A newer device is available. Please consider the PIC16F887. This powerful (200 nanosecond instruction execution) yet easy-to-program (only 35 single word instructions) CMOS FLASH-based 8-bit microcontroller packs Microchip's powerful PIC® architecture into an 40- or 44-pin package and is upwards compatible with the PIC16C5X, PIC12CXXX and PIC16C7X devices. PIC16F877 features 256 bytes of EEPROM data memory, self programming, an ICD, 8 channels of 10-bit Analog-to-Digital (A/D) converter, 2 additional timers, 2 capture/compare/PWM functions, the synchronous serial port can be configured as either 3-wire Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI™) or the 2-wire Inter-Integrated Circuit (I²C™) bus and a Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (USART). All of these features make it ideal for more advanced level A/D applications in automotive, industrial, appliances and consumer applications.