When a Dual Core Approach Becomes More Than the Sum of Individual Parts

Dual Cores of dsPIC33CH Family of DSCs

One of the major challenges when designing high-end embedded control applications is integrating software from separate teams of developers. In complex applications using sophisticated algorithms such as wireless power, server power supplies, drones and automotive sensors, one team is often focused on developing the time-critical control code while another is working on the code for other functions like housekeeping, diagnostics and communication. In this situation, a microcontroller (MCU) with two cores represents an ideal solution because it provides higher performance while enabling multiple software development teams to simultaneously work on demanding power, motor control and other embedded designs. Each member of our dsPIC33CH family of DSCs has two cores—main and secondary. This family of DSCs was specially designed to allow code to be developed independently by separate design teams and then seamlessly integrated within a single device. The main core executes the user interface, system monitoring and communications functions, which can be customized for the requirements of the end application. This frees up the secondary core to execute time-critical control code.

For example, the secondary core can be used to manage the computationally intensive algorithms in a digital power supply, while the controller core independently manages the PMBus™ protocol stack and provides system monitoring functions. This approach improves overall system performance and responsiveness. Distributing the overall workload across two DSC cores in a single package also improves power density (by allowing higher switching frequencies), which in turn reduces component size.

The dsPIC33CH family was also designed to allow live system updates to be performed. This is especially important for power supplies where firmware updates must be made in applications where downtime is not tolerated. For example, in an automotive fan or pump, the secondary core manages time-critical speed and torque control while the controller manages communications (e.g., CAN FD), system monitoring and diagnostic features. Some more use cases are listed below.

Operated together seamlessly, this dual-core approach enables the use of advanced algorithms which can improve efficiency and overall system responsiveness. The new cores in the dsPIC33CH devices provide more performance than previous generation DSCs. Enhanced features include:

• Additional context-selected registers to improve interrupt responsiveness
• New instructions which accelerate Digital Signal Processor (DSP) performance
• Faster execution of instructions

Higher Integration

Apart from supporting CAN FD communication, advanced peripherals are available to each core, which can help to reduce system costs and board size. These include high-speed Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs), Digital-to-Analog Converters (DACs) with waveform generation, analog comparators, analog programmable gain amplifiers and high-resolution Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) hardware. These dedicated peripherals and the dual cores help meet functional safety goals by making designs more robust and enabling more redundancy with improved monitoring. The dsPIC33CH family comes with 64 to 512 KB of flash memory in eight different package sizes ranging from 28 to 80 pins, with form factors as small as 5 mm × 5 mm.

Enablement Tools and Ecosystem

These DSCs are supported by our MPLAB^® development ecosystem, which includes the free, downloadable and award-winning MPLAB X Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and MPLAB Code Configurator. The dsPIC33CH Curiosity Board (DM330028) is a cost-effective and flexible development platform and is the ideal starting point to explore the capabilities of the dsPIC33CH family and to quickly create a realistic product prototype.

We provide the following design tools for motor control applications:

• dsPIC33CH128MP508 Motor Control Plug-in Module (MA330039)
• dsPICDEM™ MCLV-2 Development Board (DM330021-2)
• dsPICDEM MCHV-2 Development Board (DM330023-2)
• dsPICDEM MCHV-3 Development Board (DM330023-3)

The dsPIC33CH128MP508 General Purpose Plug-In Module (MA330040) is also available for use with the Explorer 16/32 Development Board (DM240001-2).

If you think your application can benefit from this dual-core approach, you can purchase the dsPIC33CH DSCs from microchipDIRECT or from our worldwide distribution network.