MICROCHIP ATMEGA328-PU 8-bit AVR Microcontroller, 20MHz, 32KB, DIP-28

The MICROCHIP ATMEGA328-PU is a low-power, high-performance CMOS 8-bit microcontroller built on the enhanced AVR RISC architecture. By executing powerful instructions in a single clock cycle, it achieves throughputs approaching 1 MIPS per MHz, allowing system designers to finely balance power consumption against processing speed to suit a wide range of applications.

This versatile microcontroller boasts a comprehensive feature set, including 131 powerful instructions, 32 x 8 general-purpose working registers, and fully static operation. It delivers up to 20 MIPS throughput at its maximum clock frequency of 20MHz. Memory features include 32KB of in-system programmable flash with 10,000 write/erase cycles, 1KB of EEPROM, and 2KB of SRAM, supported by an optional boot code section with independent lock bits for enhanced security.

A key strength is its rich set of integrated peripherals. It includes two 8-bit timer/counters, one 16-bit timer/counter with capture mode, a real-time counter with a separate oscillator, and six PWM channels for precise control. Communication is facilitated by a programmable serial USART, a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), and a byte-oriented 2-wire serial interface (I2C). For analogue sensing, it features a 10-bit ADC with up to 6 channels and an on-chip analogue comparator.

The microcontroller also supports advanced features such as a programmable watchdog timer, interrupt and wake-up on pin change, and power-on reset with programmable brown-out detection. Notably, it includes support for the Atmel QTouch library, enabling the implementation of capacitive touch buttons, sliders, and wheels with QTouch and QMatrix acquisition across up to 64 sense channels.

Housed in a robust 28-pin DIP (Dual In-line Package), it is designed for through-hole mounting, making it an ideal choice for prototyping, educational projects, and embedded systems where reliability and ease of integration are paramount.