The high-performance Microchip picoPower® 8-bit AVR® RISC-based microcontroller combines 16 KB ISP flash memory with read-while-write capabilities, 512B EEPROM, 1 KB SRAM, 32 general purpose I/O lines, 32 general purpose working registers, a real-time counter, three flexible timer/counters with compare modes and PWM, two USARTs, byte-oriented Two-Wire serial interface, 8-channel/10-bit A/D converter with optional differential input stage with programmable gain, programmable watchdog timer with internal oscillator, SPI serial port, JTAG (IEEE® 1149.1 compliant) interface for on-chip debugging and programming, and six software selectable power saving modes. The device operates between 2.7-5.5 volts. By executing powerful instructions in a single clock cycle, the device achieves throughputs approaching one MIPS per MHz, balancing power consumption and processor speed.