2 About the Emulator
The MPLAB ICE 4 in-circuit emulator/programmer (DV244140) is Microchip’s latest fast and feature-rich emulation and programming tool for Microchip microcontrollers (MCUs), which include PIC, dsPIC, AVR and SAM devices. It debugs and programs with the powerful and easy-to-use graphical user interface of MPLAB X Integrated Development Environment (IDE).
By default, the MPLAB ICE 4 connects to your PC through a high-speed USB 3.0/2.0 interface. However, you can also connect using Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
The MPLAB ICE 4 connects to targets using a high-speed edge rate cable, connected at one end to the emulator, and at the other to adapter boards tailored for supported device communication.
The emulator communications with devices that have built-in emulation circuitry, instead of special debugger chips, so executes code like an actual device. All available features of a given device are accessible interactively and can be set and modified by the MPLAB X IDE interface.
The MPLAB ICE 4 was developed for debugging embedded processors with rich debug facilities which differ from conventional system processors in the following aspects:
- Processors run at maximum speeds
- Capability to incorporate I/O port data input
- Advanced host communication interfaces (Windows, Linux, and macOS)
- Advanced communication mediums and protocols
- Faster programming times
- Modular design (testability and maintainability)
In addition to emulation functions, the MPLAB ICE 4 system also may be used as a device production programmer.