PIC18LF57K42-I/MV - 64MHz 8-bit XLP MCU, 128KB Flash | Microchip
MPN: PIC18LF57K42-I/MV ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3.1 | $3.10 |
| 10 | $2.79 | $27.90 |
| 100 | $2.41 | $241.00 |
| 500 | $2.18 | $1,090.00 |
| 1,000 | $1.96 | $1,960.00 |
PIC18LF57K42-I/MV Overview
What is a PIC18 microcontroller? A PIC18 microcontroller is an 8-bit Harvard-architecture MCU from Microchip Technology, belonging to the larger microcontroller hierarchy (MCU -> 8-bit MCU -> PIC -> PIC18). The PIC18F/LF K42 family introduces Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) and Direct Memory Access (DMA), allowing autonomous I/O processing without CPU wake-up, which significantly reduces average power and frees the CPU for application logic. The 'LF' sub-family targets low-voltage battery applications, while the 'F' sub-family extends to 5 V operation.
Key differentiating features include the 12-bit ADC2 with averaging and automatic threshold comparisons, DMA-driven peripheral data movement, an on-chip temperature indicator, vectored interrupts with priority levels, and a Device Information Area (DIA) for unique serialization. The Device Information Area (DIA) stores factory calibration constants that the user application can call to compensate for temperature and voltage drift without external components, which is critical for sensor and metering applications.
Architecturally, the device uses a 16-bit modified-Harvard instruction set with separate program and data buses, hardware multiply, and a 31-level hardware stack. The PPS (Peripheral Pin Select) module is unique to the K42 family and lets designers remap digital peripheral signals (UART, PWM, SPI, timers) to almost any I/O pin, simplifying PCB layout and enabling a single PCB to host multiple firmware variants.
Typical applications include ultra-low-power wireless sensor nodes running on coin cells, IoT edge devices with DMA-driven sensor sampling, industrial control with vectored interrupts, USB-free human-interface peripherals (HID), battery-powered medical wearables, and automotive body modules (with the -I industrial temperature grade). The wide operating voltage and rich analog make this MCU especially suitable for mixed-signal nodes that previously required a separate ADC chip.
When designing with the PIC18LF57K42-I/MV, ensure you use the latest MPLAB X IDE with the MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC) plug-in to graphically initialize peripherals and generate production-ready code. Verify the 6x6 mm UQFN PCB land pattern against Microchip application note AN2344 (QFN layout) to avoid solder voiding under the exposed pad, which is the thermal path for the device.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in same-package alternatives, and practical design notes that supplement the official datasheet with engineering context.
Drop-in alternatives for PIC18LF57K42-I/MV — 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 PIC18LF57K42-I/MV (same form factor and footprint) — differing in ADC, DAC, Family, Package, Comparators.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
PIC18F57K42-I/MV
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
PIC18LF57K42-E/MV
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
PIC18F57K42-E/MV
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
PIC18LF47K42-I/MV
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$2.75 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC18LF55K42T-I/MV
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$2.6 / Unit
View Datasheet →PIC18LF57K42-I/MV Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | PIC18F/LF xxK42 |
| Core | PIC18 (8-bit Harvard) |
| Program Memory (Flash) | 128 KB (64K x 16) |
| Data SRAM | 8 KB |
| Data EEPROM | 256 bytes |
| Maximum CPU Frequency | 64 MHz |
| Instruction Throughput | 16 MIPS |
| Operating Voltage (LF) | 1.8 V to 3.6 V |
| Digital I/O Pins | 44 |
| ADC | 12-bit ADC2 with Computation |
| DAC | 5-bit and 8-bit DAC |
| Comparators | Yes (with selectable hysteresis) |
| Zero-Cross Detect (ZCD) | Yes |
| PWM Channels | Multiple (CCP/ECCP/PWM) |
| DMA | Yes (Core Independent Peripheral) |
| Peripheral Pin Select (PPS) | Yes |
| Vectored Interrupts | Yes (with priority) |
| UART | Asynchronous, RS-232/RS-485 capable |
| SPI / I2C | Yes (MSSP) |
| Timers | Multiple 8-bit and 16-bit (SMT) |
| Internal Oscillator | 64 MHz HFINTOSC (1% accuracy) |
| Operating Temperature (I grade) | -40C to +85C |
| Package | 48-pin UQFN (MV) 6x6 mm with exposed pad |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (SMD/SMT) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
| Programming/Debug | ICSP, MPLAB ICD 4 |
PIC18LF57K42-I/MV Pin Configuration
| Pin 1 | RA0 — Port A bit 0 / analog / digital I/O with peripheral pin select |
| Pin 2 | RA1 — Port A bit 1 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 3 | RA2 — Port A bit 2 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 4 | RA3 — Port A bit 3 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 5 | RA4 — Port A bit 4 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 6 | RA5 — Port A bit 5 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 7 | RA6 — Port A bit 6 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 8 | RA7 — Port A bit 7 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 9 | VSS — Ground reference |
| Pin 10 | RB0 — Port B bit 0 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 11 | RB1 — Port B bit 1 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 12 | RB2 — Port B bit 2 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 13 | RB3 — Port B bit 3 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 14 | RB4 — Port B bit 4 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 15 | RB5 — Port B bit 5 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 16 | RB6 — Port B bit 6 / ICSPCLK / digital I/O |
| Pin 17 | RB7 — Port B bit 7 / ICSPDAT / digital I/O |
| Pin 18 | VSS — Ground reference |
| Pin 19 | VDD — Positive supply voltage |
| Pin 20 | RC0 — Port C bit 0 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 21 | RC1 — Port C bit 1 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 22 | RC2 — Port C bit 2 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 23 | RC3 — Port C bit 3 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 24 | RC4 — Port C bit 4 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 25 | RC5 — Port C bit 5 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 26 | RC6 — Port C bit 6 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 27 | RC7 — Port C bit 7 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 28 | RE3 — Port E bit 3 / MCLR / digital input |
| Pin 29 | RD0 — Port D bit 0 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 30 | RD1 — Port D bit 1 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 31 | RD2 — Port D bit 2 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 32 | RD3 — Port D bit 3 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 33 | RD4 — Port D bit 4 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 34 | RD5 — Port D bit 5 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 35 | RD6 — Port D bit 6 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 36 | RD7 — Port D bit 7 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 37 | VSS — Ground reference |
| Pin 38 | VDD — Positive supply voltage |
| Pin 39 | RF0 — Port F bit 0 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 40 | RF1 — Port F bit 1 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 41 | RF2 — Port F bit 2 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 42 | RF3 — Port F bit 3 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 43 | RF4 — Port F bit 4 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 44 | RF5 — Port F bit 5 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 45 | RF6 — Port F bit 6 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 46 | RF7 — Port F bit 7 / analog / digital I/O |
| Pin 47 | VSS — Ground reference (exposed pad) |
| Pin 48 | VDD — Positive supply voltage |
Typical Applications
PIC18LF57K42-I/MV is suitable for 7 applications: Battery-Powered IoT Sensor Node, Industrial Control with Vectored Interrupts, Human-Machine Interface (HMI) Touch Buttons, Battery-Powered Medical Wearable, Automotive Body Module (Non-Safety), Smart Energy Meter / Sub-Metering, USB-Free HID Peripheral (Keyboard / Mouse / Remote).
Battery-Powered IoT Sensor Node
The PIC18LF57K42-I/MV suits coin-cell IoT sensor nodes because its 1.8-3.6 V supply matches a single lithium primary cell, and nanoWatt XLP sleep draws sub-microamp currents during duty-cycled sleep intervals. The 12-bit ADC2 with DMA offloads sensor sampling from the CPU, allowing the device to spend most of its life in sleep while the DMA engine transfers ADC readings to RAM autonomously. With 128 KB of Flash and 8 KB of RAM, the part supports over-the-air (OTA) firmware update staging buffers plus application logic for BLE/Zigbee companion co-processors. Compared with discrete ADC + MCU solutions, integrating ADC, EEPROM, and Core Independent Peripherals into a single 6x6 mm UQFN shrinks the BOM to a chip, two decoupling caps, and a coin-cell holder.
Recommended
Industrial Control with Vectored Interrupts
For industrial control panels and factory automation, the PIC18LF57K42-I/MV's vectored interrupts with hardware priority allow deterministic response to high-speed digital inputs, while its 64 MHz CPU (16 MIPS) processes control loops without jitter. The 12-bit ADC2 with computation supports multi-channel sensor reading in motor control and HVAC equipment. Core Independent Peripherals such as CWG (Complementary Waveform Generator) and PWM with hardware dead-band control directly drive half-bridge power stages. The 44 I/O pins handle multiple encoder inputs, push-buttons, and discrete outputs without external mux ICs.
Recommended
Human-Machine Interface (HMI) Touch Buttons
The PIC18LF57K42-I/MV integrates the mTouch CVD (Capacitive Voltage Divider) peripheral that supports water-tolerant capacitive touch sensing on multiple I/O pins, eliminating the need for a dedicated touch controller IC. With DMA-driven touch scanning and 12-bit ADC2 resolution, the MCU can detect proximity on 16+ electrodes while the CPU services communication or display tasks. The 128 KB Flash accommodates TouchGfx-style button/UI libraries and a small font table. The 48-pin UQFN footprint is small enough to fit behind glass overlays on white goods, smart thermostats, and consumer appliances.
Recommended
Battery-Powered Medical Wearable
The PIC18LF57K42-I/MV's nanoWatt XLP sleep current (sub-100 nA typical) makes it ideal for medical wearables and continuous health monitors running from a coin cell or rechargeable Li-Po. The on-chip 12-bit ADC2 with hardware oversampling supports photoplethysmography (PPG) and ECG analog front-ends, while the integrated temperature indicator (Die Temp) allows drift compensation without an external temp sensor. AES/DMA acceleration and peripheral pin select simplify routing BLE packets to a co-processor. Medical device designers should verify the -I grade (-40C to +85C) meets the wearable operating environment or upgrade to the -E grade (-40C to +125C).
Recommended
Automotive Body Module (Non-Safety)
For non-safety automotive body applications such as interior lighting controllers, seat control modules, and ambient lighting drivers, the PIC18LF57K42-I/MV's peripheral pin select and PWM/CCP outputs offer flexible signal routing. The -I grade handles -40C to +85C under-dash environments. For under-hood AEC-Q100-qualified designs, the PIC18F57K42-E/MV (extended temperature) variant is a drop-in upgrade in the same 48-pin UQFN footprint. The 12-bit ADC2 reads multiple analog sensors (temperature, position) and DMA offloads data logging to EEPROM.
Recommended
Smart Energy Meter / Sub-Metering
The PIC18LF57K42-I/MV's 12-bit ADC2 with computation, zero-cross detect (ZCD), and DMA make it well suited for single-phase and split-phase energy metering. The 128 KB Flash supports segmented metering firmware (per-tenant billing, tamper detection, MODBUS/RTU communication). The on-chip EEPROM provides non-volatile billing memory, while the 256 B EEPROM holds calibration constants and tamper flags. UART with RS-485 capability (from the MSSP module) connects directly to MODBUS or DLMS/COSEM field buses without external transceiver logic.
Recommended
USB-Free HID Peripheral (Keyboard / Mouse / Remote)
The PIC18LF57K42-I/MV is suitable for low-cost, non-USB wired/wireless HID peripherals such as presentation clickers, gaming keypads, and IR remote controls. With 44 I/O pins, the MCU directly scans an 8x8 mechanical matrix without external scan ICs, and the DMA engine continuously updates scan memory while the CPU services the UART/BLE link. The peripheral pin select (PPS) module lets designers route UART SPI, or PWM to any pin, simplifying multi-PCB-variant layouts. The industrial -40C to +85C temperature grade covers consumer electronics operating environments.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for PIC18LF57K42-I/MV — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | PIC18F57K42-I/MV | PIC18LF57K42-E/MV | PIC18F57K42-E/MV | PIC18LF47K42-I/MV | PIC18LF55K42T-I/MV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 48-pin UQFN (MV) 6x6 mm | 48-pin UQFN (MV) 6x6 mm - same | 48-pin UQFN (MV) 6x6 mm - same | 48-pin UQFN (MV) 6x6 mm - same | 40-pin UQFN - smaller | 48-pin UQFN (MV) 6x6 mm - same |
| Brand | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology - same | Microchip Technology - same | Microchip Technology - same | Microchip Technology - same | Microchip Technology - same |
| Operating Voltage | 1.8 V to 3.6 V | 2.3 V to 5.5 V | 1.8 V to 3.6 V - same | 2.3 V to 5.5 V | 1.8 V to 3.6 V - same | 1.8 V to 3.6 V - same |
| Flash Memory | 128 KB | 128 KB - same | 128 KB - same | 128 KB - same | 64 KB - smaller | 32 KB - smaller |
| SRAM | 8 KB | 8 KB - same | 8 KB - same | 8 KB - same | 4 KB | 2 KB |
| EEPROM | 256 bytes | 256 bytes - same | 256 bytes - same | 256 bytes - same | 256 bytes - same | 256 bytes - same |
| Digital I/O Pins | 44 | 44 - same | 44 - same | 44 - same | 36 - fewer | 44 - same |
| Temperature Grade | -40C to +85C (Industrial) | -40C to +85C - same | -40C to +125C (Extended) | -40C to +125C (Extended) | -40C to +85C - same | -40C to +85C - same |
Key Differentiators
- Largest Flash in the 48-pin K42 sub-family (vs PIC18LF55K42T-I/MV)
- Low-voltage LF operation for coin-cell battery life (vs PIC18F57K42-I/MV)
- Peripheral Pin Select (PPS) for flexible PCB routing (vs PIC18LF47K42-I/MV)
Design Notes
The 48-pin UQFN package has an exposed thermal pad (EP) on the underside that must be soldered to the PCB ground plane for both electrical grounding and thermal dissipation. Failure to solder the EP results in higher junction temperature, signal-integrity issues, and intermittent operation. Per Microchip application note AN2344, the EP should connect to a continuous ground copper pour with at least 8 thermal vias (0.3 mm drill, 0.5 mm pitch) stitching the EP to internal ground planes. Use a 6x6 mm land pattern with 0.4 mm pitch pads; reflow profile must follow J-STD-020 MSL3 handling.
Place a 100 nF decoupling capacitor within 3 mm of every VDD pin (the device has multiple VDD pins distributed around the package) and a single 10 uF bulk capacitor near the device. The PIC18LF57K42-I/MV's nanoWatt XLP sleep current is specified with all peripherals disabled; enabling ADC2, UART, or timers adds microamps. For ultra-low sleep designs, disable the FVR (Fixed Voltage Reference) and HFINTOSC between samples and switch to LFINTOSC for slow timer wake-up, as recommended in Microchip TB3166 (XLP design tips).
Use the peripheral pin select (PPS) feature to route UART, SPI, PWM, and timers to convenient I/O pins, but remember PPS-remapped inputs require the input PPS register lock sequence (sequentially writing 0x55, 0xAA, then the PPS value). Route analog signals away from digital switching traces; keep ADC traces short and surrounded by ground pour. The ADC2 channel inputs share pins with digital I/O - disable the digital input buffer on the ADC channel via the ANS bit in the TRIS register to prevent digital switching noise from coupling into the ADC measurement.
Do not exceed 4 V on the MCLR pin (RE3) without a clamping diode; the absolute maximum Vih is VDD + 0.3 V or 4.0 V max. When using the internal HFINTOSC, calibrate the frequency using the OSCTUNE register against the LFINTOSC or an external 32.768 kHz crystal via the SOSC for accurate UART baud rates. Forgetting to configure the PPS output source lock sequence will silently disable remapped peripherals - this is the most common debug issue on K42 family firmware.
When using DMA with the ADC2 in continuous mode, ensure the DMA destination buffer is aligned to a 16-bit boundary in RAM for optimal throughput. The MSSP module can operate in SPI mode up to FOSC/4 (16 MHz SPI clock at 64 MHz CPU); for higher SPI bandwidth, consider migrating to a dsPIC33 or PIC32MX. Avoid routing the PWM outputs near sensitive analog inputs - if unavoidable, place a small RC filter (100 ohm + 100 pF) on the analog input to reduce PWM edge coupling.
Compliance Information
RoHS and REACH compliant per Microchip product page (PIC18F/LFxxK42 family). The PIC18LF57K42-I/MV industrial grade (-40C to +85C) is not AEC-Q100 qualified; for automotive AEC-Q100 qualified equivalents in the same family, Microchip offers the PIC18F57K42-E/MV (extended temp) variants. Halogen-free and lead-free reflow compatible per J-STD-020.
