Smaller ATmega 168 Chip?

Forum 2005-2010 (read only) Hardware Development
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Hey all, i was wondering if there was a very small atmega168. I am trying to make a board for a project but i need it very small. if anybody could point me in the right direction to a small atmega or something compatible with the arduino please let me know. thank you

~Dan

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Well, there's the 7mm x 7mm TQFP, which I think is used on the Arduino stamp, and there's a couple even smaller, including the 4mm x 4mm MLF package. The latter would be a non-trivial soldering exercise for me. :slight_smile:

They're all ATmega168s, so I guess technically they're Arduino "compatible".

-j

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Wow that is actually perfect. thank you very much!

1 more question, do you happen to know a small motor driver chip. i am using a TC4424 to amplify the signal from the arduino enough to run a motor but it is fairly big and i would want a small one. is that possible?

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You can get the Atmega datasheets at Atmel site:

Complete ATmega168:
http://atmel.com/dyn/resources/prod_documents/doc2545.pdf

Atmega168 Summary:
http://atmel.com/dyn/resources/prod_documents/2545S.pdf

They show the different packages, and all needed info.

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1 more question, do you happen to know a small motor driver chip. i am using a TC4424 to amplify the signal from the arduino enough to run a motor but it is fairly big and i would want a small one. is that possible?

Depends how small, and how big a motor you want to drive. If you want to drive justabout anything, you'll want a couple of ir2184s or similar and some insane n-channel mosfets like the fdb6670al, which should be good to 20A or so while still being able to fit 2 to 4 full motor channels on something the size of the arduino.

For smaller stuff, just search chipmakers' sites for motor driver chips. try to find the parametric search so you can ask for what you need. You will be amazed at how much power a tiny little chip can control these days, especially since they got mosfets below 10mOhm at Vgs=4.5v.

Only problem with tiny motor drivers is that they're all surface mount, and surface mount motor drivers can easily desolder themselves and cause a huge mess. Make sure it has plenty of headroom, and I suggest some mechanical mounting for it too :wink: