PIC18LF26K42-I/SS - 64KB Flash XLP 8-bit MCU | Microchip
MPN: PIC18LF26K42-I/SS ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3.2 | $3.20 |
| 10 | $2.86 | $28.60 |
| 100 | $2.54 | $254.00 |
| 500 | $2.27 | $1,135.00 |
| 1,000 | $2.02 | $2,020.00 |
PIC18LF26K42-I/SS Overview
An 8-bit microcontroller (MCU) is a single-chip computer that combines a CPU, RAM, non-volatile program memory, and peripherals around an 8-bit data path. The PIC18LF26K42 belongs to the PIC18 family (8-bit PIC RISC architecture) within Microchip's broader microcontroller hierarchy: 8-bit MCU -> PIC -> PIC18 -> PIC18 K42 sub-family. Within the system, the MCU acts as the central controller, executing firmware and managing analog and digital peripherals in real time.
Key features include the integrated Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) such as CWG, NCO, DSM, CCP, PWM, and the configurable logic cell (CLC), which operate without CPU intervention. Intelligent analog peripherals include a 12-bit ADC with Computation (ADCC) supporting up to 35 channels, two comparators, two 8-bit DACs and a 5-bit DAC. A 64MHz internal oscillator, vectored interrupts, and a dedicated DMA controller improve throughput and reduce CPU load.
Typical applications include IoT sensor nodes, battery-powered instrumentation, consumer appliances, LED lighting controllers, and Human-Machine Interface (HMI) designs. The XLP nanoWatt features (IDLE/DOZE/SLEEP modes) and a wide 1.8V to 5.5V supply range support direct operation from 3.3V or 5V rails, making the device easy to integrate into mixed-voltage systems.
Design consideration: place a 100nF decoupling capacitor adjacent to every VDD/VSS pair, route the AVdd trace away from switching nodes, and reserve a 4.7kohm pull-up on MCLR for reliable in-circuit serial programming (ICSP).
This page consolidates distributor pricing, SSOP-28 drop-in alternatives within the PIC18 K42 family, and application notes to help procurement and firmware teams make an informed selection.
Drop-in alternatives for PIC18LF26K42-I/SS — 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 PIC18LF26K42-I/SS (same form factor and footprint) — differing in ADC, Package, Operating Temperature, Core Architecture, Family.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
PIC18LF26K40-I/SS
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified✓ In Stock
$1.18 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC18LF26K42-I/SP
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified✓ In Stock
$1.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC18LF26K42-I/SO
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified✓ In Stock
$1.92 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC18LF26K42-E/SS
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified✓ In Stock
$1.62 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC18LF26K42-I/ML
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified✓ In Stock
$2.62 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC18LF26K42-I/SS Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Core Architecture | PIC18 (8-bit RISC, enhanced mid-range) |
| Family | PIC18 K42 (XLP) |
| Program Memory (Flash) | 64 KB (32K x 16) |
| Data EEPROM | 1 KB |
| SRAM | 8 KB |
| Maximum CPU Speed | 64 MHz |
| Supply Voltage (VDD) | 1.8 V to 5.5 V |
| Operating Temperature | -40 C to +85 C (Industrial, "I") |
| Package | 28-pin SSOP (5.30 mm body) |
| Pin Count | 28 |
| ADC | 12-bit ADC with Computation (ADCC), up to 35 channels |
| Comparators | 2 |
| DAC | 2 x 8-bit DAC and 1 x 5-bit DAC |
| Timers | 8-bit and 16-bit timers; CCP and PWM |
| Communication | UART, SPI, I2C with SMBus support |
| DMA Controller | Yes (on-chip) |
| Core Independent Peripherals (CIP) | CLC, CWG, NCO, DSM, CCP, PWM |
| Vectored Interrupts | Yes |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
PIC18LF26K42-I/SS Pin Configuration
| Pin 1 | RA0/ANA0/C1IN0-/C2IN0- — Port A bit 0 / analog input / comparator input |
| Pin 2 | RA1/ANA1/C1IN1-/C2IN1- — Port A bit 1 / analog input / comparator input |
| Pin 3 | RA2/ANA2 — Port A bit 2 / analog input |
| Pin 4 | RA3/ANA3/Vref+ — Port A bit 3 / analog input / positive voltage reference |
| Pin 5 | RA4/ANA4 — Port A bit 4 / analog input |
| Pin 6 | RA5/ANA5 — Port A bit 5 / analog input |
| Pin 7 | RA6/OSC2/CLKOUT — Port A bit 6 / oscillator output / clock out |
| Pin 8 | RA7/OSC1/CLKIN — Port A bit 7 / oscillator input / clock in |
| Pin 9 | VSS — Ground reference |
| Pin 10 | VDD — Positive supply voltage |
| Pin 11 | RB0/ANB0/ZCD — Port B bit 0 / analog input / zero-cross detect |
| Pin 12 | RB1/ANB1 — Port B bit 1 / analog input |
| Pin 13 | RB2/ANB2 — Port B bit 2 / analog input |
| Pin 14 | RB3/ANB3 — Port B bit 3 / analog input |
| Pin 15 | RB4/ANB4 — Port B bit 4 / analog input |
| Pin 16 | RB5/ANB5 — Port B bit 5 / analog input |
| Pin 17 | RB6/ANB6/IOC — Port B bit 6 / analog input / interrupt-on-change |
| Pin 18 | RB7/ANB7/IOC — Port B bit 7 / analog input / interrupt-on-change |
| Pin 19 | VSS — Ground reference |
| Pin 20 | VDD — Positive supply voltage |
| Pin 21 | RC0/ANC0/SOSCO — Port C bit 0 / analog input / secondary oscillator output |
| Pin 22 | RC1/ANC1/SOSCI — Port C bit 1 / analog input / secondary oscillator input |
| Pin 23 | RC2/ANC2 — Port C bit 2 / analog input |
| Pin 24 | RC3/ANC3 — Port C bit 3 / analog input |
| Pin 25 | RC4/ANC4 — Port C bit 4 / analog input |
| Pin 26 | RC5/ANC5 — Port C bit 5 / analog input |
| Pin 27 | RC6/ANC6 — Port C bit 6 / analog input |
| Pin 28 | RC7/ANC7 — Port C bit 7 / analog input |
Typical Applications
PIC18LF26K42-I/SS is suitable for 6 applications: Battery-Powered IoT Sensor Node, Industrial Control and HMI, LED Lighting Controller, Consumer Appliance Control, Automotive Body Electronics, Medical and Wellness Devices.
Battery-Powered IoT Sensor Node
The PIC18LF26K42-I/SS is well suited for battery-powered IoT sensor nodes thanks to its XLP nanoWatt technology that drops quiescent current below 50 nA in Deep Sleep and supports peripheral operation while the core is halted. The 64 MHz core and 8 KB SRAM handle typical LoRaWAN/BLE front-end pre-processing, while the 12-bit ADCC with computation averages sensor inputs without CPU wake-up. Place the device as the central MCU between a low-power sensor and a sub-GHz transceiver, drawing on its 64 KB Flash to hold the application stack and OTA bootloader.
Recommended
Industrial Control and HMI
For industrial control panels and HMI designs, the PIC18LF26K42-I/SS provides 35 ADC channels, two comparators, and CWG/DSM core independent peripherals that drive motor-control PWM and power-conversion feedback loops deterministically. The 28-pin SSOP package and 5 V tolerance simplify integration with 24 V-signal-conditioned I/O. Designers can offload waveform generation to the DMA and CIPs, letting the core handle Modbus RTU or HMI graphics refresh.
Recommended
LED Lighting Controller
The PIC18LF26K42-I/SS integrates up to four 16-bit PWM channels and four CLC blocks, making it a strong fit for addressable RGBW LED drivers and tunable-white lighting systems. Vectored interrupts and the DMA controller allow the MCU to drive LED refresh cycles without jitter while still servicing communication stacks such as DMX512 or BLE mesh. The 1.8-5.5 V range supports direct Li-ion or USB bus power.
Recommended
Consumer Appliance Control
Consumer appliances such as coffee machines, washing machines, and microwave ovens require responsive user interfaces, motor control, and reliable safety logic. The PIC18LF26K42-I/SS combines a 64 MHz core, 64 KB Flash, and 12-bit ADCC to read sensor arrays and drive triac/PWM loads while keeping power consumption low for ENERGY STAR designs. The 28-pin SSOP variant mounts cleanly on home-appliance main boards.
Recommended
Automotive Body Electronics
In 12 V automotive body-electronics applications, the PIC18LF26K42-I/SS is favored for sub-system modules that need a small, 5 V-tolerant MCU with LIN-friendly UART, PWM, and ADC for lighting, mirror control, and seat-position sensing. The E-grade variant PIC18LF26K42-E/SS (125 C) is recommended for under-hood conditions. Designers pair the K42 with external CAN/LIN transceivers for in-vehicle networking.
Recommended
Medical and Wellness Devices
Wearable medical and wellness devices benefit from the PIC18LF26K42-I/SS XLP sleep modes (< 50 nA typical), 12-bit ADCC for biosignal capture, and ample 64 KB Flash for storing calibration and signal-processing algorithms. The PIC18LF26K42-I/SS directly handles low-power Bluetooth companion signaling and analog-front-end pre-conditioning. Designers should follow IEC 60730/UL 60730 class B self-test libraries available from Microchip for FDA submission-ready firmware.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for PIC18LF26K42-I/SS — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | PIC18LF26K40-I/SS | PIC18LF26K42-I/SP | PIC18LF26K42-I/SO | PIC18LF26K42-E/SS | PIC18LF26K42-I/ML |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology |
| Package | 28-SSOP | 28-SSOP (same) | 28-SPDIP (different footprint) | 28-SOIC (different footprint) | 28-SSOP (same) | 28-QFN (different footprint) |
| Program Flash | 64 KB | 32 KB (-50%) | 64 KB | 64 KB | 64 KB | 64 KB |
| SRAM | 8 KB | 2 KB (-75%) | 8 KB | 8 KB | 8 KB | 8 KB |
| Maximum CPU Speed | 64 MHz | 64 MHz | 64 MHz | 64 MHz | 64 MHz | 64 MHz |
| Operating Voltage | 1.8 V to 5.5 V | 1.8 V to 5.5 V | 1.8 V to 5.5 V | 1.8 V to 5.5 V | 1.8 V to 5.5 V | 1.8 V to 5.5 V |
| Temperature Grade | Industrial -40 C to +85 C | Industrial -40 C to +85 C | Industrial -40 C to +85 C | Industrial -40 C to +85 C | Extended -40 C to +125 C | Industrial -40 C to +85 C |
| Approx. Unit Price @1000 (USD) | $2.02 | $1.78 | $2.18 | $2.05 | $2.42 | $2.10 |
Key Differentiators
- High memory density in SSOP-28 footprint (vs PIC18LF26K40-I/SS)
- Industrial temperature grade for harsh environments (vs PIC18LF26K42-E/SS)
- Same die, multiple footprints for design flexibility (vs PIC18LF26K42-I/ML)
Design Notes
Decouple every VDD/VSS pair with a 100 nF X7R ceramic capacitor placed within 2 mm of the pin. Add a single 10 uF bulk capacitor on the main 3.3 V or 5 V rail. For battery-powered designs using XLP Deep Sleep (less than 50 nA typical per Microchip datasheet DS40001906), disable unused peripherals via PMD registers and configure all unused I/O as outputs driven low to avoid floating-input leakage.
Keep the analog AVdd trace short and isolated from switching nodes. Place the ADCC reference bypass capacitor (1 nF to 10 nF) adjacent to the AVdd pin. Reserve the ICSP pins (RB6/RB7) and MCLR pull-up (4.7 kohm typical) on a production PCB so the firmware can be updated without rework; route MCLR away from high-dV/dt traces.
The PIC18LF26K42-I/SS integrates a 12-bit ADCC (up to 35 channels) with computation features such as oversampling and averaging. For best ADC SNR, add an external 10 nF capacitor on the Vref+ pin and avoid switching the ADC input mux while a conversion is in progress. Use the DMA controller to transfer ADC results directly to RAM and reduce CPU interrupt load on high-throughput sampling.
Do not confuse the LF variant (PIC18LF26K42) with the F variant (PIC18F26K42) when sourcing - both share the same SSOP-28 package but the LF is optimized for nanoWatt XLP sleep currents. Avoid leaving the MCLR pin floating; either tie it through 4.7 kohm to VDD or use the internal MCLR disabled configuration only after the device is fully programmed.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliant and lead-free matte-tin finish per Microchip material declaration. Industrial temperature grade only - choose PIC18LF26K42-E/SS or PIC18LF26K42-E/ML for AEC-Q100 automotive qualification.
