PIC18LF45K42T-I/PT - 8-bit 64MHz 32KB Flash MCU | Microchip
MPN: PIC18LF45K42T-I/PT ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4.42 | $4.42 |
| 10 | $3.98 | $39.80 |
| 100 | $3.52 | $352.00 |
| 500 | $3.15 | $1,575.00 |
| 1,000 | $2.84 | $2,840.00 |
PIC18LF45K42T-I/PT Overview
A microcontroller (MCU) is a single-chip computer that integrates a CPU core, non-volatile program memory, working RAM, and a rich set of peripherals such as ADC, timers, communication interfaces and interrupt controllers. PIC18F/LF devices sit in Microchip's mid-range 8-bit portfolio, with the K42 generation extending the line by adding vectored interrupts, DMA, math accelerator (MAC), device information area (DIA) and configurable logic cells. The K42 hierarchy is: PIC18 MCU -> 8-bit PIC -> microcontroller -> embedded computing -> semiconductor.
Key features include 36 general-purpose I/O pins, a 12-bit ADC with computation, a 5-bit DAC, two comparators, multiple PWM/SCCP modules, vector interrupts with a fixed-latency context save, DMA-capable peripherals and zero-cross detection. The XLP (eXtreme Low Power) technology typically delivers <50 nA sleep current with RTC retention, enabling multi-year battery life in duty-cycled applications.
The K42 architecture employs a 14-bit instruction word with an 8-bit data path and a hardware multiplier, plus an internal 64 MHz HFINTOSC accurate to within +/-2 percent across temperature and voltage. Peripheral pin select (PPS) remaps most digital functions to a wide choice of I/O pins, simplifying PCB routing.
Typical applications include industrial sensor interfaces, low-power IoT end nodes, USB-CDC or UART bridges, battery-powered home-automation controllers, automotive body and lighting subsystems, motor control (BLDC driver companion), and consumer appliances requiring capacitive touch and 12-bit analog front-ends.
When designing with this part, ensure your firmware toolchain (MPLAB X IDE with XC8 compiler or MPLAB XC8 PRO) supports the K42 family and that you leverage the PPS mapping tables in the datasheet to avoid pin conflicts. For deep-sleep RTC retention, use the RTCC with an external 32.768 kHz crystal to achieve the lowest power budget.
This page consolidates distributor pricing, parametric-equivalent alternatives and design considerations not available on any single manufacturer or distributor page, providing a one-stop engineering reference for the PIC18LF45K42T-I/PT.
Drop-in alternatives for PIC18LF45K42T-I/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 PIC18LF45K42T-I/PT (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Core, Package, Operating Temperature, ADC, DAC.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
PIC18LF45K42-I/PT
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
PIC18LF45K42T-I/ML
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1.98 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC18LF46K42T-I/PT
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC18LF45K42-E/PT
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
PIC18LF45K40T-I/PT
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$2.08 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC18LF44K22T-I/PT
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC18LF45K42T-I/PT Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Core | PIC18 (8-bit) |
| Instruction Set Width | 14-bit |
| Program Memory (Flash) | 32 KB (16K x 16) |
| Data RAM | 2 KB |
| Data EEPROM | 256 B |
| Maximum CPU Frequency | 64 MHz |
| Operating Voltage Range | 1.8 V to 3.6 V |
| Number of I/O Pins | 36 |
| ADC | 12-bit, multiple channels |
| DAC | 5-bit |
| Comparators | 2 |
| Operating Temperature | -40 C to +85 C (Industrial) |
| Package | 44-pin TQFP (10x10 mm) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (SMD/SMT) |
| Packaging | Tape & Reel |
| MSL Level | 3 (per JEDEC J-STD-020) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
| Peripheral Highlights | Vector interrupts, DMA, CLC, CCP/PWM, math accelerator, PPS, RTCC |
PIC18LF45K42T-I/PT Pin Configuration
| Pin 1 | RA0 — Bidirectional I/O / analog channel AN0 |
| Pin 2 | RA1 — Bidirectional I/O / analog channel AN1 |
| Pin 3 | RA2 — Bidirectional I/O / analog channel AN2 |
| Pin 4 | RA3 — Bidirectional I/O / analog channel AN3 / reference voltage |
| Pin 5 | RA4 — Bidirectional I/O / analog channel AN4 |
| Pin 6 | RA5 — Bidirectional I/O / analog channel AN5 |
| Pin 7 | RA6 — Bidirectional I/O / oscillator output |
| Pin 8 | RA7 — Bidirectional I/O / oscillator input |
| Pin 9 | VSS — Ground reference |
| Pin 10 | VDD — Positive supply (1.8 V - 3.6 V for LF) |
| Pin 11 | RB0 — Bidirectional I/O / interrupt-on-change |
| Pin 12 | RB1 — Bidirectional I/O / interrupt-on-change |
| Pin 13 | RB2 — Bidirectional I/O / interrupt-on-change |
| Pin 14 | RB3 — Bidirectional I/O / interrupt-on-change |
| Pin 15 | RB4 — Bidirectional I/O / interrupt-on-change |
| Pin 16 | RB5 — Bidirectional I/O / interrupt-on-change |
| Pin 17 | RB6 — Bidirectional I/O / ICSP clock |
| Pin 18 | RB7 — Bidirectional I/O / ICSP data |
| Pin 19 | RC0 — Bidirectional I/O |
| Pin 20 | RC1 — Bidirectional I/O |
| Pin 21 | RC2 — Bidirectional I/O |
| Pin 22 | RC3 — Bidirectional I/O / SCL (default) |
| Pin 23 | RC4 — Bidirectional I/O / SDA (default) |
| Pin 24 | RC5 — Bidirectional I/O |
| Pin 25 | RC6 — Bidirectional I/O / UART TX (default) |
| Pin 26 | RC7 — Bidirectional I/O / UART RX (default) |
| Pin 27 | VSS — Ground reference |
| Pin 28 | VDD — Positive supply |
| Pin 29 | RD0 — Bidirectional I/O |
| Pin 30 | RD1 — Bidirectional I/O |
| Pin 31 | RD2 — Bidirectional I/O |
| Pin 32 | RD3 — Bidirectional I/O |
| Pin 33 | RD4 — Bidirectional I/O |
| Pin 34 | RD5 — Bidirectional I/O |
| Pin 35 | RD6 — Bidirectional I/O |
| Pin 36 | RD7 — Bidirectional I/O |
| Pin 37 | RE0 — Bidirectional I/O |
| Pin 38 | RE1 — Bidirectional I/O |
| Pin 39 | RE2 — Bidirectional I/O |
| Pin 40 | RE3 — Bidirectional I/O |
| Pin 41 | VSS — Ground reference |
| Pin 42 | VDD — Positive supply |
| Pin 43 | RF0 — Bidirectional I/O |
| Pin 44 | RF1 — Bidirectional I/O |
Typical Applications
PIC18LF45K42T-I/PT is suitable for 7 applications: Industrial Sensor Interface & Data Acquisition, Battery-Powered IoT End Node, Automotive Body and Lighting Controller, Consumer Appliance with Capacitive Touch UI, USB-CDC / UART Bridge & Debug Probe, Motor Control - BLDC Fan / Pump Companion, Smart Home Edge Controller.
Industrial Sensor Interface & Data Acquisition
The PIC18LF45K42T-I/PT's 12-bit ADC with computation, 36 I/O, vector interrupts and 2 KB SRAM make it a strong fit for multi-channel industrial sensor aggregation nodes. In a typical 4-20 mA loop or thermocouple interface board it reads up to 30 analog inputs through external muxes and provides linearization, cold-junction compensation and oversampling via the ADC2 hardware. The 64 MHz CPU executes FFT/IIR filter steps in real time, and the DMA engine offloads UART/SPI transfers to peripherals so the core stays in XLP sleep between samples.
Recommended
Battery-Powered IoT End Node
The 'LF' low-voltage variant of the PIC18LF45K42T-I/PT operates from 1.8 V to 3.6 V and adds Microchip's XLP technology for sub-50 nA sleep currents with RTCC retention. Combined with an integrated 12-bit ADC, 5-bit DAC, 64 MHz CPU and 32 KB Flash, the device is ideal for coin-cell LoRa/Sigfox end nodes that spend >99% of their duty cycle in deep sleep. The peripheral pin select (PPS) enables flexible routing of UART, SPI and I2C to any digital pin, simplifying antenna-switch control and sensor bus multiplexing.
Recommended
Automotive Body and Lighting Controller
The PIC18LF45K42T-I/PT is well suited for low-speed automotive body controllers when paired with an external CAN/LIN transceiver such as the MCP2517FD or MCP2003B. Its 12-bit PWM, complementary output generator, dead-band control and zero-cross detection simplify LED matrix dimming and H-bridge motor control for window lifters or mirror adjusters. The -E/PT extended-temperature variant handles under-hood thermal stress up to +125 C, and the on-chip DMA keeps the CAN/LIN bus responsive during ADC scans.
Recommended
Consumer Appliance with Capacitive Touch UI
PIC18LF45K42T-I/PT's 36 I/O, configurable logic cells (CLC) and built-in comparators are ideal for a consumer appliance's capacitive-touch and rotary encoder front-end. The mTouch peripheral via CVD acquisition drives up to 24 touch pads with hardware-driven scans, while the DMA-fed PWM module handles silent BLDC fan control and triac-fired heater dimming. The 64 MHz CPU delivers responsive UI feedback (sub-30 ms touch latency) without leaving the low-power sleep envelope between user interactions.
Recommended
USB-CDC / UART Bridge & Debug Probe
With its 64 MHz CPU and ample 2 KB SRAM, the PIC18LF45K42T-I/PT can serve as a low-cost USB-to-UART/I2C/SPI bridge for PC-based debugging. Combined with an external MCP2221A USB bridge, the MCU handles command parsing, scripting and protocol conversion at >1 Mbaud while running custom device firmware. The peripheral pin select (PPS) lets the same firmware map debug UART, SWDIO and GPIO tracers to any combination of pins, accelerating bring-up on power-rail or sensor prototypes.
Recommended
Motor Control - BLDC Fan / Pump Companion
The PIC18LF45K42T-I/PT's PWM/SCCP peripherals with complementary outputs, dead-band control and 12-bit ADC with computation make it an ideal companion MCU to a discrete BLDC pre-driver. The device runs sensorless BEMF zero-cross detection via its analog comparators, computes commutation timing, and streams telemetry to a higher-level control processor. DMA transfers the ADC result ring buffer to RAM in background, leaving the core free for the speed-control loop and stall detection.
Recommended
Smart Home Edge Controller
A PIC18LF45K42T-I/PT can act as a smart-home edge aggregator, polling Zigbee/Z-Wave sensors over UART, running local rules in 32 KB Flash, and posting events over Wi-Fi via an external ATWINC1500 or ESP32. The 12-bit ADC and 5-bit DAC are useful for analog sensor channels (light, gas), while the on-chip comparators enable zero-cross dimming of incandescent and LED loads. XLP deep sleep at <50 nA extends coin-cell life to multi-year durations for battery-powered door/window sensors and TRVs.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for PIC18LF45K42T-I/PT — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | PIC18LF45K42-I/PT | PIC18LF45K42T-I/ML | PIC18LF46K42T-I/PT | PIC18LF45K42-E/PT | PIC18LF45K40T-I/PT | PIC18LF44K22T-I/PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | TQFP-44 (10x10 mm) | TQFP-44 (10x10 mm) - same | QFN-44 (8x8 mm) | TQFP-44 (10x10 mm) - same | TQFP-44 (10x10 mm) - same | TQFP-44 (10x10 mm) - same | TQFP-44 (10x10 mm) - same |
| Brand | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology |
| Flash Memory | 32 KB | 32 KB | 32 KB | 64 KB (+100%) | 32 KB | 16 KB (-50%) | 32 KB |
| RAM | 2 KB | 2 KB | 2 KB | 4 KB (+100%) | 2 KB | 2 KB | 1.5 KB (-25%) |
| Operating Voltage | 1.8 V - 3.6 V | 1.8 V - 3.6 V | 1.8 V - 3.6 V | 1.8 V - 3.6 V | 1.8 V - 3.6 V | 1.8 V - 3.6 V | 1.8 V - 3.6 V |
| Maximum CPU Frequency | 64 MHz | 64 MHz | 64 MHz | 64 MHz | 64 MHz | 64 MHz | 64 MHz |
| Temperature Grade | -40 C to +85 C (Industrial) | -40 C to +85 C (Industrial) | -40 C to +85 C (Industrial) | -40 C to +85 C (Industrial) | -40 C to +125 C (Extended) | -40 C to +85 C (Industrial) | -40 C to +85 C (Industrial) |
| Peripheral Family | K42 (CLC, MAC, vector interrupts) | K42 (same) | K42 (same) | K42 (same) | K42 (same) | K40 (no CLC/MAC) | K22 (older, no DMA) |
| Approximate Unit Price (1-pc) | $4.42 | Similar (~$4.30) | Similar (~$4.40) | Higher (~$5.10) | Higher (~$5.50, extended temp) | Lower (~$3.95) | Lower (~$3.85) |
Key Differentiators
- K42 architecture adds vector interrupts, DMA, CLC and math accelerator (vs PIC18LF44K22T-I/PT)
- 12-bit ADC with computation versus 10-bit on legacy K22 family (vs PIC18LF44K22T-I/PT)
- 32 KB Flash with 64 MHz throughput versus K40's 16 KB (vs PIC18LF45K40T-I/PT)
Design Notes
Estimated: At 64 MHz CPU + ADC + 1 active UART, the PIC18LF45K42T-I/PT typically draws 8 mA to 12 mA from VDD; in deep sleep with RTCC running the XLP current drops to <50 nA per the Microchip datasheet. Always include a 100 nF decoupling cap on each VDD/VSS pair (three pairs in TQFP-44) plus a bulk 4.7 uF near the IC; for low-noise analog add a ferrite bead in series with VDD before the analog-supply pin. Ensure VDD never exceeds 3.6 V (LF limit) or the silicon is permanently damaged.
For the 44-pin TQFP (10x10 mm, 0.8 mm pitch), use 4 mil trace/space routing and place at least one via-in-pad GND stitch per quadrant for thermal dissipation. Expose the IC's exposed thermal pad (if present on the K42 ML variant) to a 5x5 mm copper pour on the top layer stitched with at least four thermal vias to the inner GND plane. For mixed-signal designs, separate analog (AN0-AN5, RE0-RE3) and digital I/O with a GND moat to keep ADC SNR above 70 dB.
Do not assume 'LF' is interchangeable with 'F': the LF variant fails above 3.6 V, so a 5 V rail must use the PIC18F45K42T-I/PT variant. The peripheral pin select (PPS) lock-on-write requires unlocking via IOLOCK before reconfiguration; firmware that does not handle this will hang after the first PPS change. ICD 3 / PICkit 4 programmers need an MCU variant matching the K42 family; older PICkits may report a device ID mismatch if the silicon revision is newer than the toolchain database.
Keep ADC traces shorter than 30 mm and avoid routing them parallel to PWM outputs to prevent digital noise coupling; use a guarded analog ground connected back to the VSS pin adjacent to the analog AVdd pin. For capacitive touch channels, surround each pad with a ground hatch and add a small series resistor (1 kohm) to limit ESD surge. The internal HFINTOSC is factory trimmed to within +/-2% across -40 C to +85 C but degrades above +85 C; for accurate UART timing consider an external 16 MHz crystal.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliant per Microchip product page and DigiKey/Mouser listings. Lead-free (Pb-free) reflow profile per JEDEC J-STD-020 MSL-3. Not AEC-Q100 qualified - choose PIC18LF45K42-E/PT for automotive extended-temperature designs.