Articles and news - Microcontrollers - 5

Understanding Arm Cortex-M0 its capabilities
Understanding Arm Cortex-M0+ and its capabilities
Oct 27, 2024 Articles

Cortex-M0+ is not the newest small, low-power processor and, in fact, some newer offerings may surpass it. However, its broad deployment and mature environment continue to make the processor a compelling offering for low-power applications...

Preaccumulator handles VFC outputs that are
Preaccumulator handles VFC outputs that are too fast for a naked CTP to swallow
Oct 24, 2024 Circuits

Analog-to-digital conversion based on the classic combination of a voltage-to-frequency converter with a counter has been around for (many) decades, mainly because it has some durable time-proven advantages...

Brute force mitigation PWM VDD ground
Brute force mitigation of PWM VDD and ground "saturation" errors
Sep 23, 2024 Circuits

An excerpt from Christopher Paul’s “Parsing PWM (DAC) performance: Part 1 – Mitigating errors”: “I was surprised to discover that when an output of a popular µP...

8-bit PWM 8-bit Dpot 16-bit hybrid
8-bit PWM + 8-bit Dpot = 16-bit hybrid DAC
Aug 29, 2024 Circuits

Pulse width modulation is a terrific basis for digital to analog conversion. Credit goes to features like simplicity and perfect differential and integral linearity. Unfortunately, PWM’s need for ripple filtering tends to make it slow...

Microcontroller supervises 0- 20-mA protection circuit
Microcontroller supervises 0- to 20-mA protection circuit
Aug 29, 2024 Circuits

The 0- to 20-mA current loop is a reliable means of data communication in industrial applications. These circuits use a precision shunt in the receiver to convert the current signal into a voltage signal...

One microcontroller pin drives two LEDs
One microcontroller pin drives two LEDs with low quiescent current
Jun 11, 2024 Circuits

The basis for this Design Idea is a circuit that uses three resistors and a microcontroller-I/O pin to work as input high impedance or output to independently drive two LEDs...

Zilog calls time on venerable Z80
Zilog calls time on the venerable Z80, discontinues the standalone Z84C00 CPU family
May 23, 2024 News

While the long-lived Z80 continues on in Z180 and eZ80 forms, the standalone DIP-packaged variants' days are numbered...

Non-linear pullup multi-rate sup sup buses
Non-linear pullup for multi-rate I2C buses
May 13, 2024 Circuits

I2C is a popular bidirectional serial communications bus having a clock and a data line. Both line’s drivers consist of an open drain ground-referenced N-channel MOSFET with a pullup resistor connected to a supply...

Programmable Schmitt triggers are digitally controlled
Programmable Schmitt triggers are digitally controlled
May 10, 2024 Circuits

The circuit is a single-supply version of a programmable Schmitt trigger, or a comparator with hysteresis...

Seeed unveils compact matter-ready XIAO ESP32C6
Seeed unveils the compact matter-ready XIAO ESP32C6 dev board
Apr 9, 2024 News

Seeed Studio has launched a new entry in the XIAO family of small form factor microcontroller development boards, built around the Espressif ESP32-C6: the RISC-V XIAO ESP32C6, boasting Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3 Low Energy (BLE), and Matter-ready IEEE 802.15.4 connectivity...