PIC18F25Q43-E/SO - 32KB Flash 8-bit MCU, 28-SOIC | Microchip
MPN: PIC18F25Q43-E/SO ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1.98 | $1.98 |
| 10 | $1.78 | $17.80 |
| 100 | $1.59 | $159.00 |
| 500 | $1.42 | $710.00 |
| 1,000 | $1.27 | $1,270.00 |
| 2,500 | $1.1 | $2,750.00 |
PIC18F25Q43-E/SO Overview
A microcontroller (MCU) is an integrated circuit containing a processor core, program memory, data memory, and configurable peripherals on a single silicon die, designed for embedded real-time control. The PIC18 family sits within the 8-bit MCU category in the broader semiconductor taxonomy, sharing the segment with 16-bit PIC24/dsPIC and 32-bit SAM/PIC32 devices; the Q43 sub-family is Microchip's lowest-power XLP variant targeted at real-time control and capacitive touch applications.
Key differentiating specifications include 32KB self-programmable Flash with a 1KB EEPROM data region, 2KB SRAM, 64 MHz internal oscillator operation (16 MIPS throughput), 12-bit ADCC with up to 140 ksps conversion, and XLP extreme-low-power technology delivering nanoWatt sleep currents. The Q43 family introduces 16-bit PWMs that eliminate the CPU interrupt burden in motor and lighting control, and DMA channels that allow peripherals to move data without CPU intervention.
Architecturally the device uses Microchip's enhanced mid-range core with a 16-bit instruction set and hardware multiply, eight-level deep hardware stack, and on-chip debug via ICD. Memory protection, code security, dual-watchdog timer, and CRC scanning make it suitable for IEC/UL safety-conscious designs. The wide 1.8V-5.5V VDD range enables single-cell Li-ion, 3.3V, and 5V system designs from one part.
Typical applications include real-time motor control (BLDC, stepper, FOC), capacitive touch sensing using CVD with automatic scan, LED lighting drivers, digital power conversion, USB-to-UART bridges, sensor hubs, and consumer/IoT appliances requiring low-power sleep modes. The 28-pin SOIC footprint is pin-compatible with many PIC18F2xK42 and PIC18F2xK80 designs, simplifying board migration.
When designing with the PIC18F25Q43-E/SO, leverage PPS for flexible peripheral routing and use the 16-bit PWM for motor/lighting drive to free CPU cycles. Always validate ADC acquisition time against source impedance and place VDD/VSS decoupling within 3 mm of the pins.
Drop-in alternatives for PIC18F25Q43-E/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 PIC18F25Q43-E/SO (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, ADC, Operating Temperature, Program Memory (Flash), Core.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
PIC18F25Q43-I/SO
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1.21 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC18F25Q43-E/SP
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$1.55 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC18F25K83-E/SS
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$2.28 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC18F25K42-E/SO
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$2.05 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC18F25K80-I/SO
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$2.71 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC18F25K22-E/SO
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$2.96 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC18F25Q43-E/SO Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Core | PIC18 8-bit enhanced mid-range |
| Program Memory (Flash) | 32 KB |
| Data Memory (SRAM) | 2 KB |
| EEPROM | 1 KB |
| Maximum CPU Speed | 64 MHz (16 MIPS) |
| Operating Voltage (VDD) | 1.8 V to 5.5 V |
| ADC | 12-bit ADCC, up to 140 ksps |
| DAC | 5-bit, 1 channel |
| Comparators | 2 with selectable reference |
| PWM | 3x 16-bit with 3x CCP and 2x CWG |
| DMA Channels | 6 |
| CLC (Configurable Logic Cells) | 4 |
| I/O Pins | 25 (28-pin SOIC) |
| Peripheral Pin Select (PPS) | Yes |
| UART/USART | 2 |
| SPI | 2 |
| I2C | 2 |
| Timers | 4x 8-bit, 4x 16-bit |
| Operating Temperature (E) | -40 C to +125 C |
| Package | 28-SOIC (7.50 mm width) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| XLP Technology | Yes (nanoWatt sleep) |
| MSL Level | 1 (unlimited) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
| Debug Interface | ICD / 4-wire programming |
PIC18F25Q43-E/SO Pin Configuration
| Pin 1 | RA0/ANA0 — Digital I/O / Analog input 0 / CWG input |
| Pin 2 | RA1/ANA1 — Digital I/O / Analog input 1 |
| Pin 3 | RA2/ANA2 — Digital I/O / Analog input 2 |
| Pin 4 | RA3/ANA3/VREF+ — Digital I/O / Analog input 3 / Voltage reference plus |
| Pin 5 | RA4/ANA4/T0CKI — Digital I/O / Analog input 4 / Timer0 clock input |
| Pin 6 | RA5/ANA5 — Digital I/O / Analog input 5 |
| Pin 7 | VDD — Positive supply voltage |
| Pin 8 | VSS — Ground reference |
| Pin 9 | RA7/OSC1 — Digital I/O / Crystal oscillator input |
| Pin 10 | RA6/OSC2 — Digital I/O / Crystal oscillator output |
| Pin 11 | RC0/SOSCO — Digital I/O / Secondary oscillator output |
| Pin 12 | RC1/SOSCI — Digital I/O / Secondary oscillator input |
| Pin 13 | RC2/ANB2 — Digital I/O / Analog input B2 |
| Pin 14 | RC3/ANB3 — Digital I/O / Analog input B3 |
| Pin 15 | RC4/ANB4 — Digital I/O / Analog input B4 |
| Pin 16 | RC5/ANB5 — Digital I/O / Analog input B5 |
| Pin 17 | RC6/ANB6 — Digital I/O / Analog input B6 |
| Pin 18 | RC7/ANB7 — Digital I/O / Analog input B7 |
| Pin 19 | VSS — Ground reference (second pair) |
| Pin 20 | VDD — Positive supply voltage (second pair) |
| Pin 21 | RB0/ANB0/INT0 — Digital I/O / Analog input B0 / External interrupt 0 |
| Pin 22 | RB1/ANB1/INT1 — Digital I/O / Analog input B1 / External interrupt 1 |
| Pin 23 | RB2/ANA8/INT2 — Digital I/O / Analog input A8 / External interrupt 2 |
| Pin 24 | RB3/ANA9/INT3 — Digital I/O / Analog input A9 / External interrupt 3 |
| Pin 25 | RB4/ANA10 — Digital I/O / Analog input A10 |
| Pin 26 | RB5/ANA11 — Digital I/O / Analog input A11 |
| Pin 27 | RB6/ICSPCLK — Digital I/O / ICD clock / programming |
| Pin 28 | RB7/ICSPDAT — Digital I/O / ICD data / programming |
Typical Applications
PIC18F25Q43-E/SO is suitable for 8 applications: BLDC and Stepper Motor Control, Capacitive Touch Sensing (mTouch / CVD), LED Lighting Drivers and Dimming, Industrial Sensor Hubs and IoT Nodes, Digital Power Conversion (SMPS / DC-DC), Consumer Appliance and Home Automation, Automotive Body and Interior Electronics, Medical and Health Monitoring Devices.
BLDC and Stepper Motor Control
The PIC18F25Q43-E/SO excels in real-time brushless DC and stepper motor control because its three 16-bit PWMs deliver sub-microsecond duty-cycle resolution, eliminating the CPU interrupt burden during commutation. Its 12-bit ADCC samples at up to 140 ksps, capturing back-EMF and phase current within the PWM period for sensorless FOC operation. The 6-channel DMA offloads encoder reads and current-sensing sequences to hardware, freeing CPU cycles for the FOC algorithm. With 16 MIPS throughput the MCU closes the FOC loop inside 16 kHz PWM periods without missing a cycle. The Complementary Waveform Generator (CWG) provides hardware dead-band insertion for half-bridge and full-bridge drives. Operating from 1.8V to 5.5V, the same part powers 3.3V logic and 5V gate-driver ecosystems.
Recommended
Capacitive Touch Sensing (mTouch / CVD)
The PIC18F25Q43-E/SO uses its integrated 12-bit ADCC with Capacitive Voltage Divider (CVD) hardware to perform fully automated capacitive touch scanning without CPU intervention, achieving sub-pF resolution across 12+ electrodes. DMA channels shuttle conversion results directly to memory while the CPU remains in nanoWatt XLP sleep, enabling multi-year coin-cell life on battery-powered touch interfaces. Microchip's mTouch firmware library provides ready-to-use reference designs for sliders, wheels, and matrix keypads with built-in moisture rejection. The Peripheral Pin Select (PPS) lets designers route touch channels to any spare pin, simplifying PCB layout. Industrial temperature grade (-40C to +125C) supports outdoor and appliance user interfaces.
Recommended
LED Lighting Drivers and Dimming
The PIC18F25Q43-E/SO drives multi-channel LED lighting strings using its three 16-bit PWMs to deliver 16-bit dimming resolution with smooth fades that eliminate visible flicker and stroboscopic artifacts. The 16-bit PWM frequency can be tuned independently of the CPU clock to avoid audible noise in magnetic components. DMA channels handle LED color-mixing math in the background while the CPU manages DMX-512, DALI, or wireless protocols. The 5-bit DAC supports analog dimming, while the integrated comparator enables hardware over-temperature and over-current protection with sub-microsecond response. The wide 1.8V-5.5V supply range supports both constant-current LED drivers and 24V architectural lighting rails.
Recommended
Industrial Sensor Hubs and IoT Nodes
The PIC18F25Q43-E/SO serves as an ultra-low-power sensor hub thanks to XLP technology achieving sub-1 uA sleep currents while retaining RAM and peripheral wake-up. The 12-bit ADCC with hardware averaging and oversampling reads noisy analog sensors like thermistors, photo-diodes, and strain gauges with 14-bit effective resolution. Six DMA channels autonomously poll I2C sensors such as temperature, humidity, and accelerometers without waking the CPU. Two UART, two SPI, and two I2C peripherals interface multiple wireless modules (LoRa, BLE, NB-IoT) over a unified peripheral pin select. The extended -40C to +125C temperature range survives factory floor, outdoor, and automotive under-hood deployments.
Recommended
Digital Power Conversion (SMPS / DC-DC)
The PIC18F25Q43-E/SO closes the loop in digital SMPS and DC-DC converters using its high-speed 12-bit ADCC for voltage and current sensing combined with 16-bit PWMs offering nanosecond edge resolution for digital peak-current-mode control. The four CLCs implement hardware programmable logic that synthesizes adaptive dead-time, slope compensation, and synchronous-rectifier timing without CPU load. DMA continuously updates PWM duty cycles from a control-law table, achieving deterministic loop bandwidth regardless of firmware complexity. Two on-chip comparators deliver cycle-by-cycle peak-current protection. The 64 MHz core and 16 MIPS throughput execute PID or state-space control within 200 kHz switching frequency, satisfying telecom and server VR requirements.
Recommended
Consumer Appliance and Home Automation
The PIC18F25Q43-E/SO powers white-goods, HVAC, and home-automation controllers by integrating touch UI (via CVD), motor control (via 16-bit PWM + CWG), and wireless connectivity through a single chip. The 32KB Flash accommodates connected appliance feature sets including safety monitoring, energy reporting, and over-the-air update hooks, while the 1KB EEPROM stores user settings without battery backup. Configurable Logic Cells implement autonomous safety interlocks (door lock + motor + heater) that operate even during firmware faults, supporting IEC 60730 class B requirements. Extended temperature operation and XLP nanoWatt sleep suit always-on battery-backed thermostats and battery-operated smart locks alike.
Recommended
Automotive Body and Interior Electronics
The PIC18F25Q43-E/SO (extended -40C to +125C) drives body-control modules, seat-position memories, ambient lighting, and HVAC blend doors in automotive applications where its 16-bit PWM provides smooth motor actuation and the 12-bit ADCC reads multiple position sensors simultaneously. The integrated CAN-friendly peripherals plus PWM-driven LIN slave emulation enable seamless body-network integration. The CLCs implement hardware fault detection (over-current, stall, over-temperature) with deterministic response, supporting ISO 26262 ASIL-A functional safety requirements. On-chip EEPROM stores trim settings without external memory, while the 32KB Flash fits vector-table, bootloader, and application firmware for body controllers.
Recommended
Medical and Health Monitoring Devices
The PIC18F25Q43-E/SO fits portable medical and wellness devices where its XLP nanoWatt sleep (sub-1 uA) extends battery life across multi-month deployments, while the 12-bit ADCC with oversampling reads pulse oximetry, ECG, and temperature sensors at clinical-grade resolution. The 32KB Flash accommodates signal-processing and BLE-protocol stacks, and the CLCs provide hardware watchdog supervision for IEC 62304 software-safety processes. Extended temperature grade supports wearables and remote patient monitors. Hardware DMA offloads sensor-buffer management, leaving CPU cycles for biometric algorithms. The 5-bit DAC supports analog bias generation for sensor front-ends in compact, low-power medical designs.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for PIC18F25Q43-E/SO — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | PIC18F25Q43-I/SO | PIC18F25Q43-E/SP | PIC18F25K83-E/SS | PIC18F25K42-E/SO | PIC18F25K80-I/SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 28-SOIC | 28-SOIC - same | 28-SPDIP - same pinout, through-hole | 28-SSOP - same pinout | 28-SOIC - same | 28-SOIC - same |
| Brand | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology |
| Flash Memory | 32 KB | 32 KB | 32 KB | 32 KB | 16 KB | 32 KB |
| SRAM | 2 KB | 2 KB | 2 KB | 2 KB | 3 KB | 1.5 KB |
| Maximum CPU Speed | 64 MHz (16 MIPS) | 64 MHz | 64 MHz | 64 MHz | 64 MHz | 64 MHz |
| ADC Resolution | 12-bit ADCC | 12-bit ADCC | 10-bit ADC | 12-bit ADC (no computation) | 10-bit ADC | 10-bit ADC |
| PWM Type | 3x 16-bit | 3x 16-bit | 2x 10-bit + 2x CCP | 2x 10-bit + CCP | 1x 10-bit + ECCP | 2x 10-bit + CCP |
| DMA Channels | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| CLC Count | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Temperature Range (E) | -40 C to +125 C | -40 C to +85 C (I grade) | -40 C to +125 C | -40 C to +125 C | -40 C to +85 C (I grade) | -40 C to +125 C |
| Approx Unit Price (qty 1) | $1.98 | $1.85 | $2.20 | $1.95 | $2.40 | $2.10 |
Key Differentiators
- 12-bit ADCC with hardware computation engine (vs PIC18F25K83-E/SS)
- Six DMA channels and four CLCs (vs PIC18F25K42-E/SO)
- 16-bit PWM resolution with CWG (vs PIC18F25K80-I/SO)
Design Notes
The PIC18F25Q43-E/SO supports 1.8V to 5.5V operation; bulk-decouple VDD with a 100 nF ceramic placed within 3 mm of pins 7 and 20, plus a 4.7 uF bulk capacitor. The dual VDD/VSS pin pairs (pins 7/8 and pins 20/19) must each be connected to maintain ADC accuracy at high sampling rates. Estimated: at 64 MHz with all peripherals active, ICC peaks near 10 mA so a regulator with 50 mA headroom is recommended for transient safety.
Place the 28-SOIC footprint on a top-layer copper pour that doubles as thermal spreading; the SOIC thermal pad is the lead frame which already connects to VSS through pins 8 and 19. Keep analog traces (ANAx/ANBx) short and away from PWM or digital switching signals; route the analog reference VREF+ (pin 4) with a guard trace to VSS to preserve 12-bit ADC linearity.
Do not exceed 5.5V on any pin including analog inputs; the absolute-maximum rating is 6.5V with a 50 mA clamp on VDD-VSS. The Peripheral Pin Select (PPS) must be unlocked via the PPSLOCK register sequence before remapping peripherals; attempting to write PPS without unlocking produces silent faults. The ICD pins RB6/RB7 should not be repurposed in production unless the debugger is no longer needed, since disabling ICSP prevents field firmware updates.
When using the 12-bit ADCC above 100 ksps, the source impedance must be below 2.5 kOhm to avoid acquisition-time errors; add a 100 nF ceramic at each analog pin if the sensor output impedance is higher. Enable ADCC averaging (16 samples) for low-noise ratiometric measurements such as thermistor bridges, achieving effective 14-bit resolution. The internal FVR (Fixed Voltage Reference) should be enabled and stabilized for 30 us before ADC reads.
Estimated: at 64 MHz full activity, the SOIC-28 package dissipates about 50 mW and rises 12 C above ambient on a 1 sq-in copper pour (theta_JA approximately 65 C/W). The -E grade maximum junction temperature is +150 C with absolute maximum +175 C, leaving ample thermal margin in industrial designs. Forced-air cooling is not required for typical Q43 motor-control or IoT designs.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliant per Microchip product page. Not AEC-Q100 qualified for automotive; PIC18F variants are general industrial grade. Lead-free matte-tin plating, MSL1 unlimited floor life per JEDEC J-STD-020.
