SCIENCE

Microchip Technology and MIPS Technologies has announced that Microchip is building on its successful 32-bit PIC32 microcontroller family, which is currently based on the MIPS32 M4K core, by licensing the MIPS32 M14K family of cores from MIPS.

The M14K cores will enable Microchip to further expand its presence in the competitive 32-bit microcontroller market by delivering uncompromised levels of performance and improved code density--critical factors in embedded applications. Additionally, the M14K cores provide cost and performance scalability, while maintaining 100% code compatibility with PIC32 MCUs based on the M4K core.

The higher code density in the M14K core family was achieved through MIPS Technologies' new microMIPS instruction set architecture (ISA). Executing the microMIPS ISA results in at least a 30% code-size reduction with little or no compromise in performance. Additional features of the M14K cores that will be beneficial in the next generation of PIC32 microcontrollers include interrupt-latency improvements and low power consumption.

"Since the successful launch of the rapidly expanding PIC32 family, Microchip has continued to strengthen its strategic partnership with MIPS Technologies," said Sumit Mitra, vice president of Microchip's High Performance Microcontroller Division. "In fact, the microcontroller-specific enhancements to the new M14K core were heavily influenced by Microchip's extensive experience in the embedded market and with the M4K core."

"We were pleased to work closely with Microchip, our flagship MCU licensee, on the definition of our M14K product line, which includes features and enhancements specifically for MCUs. Because of its clear value proposition, the M14K core is rapidly gaining traction in the market, with more than 17 licenses in the short six months that it has been generally available. We are pleased that Microchip is reaffirming its commitment to the MIPS architecture, which offers superior performance, lower power and more advanced features for MCUs than the competition," said Art Swift, vice president of marketing and business development, MIPS Technologies.