications spend 90%-99% of their time.
