PIC is a Microcontroller family from Microchip. The family contains low cost, simple Microcontrollers to the high-end complex Microcontrollers.
Microcontroller
In simple terms, it is a microprocessor with some add-on components like flash memory, RAM, EEPROM, ADC etc. in a single chip. Microcontrollers use low-speed processors and are easy to embed in an application. It is very easy to wire in a circuit and run a code in it.
Most used Microcontrollers are 8 bit, but it is available in 16 bit, 32 bit etc. It doesn’t need special interfacing circuitry for using with Microcontrollers as compared with Microprocessors. There are Microcontrollers which are running in KHz, MHz, and GHz. They can be operated in low voltage from 2V and they are low power devices.
PIC Microcontroller
PIC is the microcontroller family from Microchip. This family contains both advanced and simple controllers. Some of the Microcontrollers include USB, UART, CAN, ADC, I2C, and other interfaces.
PICKIT includes an advanced 8-bit Microcontroller PIC18F4550 which includes USB interface and relatively high flash memory for code memory storage. It also high RAM 4KB. Some features of PIC18F4550 are
- 32KB flash memory
- 2KB RAM
- USB v2.0 interface
- Serial Interfaces including UART, I2C, and SPI
- 13 channel 10 bit ADC
- 2 comparators
- Timers, Counters and Watchdog timers
- IO ports
- Low power operation
- Internal oscillator up to 8MHz and supports external oscillator