Conversion challenges

It is very easy to be carried along by the wave of progress made by the digital world. As companies making digital devices push their products on to ever decreasing technologies, it’s understandable that these barrier breaking developments grab many of the headlines. But it’s also important to remember that analogue technology plays a critical role in the electronics industry. Without analogue devices, not a lot would be happening. And it’s also sensible to remember that, for every $1 spent on a microcontroller, there will be more – say $1.10 – spent on the analogue devices that surround it. Microchip is, of course, well known for its microcontrollers. Since being established in 1989, the company has shipped some 5billion of its PIC devices. Many of those featured on chip analogue peripherals, but it’s only recently that the company has taken the decision to produce those parts as discrete components.