Industrial and consumer application designers must consider implementing security functionality in their devices. Particularly, during the development process as security threats evolve and become more sophisticated.

To allow designers to easily integrate security into their applications, Microchip Technology has announced a new family of PIC32CZ CA 32-bit microcontrollers. Accordingly, it comes with a 300MHz Arm Cortex-M7 processor and an integrated Hardware Security Module (HSM). At the same time, it has a wide range of connectivity and Flash memory options for added flexibility.

Advanced Security for Industrial, Consumer Applications

The new family of PIC32CZ CA devices includes the PIC32CZ CA90 with a HSM or the PIC32CZ CA80 without the integrated HSM. The HSM in the PIC32CZ CA90 is a monolithic solution that provides advanced security for industrial and consumer applications.

The HSM operates as a secure subsystem with a separate MCU on board that runs the firmware and security features. Particularly, they include hardware secure boot, key storage, cryptographic acceleration, true random number generator, and more.

For products that require added security, factory provisioning is available on the PIC32CZ CA90. Thus, upon completion, provides customers with pre-provisioned devices ready for deployment. Microchip’s Trust Platform Development Suite is an in-house secure provisioning tool that enables a secure supply chain channel at scale or in low-volume production.

“The PIC32CZ CA microcontrollers make it easier for our customers to implement embedded security features into their design,” said Rod Drake, corporate vice president of Microchip’s MCU32 business unit. In addition, Drake said, “These are extremely versatile MCUs with the option of factory provisioning at low-volume production.”

The PIC32CZ CA MCUs can be configured using a wide range of connectivity options including USART/UART, I²C, SPI, CAN FD, High-Speed USB and Gigabit Ethernet. Moreover, the Ethernet option includes Audio Video Bridging (AVB) and Precision Time Protocol (PTP) based on the IEEE 1588 standard.

The PIC32CZ CA devices are the latest 32-bit MCUs to join Microchip’s broad portfolio of PIC32 and SAM families. Most importantly, they provide high-performance, functional capabilities, and many features to customize and create innovative products.