ATMEGA168-15AT - 8-bit AVR MCU 16MHz 16KB Flash | Microchip
MPN: ATMEGA168-15AT ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2.45 | $2.45 |
| 10 | $2.2 | $22.00 |
| 100 | $1.95 | $195.00 |
| 500 | $1.75 | $875.00 |
| 1,000 | $1.58 | $1,580.00 |
ATMEGA168-15AT Overview
An 8-bit AVR microcontroller is a single-chip computer based on the AVR enhanced RISC architecture, which executes most instructions in a single clock cycle. Within the power-management hierarchy, it belongs to the embedded microcontroller (MCU) class of integrated circuits, combining a processor core, program memory, data memory, and peripherals such as timers, USART, SPI, and I2C on one die. The ATmega family is a staple of cost-sensitive embedded control, including the classic Arduino platform.
Key features include 23 general-purpose I/O lines, 32 general-purpose working registers, read-while-write FLASH for in-system self-programming, and multiple sleep modes for low-power operation. The 16 MHz speed grade (suffix -15/-16 family class) delivers up to 16 MIPS throughput at 5 V.
Architecturally, the AVR core uses a Harvard structure with separate program and data buses and single-cycle ALU operation, providing deterministic real-time behavior favored in motor control and automotive body-electronics nodes.
Typical applications include automotive body control modules (leveraging AEC-Q100 qualification), industrial sensor nodes, and consumer embedded systems such as Arduino-compatible boards.
Design consideration: program the fuse bits correctly for clock source and BOD level; the -15 suffix speed rating must be observed versus supply voltage.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in alternatives, pinout data, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for ATMEGA168-15AT — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Variants in this series
Same-series models that are drop-in compatible with ATMEGA168-15AT (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Timers, ADC, Instruction Set, EEPROM.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
ATMEGA168PA-AU
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$0.98 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATMEGA328P-AU
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1.9 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATMEGA165PA-AU
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$2.05 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATMEGA164P-15AT
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$2.35 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATMEGA164PA-AUR
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$2.05 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATMEGA164A-MU
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$3.01 / Unit
View Datasheet →ATMEGA168-15AT Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Core | AVR 8-bit RISC |
| Core Size | 8-bit |
| Maximum Clock Frequency | 16 MHz |
| Program Memory Size | 16 KB (8K x 16) FLASH |
| Program Memory Type | ISP FLASH (read-while-write) |
| EEPROM Size | 512 B |
| SRAM Size | 1 KB |
| Number of I/O | 23 general purpose I/O lines |
| Working Registers | 32 general purpose |
| Supply Voltage Range | 2.7 V to 5.5 V |
| Package | 32-TQFP (7x7 mm) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Qualification | AEC-Q100 (Automotive) |
| Series | AVR ATmega, Automotive |
| Interfaces | USART, SPI, I2C (TWI) |
| Timers | 3 (two 8-bit, one 16-bit) |
ATMEGA168-15AT Pin Configuration
| Pin 1 | PD3 — Port D bit 3 / INT1 external interrupt |
| Pin 2 | PD4 — Port D bit 4 / XCK / T0 |
| Pin 3 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 4 | VCC — Digital supply voltage |
| Pin 5 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 6 | VCC — Digital supply voltage |
| Pin 7 | PB6 — Port B bit 6 / XTAL1 (clock input) |
| Pin 8 | PB7 — Port B bit 7 / XTAL2 (clock output) |
| Pin 9 | PD5 — Port D bit 5 / T1 / OC0B |
| Pin 10 | PD6 — Port D bit 6 / AIN0 / OC0A |
| Pin 11 | PD7 — Port D bit 7 / AIN1 |
| Pin 12 | PB0 — Port B bit 0 / ICP1 / CLKO |
| Pin 13 | PB1 — Port B bit 1 / OC1A |
| Pin 14 | PB2 — Port B bit 2 / SS / OC1B |
| Pin 15 | PB3 — Port B bit 3 / MOSI / OC2A |
| Pin 16 | PB4 — Port B bit 4 / MISO |
| Pin 17 | PB5 — Port B bit 5 / SCK |
| Pin 18 | AVCC — ADC supply voltage |
| Pin 19 | AREF — ADC analog reference |
| Pin 20 | PB5 — Alternate function position per family mux - NC in some package drawings (verify) |
| Pin 21 | PC0 — Port C bit 0 / ADC0 |
| Pin 22 | PC1 — Port C bit 1 / ADC1 |
| Pin 23 | PC2 — Port C bit 2 / ADC2 |
| Pin 24 | PC3 — Port C bit 3 / ADC3 |
| Pin 25 | PC4 — Port C bit 4 / ADC4 / SDA |
| Pin 26 | PC5 — Port C bit 5 / ADC5 / SCL |
| Pin 27 | PC6 — Port C bit 6 / RESET (active low) |
| Pin 28 | PD0 — Port D bit 0 / RXD (USART) |
| Pin 29 | PD1 — Port D bit 1 / TXD (USART) |
| Pin 30 | PD2 — Port D bit 2 / INT0 / RXD1 |
| Pin 31 | PC0 — ADC0 alternate position per some package drawings - verify against datasheet |
| Pin 32 | AGND — Analog ground (ADC) |
Typical Applications
ATMEGA168-15AT is suitable for 6 applications: Automotive Body Electronics, Arduino-Compatible Embedded Systems, Industrial Sensor Nodes, Motor Control and PWM Actuation, Consumer Appliance Control, Battery-Powered IoT End Nodes.
Automotive Body Electronics
The ATMEGA168-15AT fits automotive body control nodes such as window lifts, lighting modules, and seat controllers because it is AEC-Q100 qualified and runs at up to 16 MIPS from a 2.7 V to 5.5 V rail tolerant of load-dump-degraded supplies. Its 23 GPIO lines drive relays and read switches directly, while the USART and LIN-compatible UART reduce wiring in distributed body networks. In a typical node, the MCU polls switches via its 10-bit ADC and timers, drives LED loads through PWM, and sleeps in power-down mode between events to meet key-off current budgets. Unlike consumer-grade 8-bit MCUs, the automotive screening removes the need for separate qualification of a non-automotive part in the same socket, shortening PPAP cycles.
Recommended
Arduino-Compatible Embedded Systems
The ATMEGA168-15AT is the original MCU class behind the Arduino Diecimila/Decimilia-era boards, making it a natural fit for Arduino-compatible designs that must remain cost-optimized. The 16 KB FLASH accommodates the Optiboot-class bootloader with about 14 KB left for sketches, the 1 KB SRAM handles typical sensor buffering, and read-while-write FLASH enables runtime self-programming for parameter storage emulation. ISP programming over the SPI pins integrates with standard AVR ISP programmers, and MiniCore-style core packages support the ATmega168 directly. Designers needing more headroom can drop in the pin-compatible ATMEGA328P-AU on the identical TQFP-32 footprint without board respin, preserving socket compatibility across cost and capacity tiers.
Recommended
Industrial Sensor Nodes
In industrial sensing and monitoring nodes, the ATMEGA168-15AT pairs its 10-bit ADC and 23 GPIO with USART, SPI, and TWI interfaces to digitize sensors and stream data over RS-485 or legacy serial links. The 16 MHz RISC core executes most instructions in one cycle, giving deterministic sampling intervals for PID-type control loops, while multiple sleep modes let battery-backed nodes meet multi-year life targets. The 512 B EEPROM stores calibration coefficients that survive power loss without external memory. Compared with 32-bit MCUs, the AVR's simple single-supply 2.7 V to 5.5 V operation and 5 V-tolerant I/O simplify interfacing with legacy 24 V-logic-conditioned industrial signals through optocouplers and comparators, reducing bill-of-materials complexity in retrofit equipment.
Recommended
Motor Control and PWM Actuation
The ATMEGA168-15AT suits small DC and stepper motor control through its two 8-bit and one 16-bit timer/PWM channels, which generate complementary or phase-correct PWM at kilohertz rates with hardware precision independent of software jitter. The 16 MIPS single-cycle core closes current or speed loops in software at several-kilohertz bandwidths, and the analog comparator plus ADC support back-EMF sensing for sensorless operation. Its AEC-Q100 qualification extends these capabilities into automotive actuator modules such as flap and pump drivers. Because dead-time insertion can be handled in the 16-bit timer's output-compare units, external gate-driver logic stays minimal; designers should budget SRAM carefully, as the 1 KB capacity limits the complexity of advanced field-oriented schemes.
Recommended
Consumer Appliance Control
White-goods and small-appliance control panels are a classic fit for the ATMEGA168-15AT: the 2.7 V to 5.5 V supply accepts cost-reduced unregulated derived rails, the 10-bit ADC reads NTC thermistors and user potentiometers, and the TWI interface drives segment LCD or EEPROM companion chips. The 23 GPIO lines directly scan membrane keypads and drive triac/buzzer outputs, while watchdog and brown-out detector features maintain safety in noisy motor-driven environments. The 32-TQFP (7x7 mm) package balances hand-assembly feasibility for pilot runs with automated placement in volume. Its long-standing availability in the AVR ATmega family also simplifies multi-year appliance service-parts strategies compared with faster-obsoleted consumer MCUs.
Recommended
Battery-Powered IoT End Nodes
For coin-cell or single-cell Li-ion IoT endpoints, the ATMEGA168-15AT (or its picoPower sibling ATMEGA168PA-AU on the same footprint) combines power-down sleep modes with a 16 MHz active mode that wakes, samples, and transmits in milliseconds. The TWI and SPI interfaces connect to RF modules and MEMS sensors, while the 512 B EEPROM retains device configuration across battery swaps. Running from 2.7 V to 5.5 V allows direct operation from three alkaline cells or a boosted rail without an LDO in cost-optimized designs. Firmware should disable unused peripherals and use the asynchronous Timer2 with a 32.768 kHz crystal for accurate low-power timekeeping - a standard AVR pattern documented in Microchip application notes.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for ATMEGA168-15AT — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | ATMEGA168PA-AU | ATMEGA328P-AU | ATMEGA164P-15AT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 32-TQFP (7x7) | 32-TQFP (7x7) - same | 32-TQFP (7x7) - same | 32-TQFP (7x7) - same |
| Brand | Microchip Technology (Atmel) | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology |
| Core / Speed | AVR 8-bit, 16 MHz | AVR 8-bit, 20 MHz | AVR 8-bit, 20 MHz | AVR 8-bit, 16 MHz |
| FLASH | 16 KB | 16 KB | 32 KB | 16 KB |
| SRAM | 1 KB | 1 KB | 2 KB | 1 KB |
| EEPROM | 512 B | 512 B | 1 KB | 1 KB |
| JTAG Debug | No | No | No | Yes |
Key Differentiators
- AEC-Q100 automotive qualification (vs ATMEGA168PA-AU)
- Lowest cost per function in the footprint (vs ATMEGA328P-AU)
- On-chip JTAG debugging available in same footprint (vs ATMEGA164P-15AT)
Design Notes
Fuse configuration is the most common source of ATmega168 field failures. Setting CKSEL fuses for an external crystal on a board with no crystal, or disabling SPIEN, permanently bricks ISP access. Always program fuses before soldering test boards into final assemblies, verify with a programmer read-back, and set the brown-out detector (BOD) to 2.7 V for 5 V systems to prevent EEPROM corruption during brown-out events. Estimated: a BOD-enabled design typically adds negligible current (<20 uA) versus full power-down.
Place a 100 nF ceramic decoupling capacitor directly across each VCC/GND pin pair (pins 4/3/5/6 region of the TQFP-32) plus a 100 nF capacitor at AVCC pin 18 with a series 10 uH ferrite or low-value resistor from VCC to AVCC to keep digital noise out of the ADC. Route the AREF node with a 100 nF capacitor to ground and keep analog traces away from the crystal circuit. The exposed center of the 7x7 mm TQFP region should be a solid ground pour with via stitching.
Speed derates with supply voltage on AVR devices: the 16 MHz rating applies at 5 V; at 3.3 V the safe maximum is lower per the datasheet speed-versus-VCC curve. Estimated rule of thumb from the classic AVR curve: below ~4.5 V, derate to roughly 13.3 MHz at 4.5 V and about 8 MHz at 3.3 V to keep margin. Always confirm against the official graph in the Microchip family datasheet before fixing your clock source, especially for automotive designs with cold-crank supply sag.
Compliance Information
AEC-Q100 qualification confirmed by DigiKey and Microchip USA listings (Series: Automotive, AEC-Q100, AVR ATmega). RoHS/REACH/lead-free status not stated in provided data - verify on the Microchip product page.
