Security threats are becoming increasingly complex, posing obstacles for product development in the Internet of Things (IoT), consumer, industrial, medical, and other markets. It is critical that these products have robust inbuilt security while simultaneously having minimal power consumption to extend battery life. Microchip Technology Inc. today announced the launching of the industry’s first microcontroller (MCU) that combines a secure subsystem with Arm TrustZone technology in a single package. The PIC32CM LS60, which includes Microchip’s Trust Platform security subsystem, makes it easier to design end products with a single microcontroller rather than two or more semiconductor chips. Designers may now locate a 32-bit MCU designed to safeguard goods and end users from remote or physical attacks on smart home devices, smartphone or tablet accessories, portable medical devices, wearables, connected appliances, and industrial robots.
As the IoT market expands fast, the necessity for edge devices to be safe with high levels of protection has become critical. The PIC32CM LS60, with its combination of easy-to-use Arm TrustZone technology and the Common Criteria Joint Interpretation Library (JIL) “high” rated Trust Platform secure subsystem, allows developers to implement industry-proven security practices and countermeasures to protect against a wide range of known remote and physical threats. These designs are backed by tools such as MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC), TrustZone Manager, and the Trust Platform Design Suite, which facilitate the configuration of the secure subsystem. The Microchip Trust Platform provisioning service allows you to securely provision keys and certificates.
“The PIC32CM LS60 is a unique offering in the market because it combines Arm TrustZone technology and Microchip’s secure subsystem in a single package,” said Rod Drake, vice president of Microchip Technology’s 32-bit MCU business unit. “We believe that MCU’s security, ease of use and low power operation will be a powerful shift in implementing advanced security technology in IoT applications.”
With the rising use of touch capabilities in waterproof wearables and modern appliances, embedded designers must develop touch interfaces that function well in noisy and damp settings. The PIC32CM LS60 includes an upgraded peripheral touch controller with the Driven Shield Plus function, which minimizes false touches caused by wetness and provides excellent noise immunity, allowing for superior touch interfaces.
In addition, the device includes core-independent SleepWalking peripherals and the Event System. To conserve power, these peripherals put the MCU core into sleep mode for extended periods of time. It also has on-chip analogue components such as operational amplifiers (op-amps), digital-to-analogue converters (DACs), and analogue-to-digital converters (ADCs) that may be used in sleep mode and interfaced with a range of sensors. The PIC32CM LS60 is compatible with the MPLAB Data Visualizer and Power Debugger tools, which allow you to monitor, analyze, and fine-tune power consumption in real time. This enables companies to create low-power applications and bring extended battery-life products to market sooner.
Tools of Development
Microchip provides the following development tools and services for the PIC32CM LS60 and its variants: Trust Platform Design Suite (TPDS), MPLAB Harmony v3 platform with MPLAB Code Configurator for Arm TrustZone, Touch Library, Touch Configurator, MPLAB Data Visualizer, Power Debugger, PIC32CM LE00 Curiosity Pro Evaluation Kit, PIC32CM LS00 Curiosity Pro Evaluation Kit, PIC32CM LS60 Curiosity Pro Evaluation Kit, PIC32CM LE00 Ultra-Low-Power, Water-Tolerant Touch Reference Design, MPLAB X Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and its debugger, compiler, and programmer ecology that surrounds it.
