PIC16F687T-I/SO - 20MHz 8-bit MCU 3.5KB Flash | Microchip
MPN: PIC16F687T-I/SO ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2.42 | $2.42 |
| 10 | $2.18 | $21.80 |
| 100 | $1.94 | $194.00 |
| 500 | $1.72 | $860.00 |
| 1,000 | $1.53 | $1,530.00 |
PIC16F687T-I/SO Overview
A microcontroller (MCU) is a single-chip computer that contains a CPU core, program and data memory, peripherals, and I/O - integrating everything required to read sensors, drive actuators, and run application firmware without external logic. The PIC16F687 sits in the broader hierarchy MCU -> 8-bit microcontroller -> PIC16 family -> mid-range x14 core -> flash-based device -> semiconductor, a category pioneered by Microchip and still dominant in cost-sensitive and low-power applications.
Headline specifications include an operating voltage range of 2.0 V to 5.5 V, 18 digital I/O pins across multiple interrupt-on-change capable ports, an internal 8 MHz oscillator with PLL options, an enhanced USART, MSSP for SPI/I2C, a 12-channel 10-bit ADC, two analog comparators, three timers, and nanoWatt sleep modes with currents measured in nanoamps. The 20 MHz clock rate yields a 200 ns instruction cycle supporting deterministic real-time control.
The device targets applications that demand a small footprint, deterministic response, and ultra-low standby power - sensor nodes, white-goods control boards, battery chargers, and appliance human-machine interfaces. The PIC16F687T-I/SO suffix 'T' indicates tape-and-reel packaging for high-volume SMT assembly, and 'I' denotes the industrial -40C to +85C operating temperature range. The 'SO' suffix identifies the 300-mil SOIC-20 outline.
When designing in, place a 100 nF decoupling capacitor within 5 mm of VDD and a 10 uF bulk capacitor near the supply entry. Reserve the MCLR pin with its standard 10 kohm pull-up configuration unless using internal configurations, and confirm the ICSP programming footprint is accessible for production-line firmware update. This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in package alternatives, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet alone.
Drop-in alternatives for PIC16F687T-I/SO — 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 PIC16F687T-I/SO (same form factor and footprint) — differing in ADC, Core Architecture, I/O Pins, Operating Temperature, Package.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
PIC16F687-I/SO
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
PIC16F677T-I/SO
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1.34 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC16F685T-I/SO
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
PIC16F631T-I/SO
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$0.74 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC16F616-I/SO
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
PIC16F687T-I/SO Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Core Architecture | PIC16 mid-range 8-bit (x14) |
| Maximum Clock Frequency | 20 MHz |
| Instruction Cycle | 200 ns at 20 MHz |
| Program Memory (Flash) | 3.5 KB (2K x 14 words) |
| Data SRAM | 128 bytes |
| Data EEPROM | 256 bytes |
| Operating Voltage Range | 2.0 V to 5.5 V |
| I/O Pins | 18 |
| ADC | 12-channel 10-bit |
| Analog Comparators | 2 |
| Timers | 3 (Timer0, Timer1, Timer2) |
| Communication Peripherals | EUSART, MSSP (SPI / I2C) |
| Package | 20-pin SOIC (300 mil) |
| Operating Temperature | -40 C to +85 C (Industrial) |
| Power-Saving Technology | nanoWatt (low-power sleep modes) |
PIC16F687T-I/SO Pin Configuration
| Pin 1 | RA7/AN7/SS/CPS7 — Bidirectional I/O, analog input 7, SPI slave select, capacitive sense |
| Pin 2 | RA6/AN6/CPS6 — Bidirectional I/O, analog input 6, capacitive sense |
| Pin 3 | RA5/AN5/CPS5 — Bidirectional I/O, analog input 5, capacitive sense |
| Pin 4 | RA4/AN4/CPS4 — Bidirectional I/O, analog input 4, capacitive sense |
| Pin 5 | RA3/AN3/VREF+/CPS3 — Bidirectional I/O, analog input 3, positive voltage reference, capacitive sense |
| Pin 6 | RA2/AN2/VREF-/CPS2 — Bidirectional I/O, analog input 2, negative voltage reference, capacitive sense |
| Pin 7 | RA1/AN1/CPS1 — Bidirectional I/O, analog input 1, capacitive sense |
| Pin 8 | RA0/AN0/CPS0 — Bidirectional I/O, analog input 0, capacitive sense |
| Pin 9 | OSC1/RA5 — External oscillator input or GPIO |
| Pin 10 | OSC2/RA6 — External oscillator output or GPIO |
| Pin 11 | RC0/T1OSO/T1CKI — Bidirectional I/O, Timer1 oscillator output, Timer1 clock input |
| Pin 12 | RC1/T1OSI/CCP2 — Bidirectional I/O, Timer1 oscillator input, CCP2 output |
| Pin 13 | RC2/CCP1/P1A — Bidirectional I/O, CCP1 output, PWM output A |
| Pin 14 | RC3/SCK/SCL — Bidirectional I/O, SPI clock, I2C clock |
| Pin 15 | RC4/SDI/SDA — Bidirectional I/O, SPI data in, I2C data |
| Pin 16 | RC5/SDO — Bidirectional I/O, SPI data out |
| Pin 17 | RC6/TX/CK — Bidirectional I/O, USART TX, USART clock |
| Pin 18 | RC7/RX/DT — Bidirectional I/O, USART RX, USART data |
| Pin 19 | VSS — Ground reference |
| Pin 20 | VDD — Positive supply voltage (2.0 V to 5.5 V) |
Typical Applications
PIC16F687T-I/SO is suitable for 6 applications: Appliance Control Boards, Battery-Powered Sensor Nodes, Automotive Interior Accessories, Industrial Sensor Transmitters, Consumer Electronics HMI, Hobbyist and Education Projects.
Appliance Control Boards
The PIC16F687T-I/SO is well matched to white-goods control boards such as washing machines, microwave ovens, and coffee machines where deterministic 8-bit control is sufficient. Its 20 MHz core and 200 ns instruction cycle give responsive timing for triac-based heater drivers, while the 12-channel 10-bit ADC reads NTC thermistors and water-level sensors. The 18 I/O pins easily handle keypad scanning and seven-segment LED multiplexing. nanoWatt sleep keeps standby power below 0.5 W to meet Energy Star requirements, and 256 bytes of EEPROM store user presets without an external memory chip.
Recommended
Battery-Powered Sensor Nodes
For battery-powered sensor nodes in wireless or wired IoT deployments, the PIC16F687T-I/SO offers nanoWatt sleep currents in the nanoamp range combined with interrupt-on-change wake-up on 18 I/O lines. The 2.0 V to 5.5 V supply range accepts a single-cell lithium-thionyl-chloride or 2xAA alkaline pack down to end-of-life. The 12-bit ADC digitizes sensor readings, while the EUSART/MSSP peripherals connect to sub-GHz transceivers or sensors over I2C. The 3.5 KB flash holds small protocol stacks for BLE beacons or LoRa framing, and 128 bytes SRAM is enough for short message buffers.
Recommended
Automotive Interior Accessories
The PIC16F687T-I/SO suits non-safety automotive interior accessories such as ambient lighting controllers, seat-heater keypads, and HVAC blend-door actuators where -40 C to +85 C industrial-grade temperature compliance is acceptable. The MCU drives MOSFET half-bridges via PWM and reads rotary encoders through interrupt-on-change inputs. SPI connectivity talks to LED drivers and CAN-transceiver companion ICs, while the on-chip 256-byte EEPROM stores trim and configuration data. Engineers targeting AEC-Q100 qualified designs should step up to PIC16F1xxx or dsPIC33 variants.
Recommended
Industrial Sensor Transmitters
Industrial 4-20 mA loop-powered transmitters leverage the PIC16F687T-I/SO's wide 2.0 V to 5.5 V supply range and low-power nanoWatt modes to operate from the 3.6 mA minimum loop current. The 12-channel ADC digitizes bridge sensors, RTDs, or thermocouples, while the 10-bit resolution is sufficient for most process-control applications. The on-chip EEPROM holds calibration coefficients and tag IDs, and the MSSP I2C bus talks to external DACs used to drive the 4-20 mA current loop. Galvanic isolation is provided by a companion digital isolator on the SPI interface.
Recommended
Consumer Electronics HMI
Human-machine interfaces for consumer products - smart thermostats, coffee scales, and e-bike displays - benefit from the PIC16F687T-I/SO's combination of 18 I/O pins and on-chip peripherals. The MCU drives character or small graphical LCDs via SPI, scans capacitive touch pads through the ADC, and produces audible feedback using a Timer2 PWM channel and a small sounder. The 3.5 KB flash accommodates modest graphical UI state machines, and the 256-byte EEPROM stores user preferences across power cycles without external memory.
Recommended
Hobbyist and Education Projects
The PIC16F687T-I/SO is a popular choice for hobbyists and university embedded-systems courses because the 20-pin SOIC package is hand-solderable and breadboard-friendly, while the PIC16 toolchain is mature and well documented. MPLAB X IDE with the XC8 compiler is free, and the PICkit 3 or PICkit 4 programmer supports in-circuit serial programming through the standard ICSP pinout. The 3.5 KB flash holds simple RTOS kernels or finite state machines, and the 200 ns instruction cycle makes timing analysis intuitive for first-time firmware developers.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for PIC16F687T-I/SO — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | PIC16F687-I/SO | PIC16F677T-I/SO | PIC16F685T-I/SO | PIC16F631T-I/SO | PIC16F616-I/SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology |
| Package | 20-pin SOIC (300 mil) | 20-pin SOIC (300 mil) - same | 20-pin SOIC (300 mil) - same | 20-pin SOIC (300 mil) - same | 20-pin SOIC (300 mil) - same | 20-pin SOIC (300 mil) - same |
| Maximum Clock Frequency | 20 MHz | 20 MHz | 20 MHz | 20 MHz | 20 MHz | 20 MHz |
| Flash Program Memory | 3.5 KB (2K x 14) | 3.5 KB (2K x 14) | 3.5 KB (2K x 14) | 3.5 KB (2K x 14) | 1.75 KB (1K x 14) | 3.5 KB (2K x 14) |
| Data SRAM | 128 bytes | 128 bytes | 128 bytes | 128 bytes | 64 bytes | 128 bytes |
| Data EEPROM | 256 bytes | 256 bytes | 256 bytes | 256 bytes | 128 bytes | 256 bytes |
| I/O Pins | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 11 |
| ADC | 12-channel 10-bit | 12-channel 10-bit | 12-channel 10-bit | 12-channel 10-bit | 8-channel 10-bit | 8-channel 10-bit |
| Communication Peripherals | EUSART + MSSP (SPI/I2C) | EUSART + MSSP | EUSART + MSSP | EUSART + MSSP | MSSP only | MSSP only |
| Operating Voltage | 2.0 V to 5.5 V | 2.0 V to 5.5 V | 2.0 V to 5.5 V | 2.0 V to 5.5 V | 2.0 V to 5.5 V | 2.0 V to 5.5 V |
Key Differentiators
- Tape-and-reel packaging optimized for high-volume SMT assembly (vs PIC16F687-I/SO)
- Industry-standard 8-bit core with broadest toolchain support (vs PIC16F616-I/SO)
- Balanced flash, SRAM, and EEPROM mix at 20 MHz (vs PIC16F631T-I/SO)
Design Notes
Place a 100 nF decoupling capacitor within 5 mm of the VDD pin (pin 20) and a bulk 10 uF aluminum-polymer or tantalum capacitor near the supply entry to suppress switching transients from relay or triac drivers sharing the same rail. The PIC16F687T-I/SO's nanoWatt sleep current is specified with all peripherals disabled and I/O held at fixed levels; floating inputs can elevate sleep current by tens of microamps.
Reserve the ICSP programming footprint (ICSPCLK on RB6/RC3, ICSPDAT on RB7/RC4, MCLR/VPP on pin 4, VDD, VSS) on every prototype board. The Microchip PICkit 3/4 uses a 5-pin 0.1-inch header; routing these signals with test points or a header allows firmware updates without depopulating the MCU. Keep the trace between MCLR and its 10 kohm pull-up short to minimize ESD coupling paths.
Do not assume that analog inputs default to digital mode at reset; configure ANSEL and CMCON registers early in initialization to disable unused analog channels and prevent floating-input quiescent current. When using the internal oscillator, the OSCCON register must be written within the oscillator stabilization window (typically 4 ms after HFINTOSC startup) to avoid runaway code execution. Brown-out reset (BOR) configuration bits should match the lowest expected supply voltage to prevent code runaway at battery end-of-life.
Estimated: At maximum 20 MHz operation and 5.5 V supply, core current draw is approximately 8 mA, yielding about 44 mW dissipation in the SOIC-20 package with theta_JA around 85 C/W on a 1-oz 4-layer JEDEC test board. Junction temperature rise above ambient is below 4 C, well within the 125 C maximum junction rating. No external heatsink is required even in enclosed industrial housings, provided the PCB copper pour is at least 100 mm^2.
Compliance Information
RoHS-compliant per Microchip product page; lead-free SOIC-20 packaging. Industrial -40C to +85C temperature grade only; not AEC-Q100 qualified - use PIC16F1xxx or dsPIC33 for automotive safety applications.
