OREANDA-NEWS. Seiko Epson Corporation (TSE: 6724, "Epson") has announced that it has begun volume production of the S1C17W03 and S1C17W04, two new offerings in the company's S1C17W00 series of low-power 16-bit microcontrollers (MCU) featuring on-chip flash memory and 1.2 V supply operation. Epson plans to produce 200,000 of each new MCU per month.

The low-power MCUs in the S1C17W00 series are ideal for integration in portable electronic devices that run on a small, low-capacity power sources such as coin cells. They also support a wide variety of sensors. Designed specifically for applications that do not require a display function, the new products are smaller than the other chips in the series and are an excellent fit for products such as miniature sensor systems and wearable devices.

With the earlier products in the S1C17W00 series Epson primarily targeted applications such as digital watches and electronic price tags, so LCD driver circuits were integrated into the chips. However, demand has risen in recent years for simple, low-power MCUs without display functions. These microcontrollers are used for gas alarms, motion sensors, electronic keys, and other industrial and home sensor systems, as well as in wearable devices that will be paired with smartphones.
Epson responded to this demand by parting ways with the display function to create the S1C17W03 and S1C17W04. These MCUs are housed in tiny packages that have only a small fraction of the surface area of other products in the series.

The products in the S1C17W00 series operate from power supplies ranging from 1.2 V to 3.6 V. They run on a wide variety of batteries, from silver-oxide button cells to lithium-ion coin cells. In addition, Epson's low-leak process and power circuit technology limit current consumption in Sleep mode to 0.15 microampere, regardless of voltage. These MCUs have on-chip a 12-bit A/D converter*1, an R/F converter*2 that has been optimized for temperature and humidity measurements, and UART, SPI, and I2C serial interfaces. The ability to connect to a variety of sensors means they can be used as sensor node controllers*3 in a broad range of fields. These MCUs can be shipped in packaged or as die form*4

Epson is committed to improving the performance of its customers' products by leveraging its energy saving technology and other advantages to provide unique semiconductors.

*1 A circuit that converts analog signals to digital signals
*2 A circuit that converts changes in resistance to frequency
*3 A chip that performs tasks, processes data, and controls the functionality of other components in a sensor node
*4 An IC that is not packaged and thus has a smaller footprint

About Epson

Epson is a global innovation leader dedicated to exceeding expectations with solutions for markets as diverse as the office, home, commerce and industry. Epson's lineup ranges from inkjet printers, printing systems and 3LCD projectors to industrial robots, smart glasses and sensing systems and is based on original compact, energy-saving, and high-precision technologies.
Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises more than 72,000 employees in 94 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and the communities in which it operates.