PIC16LF1823-I/JQ - 8-bit 32MHz MCU 3.5KB Flash 16-UQFN | Microchip
MPN: PIC16LF1823-I/JQ ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1.45 | $1.45 |
| 10 | $1.3 | $13.00 |
| 100 | $1.18 | $118.00 |
| 500 | $1.05 | $525.00 |
| 1,000 | $0.95 | $950.00 |
PIC16LF1823-I/JQ Overview
An 8-bit PIC microcontroller is a RISC processor built around a Harvard architecture with separate program and data buses, executing one instruction per cycle (200 ns at 20 MHz, 125 ns at 32 MHz). The PIC16 enhanced mid-range core added a deeper call stack, hardware multiply, linear data memory, and C-friendly addressing compared with baseline PIC12/PIC16, while retaining the deterministic single-cycle execution that makes PIC MCUs popular in safety- and timing-sensitive embedded designs. This places the PIC16LF1823 within the broader hierarchy: PIC16 -> PIC microcontroller -> 8-bit MCU -> embedded microcontroller -> semiconductor IC.
Key features include an integrated 32 MHz internal oscillator with ±1% accuracy after calibration, two 8-bit timers plus one 16-bit timer, a Master Synchronous Serial Port (MSSP) configurable as SPI or I2C (including I2C slave with address masking), an Enhanced Universal Synchronous Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (EUSART) with auto-baud detect, a 10-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) with up to 8 channels and computation features, two rail-to-rail rail-to-rail comparators with selectable references, a 5-bit DAC, a 10-bit PWM module, and on-board capacitive touch (mTouch) peripherals for buttons and sliders.
Architecturally the device uses a modified Harvard layout with a 14-bit instruction word and 8-bit data path, plus nanoWatt XLP power management that drops the supply current to roughly 30 nA in sleep with Watchdog Timer disabled and active-low interrupt-driven wake from sleep on RB port-change. The 16-UQFN package exposes the die pad for thermal dissipation, which is essential when the part operates near the 3.6V maximum at 32 MHz full clock because the package is the dominant thermal path. The ICSP/ICD two-wire programming interface uses PGED1/PGEC1 on RA0/RA1, allowing in-circuit programming without removing the device from the board.
Typical applications include low-power IoT sensor nodes, battery-powered remote controls, LED lighting controllers, wearable health and fitness accessories, capacitive-touch user interfaces, and compact consumer appliances. The combination of XLP sleep current and a 10-bit ADC makes the device attractive for periodic-sampling sensor readout where total energy per measurement dominates the design budget.
Designers should pay attention to three trade-offs. First, the 16-UQFN footprint is small (4x4 mm) but not breadboard-friendly - a breakout or hot-air rework is required for prototype soldering. Second, the device operates only to 3.6V, so any 5V logic level on an I/O pin requires a level translator. Third, the MSSP peripheral supports both SPI and I2C but only one mode can be active at a time; firmware must reconfigure the registers when switching protocols.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, same-family drop-in alternatives, and practical design notes that go beyond the manufacturer datasheet itself.
Drop-in alternatives for PIC16LF1823-I/JQ — 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 PIC16LF1823-I/JQ (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, ADC, Program Memory (Flash), Data SRAM, Core.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
PIC16LF1823T-I/JQ
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1.05 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC16LF18323-I/JQ
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1.05 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC16LF1574-I/JQ
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$0.94 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC16LF15323-I/JQ
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$0.83 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC16LF15324-I/JQ
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$0.81 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC16LF1823-I/JQ Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Core | PIC16 enhanced mid-range 8-bit RISC |
| Instruction Set | 14-bit wide, 49 instructions, single-cycle |
| Maximum CPU Speed | 32 MHz (8 MIPS via 4x PLL from 8 MHz, or 32 MHz direct) |
| Program Memory (Flash) | 3.5 KB (2K x 14 words) |
| Data SRAM | 128 bytes |
| Data EEPROM | 256 bytes |
| Operating Voltage (Vdd) | 1.8 V to 3.6 V |
| I/O Pins | 12 (multiplexed with peripherals) |
| Package | 16-pin UQFN (4x4 mm) with exposed pad |
| ADC | 10-bit, up to 8 channels, with Capacitive Voltage Divider (CVD) |
| Comparators | 2 x rail-to-rail, with selectable references |
| DAC | 5-bit, 1 channel |
| PWM | 10-bit Enhanced PWM (ECCP) + standard CCP |
| Timers | 2 x 8-bit + 1 x 16-bit (Timer0/1/2) |
| Communication | MSSP (SPI / I2C with address masking) + EUSART (RS-232/RS-485, auto-baud) |
| Capacitive Touch | mTouch via CVD on ADC channels |
| Internal Oscillator | 32 MHz with ±1% accuracy after calibration; 31 kHz LFINTOSC |
| Sleep Current (XLP) | approx. 30 nA (WDT off, RTCC off) |
| Active Current | approx. 50 µA/MHz at 1.8 V |
| Operating Temperature (Industrial) | -40 °C to +85 °C (suffix 'I') |
| Programming/Debug | ICSP/ICD via PGED1/PGEC1 on RA0/RA1 |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
PIC16LF1823-I/JQ Pin Configuration
| Pin 1 | RA3/AN3/C1IN+/T6OUT/PGM — Digital I/O / ADC input / comparator non-inverting input / Timer6 output (shared with ICSP high-voltage programming) |
| Pin 2 | RA4/AN4/C1OUT/T0CKI — Digital I/O / ADC input / comparator 1 output / Timer0 clock input |
| Pin 3 | RA5/MCLR/Vpp — Digital I/O / Master Clear (active-low reset) / ICSP programming voltage input |
| Pin 4 | Vss — Ground reference |
| Pin 5 | RA0/AN0/CVDREF/C2IN+/PGED1 — Digital I/O / ADC input / CVD reference / comparator 2 input / ICSP data |
| Pin 6 | RA1/AN1/CVDREF/C2IN-/PGEC1 — Digital I/O / ADC input / CVD reference / comparator 2 input / ICSP clock |
| Pin 7 | RA2/AN2/C2OUT — Digital I/O / ADC input / comparator 2 output |
| Pin 8 | RC0/SOSCFO/CLKR — Digital I/O / Secondary oscillator clock out / clock reference output |
| Pin 9 | RC1/CCP2 — Digital I/O / Capture Compare PWM channel 2 |
| Pin 10 | RC2/PWM1/CCP1 — Digital I/O / Enhanced PWM output / Capture Compare PWM channel 1 |
| Pin 11 | RC3/SCL/SCK — Digital I/O / I2C clock / SPI clock |
| Pin 12 | RC4/SDA/SDI — Digital I/O / I2C data / SPI data in |
| Pin 13 | RC5/SDO/C2OUT — Digital I/O / SPI data out / comparator 2 output (alternate) |
| Pin 14 | RC6/AN6/TX/CK — Digital I/O / ADC input / EUSART async transmit / EUSART sync clock |
| Pin 15 | RC7/AN7/RX/DT — Digital I/O / ADC input / EUSART async receive / EUSART sync data |
| Pin 16 | Vdd — Positive power supply (1.8 V to 3.6 V) |
| Pin 17 | EP (exposed pad) — Must be soldered to Vss plane for thermal dissipation; pin 17 in JQ (UQFN) package |
Typical Applications
PIC16LF1823-I/JQ is suitable for 6 applications: Battery-Powered IoT Sensor Node, Capacitive Touch User Interface (mTouch), LED Lighting Controller / Color Mixer, Wearable Fitness / Health Sensor, Industrial Sensor Transmitter (4-20 mA Loop), Remote Control / RF Key Fob Transmitter.
Battery-Powered IoT Sensor Node
The PIC16LF1823-I/JQ fits a battery-powered IoT sensor node because its nanoWatt XLP sleep current is approximately 30 nA with WDT and RTCC disabled, allowing a CR2032 coin cell to last for years in a periodic-sampling duty cycle. The integrated 10-bit ADC with 8 channels can directly interface thermistors, photodiodes, and battery voltage dividers without external signal conditioning, while the MSSP drives I2C sensors with hardware address masking. Active-mode current of 50 µA/MHz at 1.8 V means a wake-measure-transmit cycle of a few ms drains less than 1 µAh per event, which dominates the battery budget. Compared to a discrete op-amp plus external ADC approach, the PIC16LF1823 consolidates the analog front-end, computation, and I/O into a single 4x4 mm UQFN, reducing BOM cost and PCB area.
Recommended
Capacitive Touch User Interface (mTouch)
The PIC16LF1823-I/JQ's mTouch capacitive touch engine uses the integrated Capacitive Voltage Divider (CVD) peripheral on the 10-bit ADC to implement buttons, sliders, and proximity sensors with no external touch IC. The CVD technique generates two reference voltages internally and measures the difference, providing inherent offset cancellation and improved immunity to humidity and temperature drift versus simple RC-charge timing. With 12 I/O and 8 ADC channels, a single device can serve an 8-button keypad or a 4-segment slider plus dedicated proximity wake-up. Typical scan times of 1-5 ms per channel are short enough to ignore motion artifacts in handheld devices while remaining low enough in current draw to operate from coin-cell batteries. The 16-UQFN package fits behind a 0.5 mm-thick acrylic overlay in compact remote controls.
Recommended
LED Lighting Controller / Color Mixer
The PIC16LF1823-I/JQ serves as a low-cost LED lighting controller because its 10-bit Enhanced PWM (ECCP) plus standard CCP module deliver 16-bit total PWM resolution for smooth dimming without flicker at the camera frame rate. The two comparators can implement hardware current sensing on the LED high-side or low-side, closing a peak-current loop without CPU intervention and freeing the 8 MIPS core for protocol handling. The integrated 5-bit DAC provides a bias reference for op-amp-based current sinks, while the MSSP drives a string of WS2812-style addressable LEDs or APA102 daisy-chain pixels via SPI bit-banging or hardware SPI. The 32 MHz internal oscillator with ±1% accuracy after factory calibration is sufficient for DALI or 0-10 V analog dimming interfaces without an external crystal, saving BOM cost in residential fixtures.
Recommended
Wearable Fitness / Health Sensor
The PIC16LF1823-I/JQ is suited to a wearable fitness accessory because its 4x4 mm UQFN package occupies 16 mm² of board area, fitting inside wristbands and pendant enclosures. The 10-bit ADC combined with the integrated 1.024 V fixed voltage reference (FVR) provides a stable reference for optical heart-rate and pulse-oximetry front-ends, and the CVD engine supports proximity detection for sleep-mode wake-up when the user touches the device. Sleep current below 50 nA with RTCC running enables 30 days of standby from a 70 mAh Li-Po cell, while active-mode current under 1 mA during measurement allows continuous heart-rate monitoring without noticeable battery impact. The I2C slave with hardware address masking simplifies interfacing to companion BLE SoCs that expect a fixed peripheral address.
Recommended
Industrial Sensor Transmitter (4-20 mA Loop)
The PIC16LF1823-I/JQ can be used as the digital core of a 2-wire 4-20 mA industrial loop-powered sensor transmitter, where the supply current is drawn from the 24 V loop via a shunt regulator. With a 3.3 V LDO and current-limiting circuit in front, the part's 1.8 V minimum Vdd is comfortably met, and its 32 MHz speed handles HART or proprietary FSK modulation on top of the analog 4-20 mA signal if required. The 10-bit ADC with 8 channels supports bridge-pressure, RTD-temperature, and thermocouple-cold-junction measurements simultaneously, while the 256-byte EEPROM stores calibration coefficients with 1M erase/write endurance. Industrial -40 °C to +85 °C temperature range (suffix 'I') matches process-plant and outdoor cabinet requirements without an industrial-grade part variant.
Recommended
Remote Control / RF Key Fob Transmitter
The PIC16LF1823-I/JQ is ideal for a low-cost RF key-fob transmitter because its XLP sleep current of approximately 30 nA allows years of standby on a CR2032 coin cell, while its 32 MHz core wakes in microseconds to handle button-press debouncing, rolling-code encryption, and OOK/FSK modulation via the MSSP or EUSART peripheral. The 12 I/O pins comfortably cover 4-6 user buttons plus an LED indicator and a triac/MOSFET driver output. The mTouch peripheral can replace mechanical buttons with capacitive sliders in premium key fobs, reducing mechanical wear. The wide 1.8 V to 3.6 V supply range allows direct operation from a single coin cell without a boost converter, simplifying the analog supply chain to a single decoupling capacitor.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for PIC16LF1823-I/JQ — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | PIC16LF1823T-I/JQ | PIC16LF18323-I/JQ | PIC16LF1574-I/JQ | PIC16LF15323-I/JQ | PIC16LF15324-I/JQ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology |
| Package | 16-UQFN (4x4) JQ | 16-UQFN (4x4) JQ - same | 16-UQFN (4x4) JQ - same | 16-UQFN (4x4) JQ - same | 16-UQFN (4x4) JQ - same | 16-UQFN (4x4) JQ - same |
| Program Flash | 3.5 KB | 3.5 KB | 7 KB | 7 KB | 7 KB | 7 KB |
| Data SRAM | 128 B | 128 B | 256 B | 256 B | 256 B | 512 B |
| Data EEPROM | 256 B | 256 B | 256 B | 256 B | 256 B | 256 B |
| Maximum Clock | 32 MHz | 32 MHz | 32 MHz | 32 MHz | 32 MHz | 32 MHz |
| Operating Voltage | 1.8 V to 3.6 V | 1.8 V to 3.6 V | 1.8 V to 3.6 V | 1.8 V to 3.6 V | 1.8 V to 3.6 V | 1.8 V to 3.6 V |
| ADC Resolution | 10-bit | 10-bit | 10-bit | 10-bit | 10-bit (with 12-bit selectable) | 10-bit (with 12-bit selectable) |
| I/O Pins | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Sleep Current (XLP) | approx. 30 nA | approx. 30 nA | approx. 25 nA | approx. 30 nA | approx. 30 nA | approx. 30 nA |
| Price @ 1k pcs (USD) | 0.95 | 0.95 | 1.10 | 1.05 | 1.15 | 1.20 |
Key Differentiators
- Lowest-cost 16-UQFN PIC16 with full enhanced mid-range peripherals (vs PIC16LF18323-I/JQ)
- Integrated mTouch capacitive sensing engine on-chip (vs PIC16LF1574-I/JQ)
- Wide 1.8 V to 3.6 V supply with nanoWatt XLP sleep current (vs PIC16LF15323-I/JQ)
Design Notes
The 16-UQFN package has an exposed die pad (pin 17 in JQ suffix) that MUST be soldered to a Vss copper pour of at least 25 mm² to keep the junction temperature below 125 °C. Estimated: at 3.3 V, 32 MHz, active mode 50 µA/MHz, the device draws ~1.6 mA and dissipates ~5 mW - well below thermal limits - but in sleep/active duty-cycled designs the thermal mass of the exposed pad dominates warm-up transients during the active window.
Place a 100 nF decoupling capacitor as close as possible to pin 16 (Vdd) with a trace length under 3 mm to limit switching transients when the CPU toggles I/O. For ADC accuracy better than 8 ENOB, add a 10 µF bulk capacitor near Vdd and use a star-ground topology where Vss (pin 4) and the exposed pad converge at a single point. Avoid routing digital signals under the ICSP lines RA0/RA1 unless shielded with a ground trace.
Do not assume 5 V tolerance on any I/O pin - the absolute maximum Vih on any GPIO is Vdd + 0.3 V, so a 5 V signal on a 3.3 V powered PIC16LF1823 will forward-bias the ESD diode and can latch up the part. Use the PIC16F1823 variant instead if 5 V logic is required, or add a series resistor and level translator. Also: the MSSP peripheral must be fully disabled and reconfigured when switching between I2C and SPI modes; firmware that leaves the SSPEN bit set can lock the bus.
When using the capacitive touch (mTouch) feature, route the CVD-capacitor traces as short, narrow tracks on the top layer only and surround them with a hatched Vss ground pour. Keep all touch traces away from switching signals like PWM outputs and clock traces by at least 5 mm of clearance. For high-humidity environments, add a 100 kΩ pull-down on the touch pin and increase the CVD sample count from 8 to 16 to reject moisture-induced baseline drift (per Microchip application note AN1478).
Compliance Information
RoHS and lead-free per Microchip product page (https://www.microchip.com/en-us/product/PIC16F1823). Industrial temperature range -40 °C to +85 °C indicated by 'I' suffix in the part number. Not AEC-Q100 qualified - choose AEC-Q100 equivalent from PIC16F1823-Q1 family for automotive.
