The MCP3221 PICtail™ Demonstration Board is designed to demonstrate Microchip’s MCP3221 device. The demonstration uses DataView™ Windows® software for a graphical real time data analysis from the board through USB. This demo board can also be used for firmware development to the MCP3221 device using the PICkit™ 1 Flash Starter Kit.

The MCP3221 device is a low-power, 12-bit A/D Converter (ADC) in a SOT-23 package. It communicates via an I2C™ interface.

The MCP3221 PICtail™ Demo Board is designed to demonstrate Microchip Technology’s MCP3221 device performance with the DataView software, a Personal Computer (PC) GUI, by way of the USB port. A mechanical potentiometer and a prototype area are used as the optional input sources to the device. This demo board can be used to demonstrate firmware development to the MCP3221 device using the PICkit™ 1 Flash Starter Kit.

This board is designed to evaluate the MCP3221 with minimum PCB noise. It uses a two-layer board with both analog and digital ground planes. The circuit schematic and layout have been carefully considered such that the user can evaluate true 12-bit performance using a simple PC USB power supply.

The MCP3221 is a successive approximation A/D converter with 12-bit resolution. Available in the SOT-23 package, this device provides one single-ended input with very low power consumption. The MCP3221 provides a low maximum conversion current and standby current of 250 µA and 1 µA respectively. Low current consumption.