Information

13
16-bit Embedded Control Solutions
Display and Touch
Many 16-bit designs incorporate modern user interfaces
to increase the usability, functionality and look of end
products. More sophisticated displays and touch interfaces
create higher impact designs, yet they must be cost
effective and easy to integrate. Microchip’s solutions allow
for driving segmented or graphical displays with a single
chip and offer integrated peripherals for touch buttons.
Segmented LCD Displays
The PIC24FJ128GA310 and PIC24FJ128GC010 families
feature integrated segmented display drivers with up to
480 segments. Key advantages include:
■ Direct drive of inexpensive, low-power displays
■ Integrated analog for sensor applications like
temperature sensing in thermostats
■ Integrated touch sensing function for buttons or sliders
Graphical Displays
The PIC24FJ256DA210 family features integrated graphics
acceleration and a display controller to directly drive
displays up to 4.3" WQVGA with 480 × 272 resolution.
This “DA” family includes:
■ Dedicated graphics clock for a continuous,
fl icker-free display
■ On-chip display controller provides direct interface to
TFT, STN and OLED displays
■ Easy to use graphics processing units for hardware
acceleration allow for moving and copying rectangles,
decompressing images and rendering text without
CPU intervention
■ Integrated color look-up table and 96 KB frame buffer
support up to 8 bpp QVGA with internal memory
Touch Buttons: Keys and Sliders
Many PIC24 MCUs and dsPIC DSC products include touch
sensing capability for implementing keys or sliders as
an alternative to traditional push button switches using
CVD or CTMU technology. This enables more modern
and stylish designs, lower manufacturing costs and
increased reliability.
■ Longer battery life with eXtreme Low Power MCUs
■ Sensing through metal, plastic or glass
■ High noise immunity and low emissions
■ Free mTouch sensing solutions software library enables
easy integration
Development Tools
LCD Explorer Development Board (DM240314)
The LCD Explorer provides an ideal platform
to evaluate a MCU with a × 8 Common LCD
Driver on a 38 segment × 8 common LCD
display.
PIC24FJ256DA210 Development Kit (DV164039)
This kit bundles the PIC24FJ256DA210
Development Board (DM240312), a
3.2" Truly 240 × 320 TFT Display Board
(AC164127-4), three Graphics Display
Prototype Boards (AC164139), the MPLAB ICD 3 Debugger
(DV164035) and also includes a USB Cable and accessories.
Remote Control Demo Board (DM240315-2)
This board integrates graphics, mTouch
technology, USB and RF4CE into a single demo.
It features the PIC24FJ256DA210 MCU, a 3.5"
Graphical TFT LCD with resistive touch screen,
capacitive touch keys with plastic overlay, an
MRF24J40 2.4 GHz transceiver and a ZENA™
wireless adapter.
Software and App Notes
FREE Microchip Graphics Library
The Microchip Graphics Library is highly modular, easy to use
and has an open documented interface for driver or controller
support. The library supports the following features:
■ Pre-made graphics objects
■ Multiple fonts and languages
■ User interface for mTouch sensing
■ Buttons, charts, check boxes, scroll bars, list boxes,
images and basic animation
FREE Microchip Graphics Display Designer
The Microchip Graphics Display Designer for MPLAB X IDE
(GDD X) is a visual design tool that provides a quick and
easy way of creating Graphical User Interface (GUI) screens
for graphical interface applications on Microchip MCUs.
mTouch Sensing Technology Source Code and Demos
Microchip’s mTouch sensing solutions provide a free and
easy method for designers to add capacitive touch sensing
to applications utilizing PIC microcontrollers without the cost
of fee-based licensing and royalty agreements. This source-
code solution helps engineers quickly integrate touch sensing
functionality with their existing application code in a single,
standard microcontroller.
App Notes
■ Segmented LCD Biasing & Contrast Control Methods (AN1428)
■ Developing Graphics Applications Using an MCU with
Integrated Graphics Controllers (AN1368)
■ mTouch Sensing Solutions Acquisition Methods Capacitive
Voltage Divider (AN1478)
www.microchip.com/graphics
www.microchip.com/LCD
www.microchip.com/mtouch