New 64-bit MPU boasts four RISC-V cores and supports real-time embedded applications
Microchip has launched the new PIC64 family of microprocessors, which offers power-efficient asymmetric multiprocessing and deterministic latency in real-time and bare-metal systems while simultaneously running the Linux® operating system.
The PIC64 MPU family from Microchip presents an exciting opportunity for designers looking to build scalable, intelligent systems with machine learning at the edge. In addition to four U54 64-bit RISC-V application processor cores, the PIC64 MPU features a single E51 64-bit monitor processor core. When used together in the PIC64 MPU, systems can simultaneously run a Linux OS and either a real-time OS (RTOS) or bare metal for deterministic performance. This flexible operation is made possible due to the coherence between the application processing cores and the memory subsystem.
Both core systems of the PIC64 MPU run at 600 MHz and include a physical memory protection unit. The configurable memory subsystem supports standard and user-defined secure boot and key management for military-grade security that is not vulnerable to Meltdown or Spectre exploits. Additional single-bit error correction and double-bit error detection on all memories boost system reliability.
While considered a mid-range microprocessor, the PIC64 MPU family meets the rising demands of modern embedded designs across a broad range of markets. Extensive connectivity and video interfaces make the PIC64 MPUs suitable for full-featured products and AI video applications. These interfaces include two CAN 2.0 A and B, two Gigabit Ethernet MACs, SGMII, PCIe Gen 2, two-lane MIPI CSI-2 at 1 Gbit/s, and HDMI 1.4.
To support development using the PIC64 hardware, Microchip offers a comprehensive tool suite serving Yocto Linux, Microchip Buildroot External, Linux4Microchip, Canonical Ubuntu OS, Zephyr RTOS, and MPLAB extensions for VS Code. The PIC64 MPUs are fully pin-compatible with Microchip PolarFire® SoC FPGAs.
Microchip also offers a high-performance variant of the PIC64 MPUs for space and defense applications, with 100 times the compute of current solutions while exhibiting very high radiation and fault tolerance. Standard PIC64 models are available with an extended commercial operating temperature range of 0°C to 100°C or an industrial operating-temperature range of -40°C to 100°C.