Microchip Technology announced its PIC18 Q84 family — the first PIC18 microcontroller (MCU) family that can be used to transmit and receive data through a Controller Area Network Flexible Data-Rate (CAN FD) bus.

Accompanied by an extensive array of Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) that handle a variety of tasks without requiring CPU intervention, Microchip’s PIC18 Q84 family cuts both time and cost when connecting systems to a CAN FD network.

The family provides a simple solution for transporting sensor data to a CAN FD bus, without the need for gateways or sophisticated network switching techniques. Its configurable CIPs make it easy to create custom hardware-based functions for automotive and industrial designs with near-zero latency. Additional code is not required.

“CAN FD will continue to play a critical role in delivering faster data-transfer rates for applications, ranging from the connected car to industrial automation and smart homes,” said Greg Robinson, associate VP of marketing for Microchip’s 8-bit microcontroller business unit.

The available peripherals include a 32-bit Cyclic Redundancy Check with Scan (CRC/SCAN), a Windowed Watchdog Timer (WWDT) for functional safety capabilities, and a Joint Test Action Group (JTAG) interface to implement industry-standard testing and debugging.

“Microchip is furthering the adoption of this protocol with our latest 8-bit PIC MCU family, helping designers create cost-effective network nodes at scale,” added Robinson.

Development tools
The PIC18 Q84 family offers hardware and software support. Hardware includes a Curiosity Nano Development Board and a Curiosity High-pin Count (HPC) Development Board. A plug-in module (PIM) is also available for the Automotive Networking Development Board and for use with Microchip development boards. Software includes Microchip’s MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC).

Microchip also provides a broad family of CAN FD transceivers and CAN FD controllers.

To learn more about Microchip’s complete CAN and CAN FD offering, visit Microchip’s CAN technology design center.