DSPIC33EP256GM306-E/PT - 70 MIPS 16-bit DSC, 256KB Flash | Microchip
MPN: DSPIC33EP256GM306-E/PT ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $7.17 | $7.17 |
| 10 | $6.75 | $67.50 |
| 100 | $6.2 | $620.00 |
| 500 | $5.75 | $2,875.00 |
| 1,000 | $5.3 | $5,300.00 |
DSPIC33EP256GM306-E/PT Overview
A digital signal controller combines the deterministic interrupt behavior and peripheral set of a microcontroller with the multiply-accumulate (MAC) DSP engine of a digital signal processor. In the system hierarchy, the DSC sits between a general-purpose MCU and a dedicated DSP, making it the natural choice for closed-loop power conversion and motion applications where both control math and rich peripherals are needed in a single chip.
Key features include the integrated DSP engine with hardware MAC acceleration, up to 12 channels of high-resolution PWM for motor control, dual analog-to-digital converters, integrated operational amplifiers, quadrature encoder interface (QEI) blocks, DMA data transfer, RTC and timers, and low-power management modes. The device operates from a 3V to 3.6V supply (3.3V nominal) with 53 general-purpose I/O lines.
Architecturally, the dsPIC33E core uses a Harvard bus structure with a 24-bit instruction word and hardware loop support, letting it execute DSP-class filter and transform algorithms at 70 MIPS while simultaneously servicing the control-loop peripherals. Peripheral Pin Select (PPS) allows flexible remapping of digital peripherals onto I/O pins, easing PCB routing and design reuse.
Typical applications include precision AC induction, brushless DC and permanent-magnet synchronous motor control, digital power supplies and inverters, industrial automation, robotics, and sensor signal conditioning using the on-chip op amps.
Design consideration: all VDD and VSS pairs must be connected, and programming requires PGECx/PGEDx pins to be used as a matched pair; overlooking this is a common bring-up failure.
This page adds value beyond the manufacturer datasheet by synthesizing distributor pricing, drop-in alternatives, and practical design notes in one reference.
Drop-in alternatives for DSPIC33EP256GM306-E/PT — 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 DSPIC33EP256GM306-E/PT (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Quadrature Encoder Interfaces, Operating Temperature, Package, RAM, Qualification.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
DSPIC33EP256GM306-I/PT
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
DSPIC33EP128GM306-E/PT
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$6.15 / Unit
View Datasheet →DSPIC33EP256GP306-E/PT
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
DSPIC33CH256MP506-E/PT
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
DSPIC33EP256MU506-E/PT
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
DSPIC33EP256GM306-E/PT Specifications (manufacturer-published)
| Core Architecture | 16-bit dsPIC33E Harvard, integrated DSP engine |
| Maximum CPU Speed | 70 MIPS |
| Internal Oscillator / PLL Rate | 240 MHz (per LCSC listing) |
| Program Memory (Flash) | 256 KB |
| RAM | 32 KB |
| Supply Voltage Range | 3 V to 3.6 V (3.3 V nominal) |
| Number of I/O | 53 |
| PWM Channels | 12 PC PWM (motor-control class) |
| Quadrature Encoder Interfaces | 2 QEI |
| On-chip Op Amps | Yes (integrated operational amplifiers) |
| DMA | Yes |
| RTC and Timers | Yes |
| Peripheral Pin Select (PPS) | Yes |
| Operating Temperature | -40C to +125C (extended, E grade) |
| Package | 64-pin TQFP (10x10 mm), PT |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Packaging | Tray |
| Qualification | Automotive, AEC-Q100 qualified series |
| Debug/Programming Interface | ICSP via PGECx/PGEDx pairs (2-wire) |
DSPIC33EP256GM306-E/PT Interfaces & Connectors
DSPIC33EP256GM306-E/PT exposes the following interfaces and connectors as published by the manufacturer: Power Input, Expansion / Buses. Expansion header pinout, connector pin numbering, and electrical limits are defined in the manufacturer documentation.
| Power Input | 3 V to 3.6 V (3.3 V nominal) |
| Expansion / Buses | 12 PC PWM (motor-control class) |
Refer to the manufacturer documentation for the full expansion header pinout and connector pin numbering.
Power & Thermal Characteristics
| Power Input | 3 V to 3.6 V (3.3 V nominal) |
| Operating Temperature | -40C to +125C (extended, E grade) |
Power input and thermal parameters for DSPIC33EP256GM306-E/PT as published by the manufacturer.
Typical Applications
DSPIC33EP256GM306-E/PT is suitable for 6 applications: BLDC / PMSM Motor Control, Digital Power Supplies and Inverters, Industrial Automation and Robotics, Automotive Body and Powertrain Auxiliary Systems, Sensor Signal Conditioning and Data Acquisition, Audio Signal Processing and Embedded Control.
BLDC / PMSM Motor Control
The DSPIC33EP256GM306-E/PT fits sensorless and sensored brushless motor control because its 12 complementary motor-control PWM channels provide per-pair dead-time insertion, while two quadrature encoder interfaces accept rotary encoder feedback directly. At 70 MIPS with a hardware MAC DSP engine, the device executes field-oriented control (FOC) current loops well inside a 20 kHz PWM period, and the on-chip operational amplifiers amplify low-level shunt-resistor current signals before the ADC samples them, removing external op amps from the BOM. DMA moves conversion results to RAM without CPU intervention, keeping loop latency deterministic. Place the controller between the position-feedback inputs and the gate-driver inputs; the main trade-off is that large gate-driver switching noise requires careful analog ground separation to preserve ADC accuracy.
Recommended
Digital Power Supplies and Inverters
Switching power converters - PFC stages, LLC resonant supplies, solar inverters, and UPS systems - need a controller that can run high-frequency control loops with precise, phase-shifted PWM. The DSPIC33EP256GM306-E/PT delivers 70 MIPS and a DSP core that executes notch and compensator filters efficiently, while its motor-control PWM module supports complementary outputs with programmable dead time and fault trip inputs for overcurrent shutdown. Dual ADC paths let voltage and current loops be sampled with controlled trigger timing synchronized to the PWM carrier, minimizing switching-noise pickup. DMA offloads result transfer so the CPU budget stays available for the compensator. The trade-off versus a dedicated digital-power MCU is that extensive I/O flexibility via PPS must be carefully assigned to keep analog pins away from high-dV/dt nodes.
Recommended
Industrial Automation and Robotics
Factory automation nodes combine motor axes, sensor arrays, and fieldbus communication, all of which the DSPIC33EP256GM306-E/PT addresses in a single chip. Its 53 I/O lines with Peripheral Pin Select let one PCB design serve multiple product variants by remapping UART, SPI, and PWM functions in firmware. The 256KB Flash accommodates protocol stacks, motion profiles, and diagnostics, while 32KB RAM buffers sensor data streams moved by DMA. Two QEI modules track two encoder axes simultaneously for coordinated motion, and the DSP engine handles filtering of noisy industrial sensor signals. The extended -40C to +125C E-grade temperature rating suits enclosed cabinets and drive environments. For robust deployment, add transient protection on field-wired I/O and use the RTC and timer blocks for scheduled maintenance logging.
Recommended
Automotive Body and Powertrain Auxiliary Systems
Because the dsPIC33EP256GM306 in the -E/PT suffix belongs to the automotive, AEC-Q100 qualified 33EP series (per Hotenda and Octopart categorization), it suits auxiliary automotive electronic modules such as pump and fan control, throttle actuators, lighting control, and sensor hubs. The -40C to +125C operating range covers under-hood and near-engine mounting points, and the 70 MIPS DSP core supports sensor signal conditioning algorithms such as demodulation and averaging that raw MCUs handle poorly. Integrated op amps condition resistive and current-loop sensors directly, and the 12-channel PWM drives actuators with soft-start profiles. In automotive designs, pair the controller with a proper load-dump-protected supply front end and validate software per your OEM's process; the AEC-Q100 grade of the component itself removes one qualification burden.
Recommended
Sensor Signal Conditioning and Data Acquisition
The DSPIC33EP256GM306-E/PT is effective as a standalone acquisition node because its integrated operational amplifiers provide programmable-gain conditioning of bridge and shunt sensors, feeding internal ADCs whose results stream to RAM through DMA at full sampling rate without CPU loading. The 70 MIPS DSP engine then applies digital filters - FIR, IIR, RMS - using single-cycle MAC instructions, which is precisely the workload a DSC outperforms a general MCU on. 256KB Flash stores calibration tables, multiple sensor profiles, and logging, while the RTC timestamps measurements for industrial monitoring. UART/SPI via PPS connect to radios or gateways. The design consideration is reference integrity: keep the analog supply (AVDD/AVSS) filtered separately from the digital rail to realize the ADC's resolution in a switching-noise environment.
Recommended
Audio Signal Processing and Embedded Control
Embedded audio applications - active crossovers, effect processors, acoustic alarms, and intercom systems - benefit from the DSPIC33EP256GM306-E/PT's single-cycle multiply-accumulate DSP engine, which performs 70 million MAC operations per second for FIR and biquad filtering. The Harvard architecture streams instruction and data simultaneously, sustaining sample-rate audio processing while the CPU also manages user interface and system control on the same die. 256KB Flash holds coefficient tables, multiple presets, and communication firmware, and 32KB RAM provides delay-line and filter-state storage. General-purpose PWM can implement Class-D modulation outputs, and the integrated op amps buffer audio-level signals. The limitation is the 3.3V single-supply analog domain, so external codec or amplifier stages handle high-fidelity output; within its class, the DSC integrates control and DSP economically.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for DSPIC33EP256GM306-E/PT — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | DSPIC33EP256GM306-I/PT | DSPIC33EP128GM306-E/PT | DSPIC33EP256GP306-E/PT | DSPIC33CH256MP506-E/PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 64-pin TQFP (10x10 mm) | 64-pin TQFP (10x10 mm) - same | 64-pin TQFP (10x10 mm) - same | 64-pin TQFP (10x10 mm) - same | 64-pin TQFP (10x10 mm) - same |
| Brand | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology |
| CPU Speed | 70 MIPS | 70 MIPS | 70 MIPS | 70 MIPS | Dual-core, 100 MIPS + 100 MIPS class (33CH core) |
| Flash Memory | 256 KB | 256 KB | 128 KB | 256 KB | 256 KB |
| Temperature Grade | -40C to +125C (E, extended) | -40C to +85C (I, industrial) | -40C to +125C (E, extended) | -40C to +125C (E, extended) | Extended grade, AEC-Q100 + FuSa |
| Supply Voltage | 3 V to 3.6 V | 3 V to 3.6 V | 3 V to 3.6 V | 3 V to 3.6 V | 3 V to 3.6 V |
| Architecture / Firmware Compatibility | Single-core dsPIC33EP, GM-series peripherals | Identical (same die) | Identical peripherals, less Flash | GP-series peripheral mix | Dual-core 33CH - firmware rewrite required |
| Qualification | Automotive, AEC-Q100 series | Industrial grade | Automotive, AEC-Q100 series | Automotive, AEC-Q100 series | AEC-Q100 + Functional Safety (FuSa) |
Key Differentiators
- Extended automotive temperature range on the identical die (vs DSPIC33EP256GM306-I/PT)
- Full 256KB Flash for protocol stacks and datalogging (vs DSPIC33EP128GM306-E/PT)
- Motor-control peripheral set versus general-purpose sibling (vs DSPIC33EP256GP306-E/PT)
- Lower migration cost than the newer 33CH dual-core family (vs DSPIC33CH256MP506-E/PT)
Design Notes
Connect every VDD and VSS pin pair on the 64-pin TQFP, and filter AVDD/AVSS separately with an RC or ferrite from the digital 3.3V rail. Microchip's documentation for this family explicitly warns that if even one power pin is left unconnected, programming may fail and operation can be unreliable. Also remember that PGECx/PGEDx must be used as a matched pair - ICSPCLK on PGEC2 requires ICSPDAT on PGED2, for example - and route these traces to a programming header on production boards.
Assign Peripheral Pin Select (PPS) mappings early in layout. Most digital peripherals (UART, SPI, PWM outputs) are remappable, but analog inputs, oscillator pins, and PGECx/PGEDx pairs are fixed. Keep analog input traces short and away from the 12 PWM outputs and gate-driver returns to prevent switching noise from corrupting ADC conversions. Use a solid ground plane under the controller with the exposed analog island tied at a single point, and place 100nF decoupling capacitors within 2-3 mm of each VDD/VSS pair.
The device operates from 3V to 3.6V, so a 3.3V LDO or buck output is required; do not feed 5V directly. Estimated: at 70 MIPS with heavy I/O activity, core current is typically in the tens-of-milliamps class per the family datasheet electrical characteristics, so a 500 mA-class regulator provides comfortable margin including peripheral loads and programming current. In automotive boards, add load-dump protection and reverse-polarity protection ahead of the regulator per your OEM requirements.
Compliance Information
Distributor listings (Hotenda, Octopart) categorize the dsPIC33EP256GM306 series as 'Automotive, AEC-Q100'. RoHS/lead-free status per Microchip standard product policy; REACH and halogen-free status not stated in provided data - confirm with Microchip compliance documents per lot.
