Introduction to Raspberry Pi Pico

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The Raspberry Pi Pico is a microcontroller board based on the Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller chip.

Whether you want to learn the MicroPython programming language, take the first step in physical computing, or want to build a hardware project, Raspberry Pi Pico – and its amazing community – will support you every step of the way. In the project, it can control anything, from LEDs and buttons to sensors, motors, and even other microcontrollers.

Features

  • 21 mm × 51 mm form factor

  • RP2040 microcontroller chip designed by Raspberry Pi in the UK

  • Dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ processor, flexible clock running up to 133 MHz

  • 264KB on-chip SRAM

  • 2MB on-board QSPI Flash

  • 26 multifunction GPIO pins, including 3 analog inputs

  • 2 × UART, 2 × SPI controllers, 2 × I2C controllers, 16 × PWM channels

  • 1 × USB 1.1 controller and PHY, with host and device support

  • 8 × Programmable I/O (PIO) state machines for custom peripheral support

  • Supported input power 1.8–5.5V DC

  • Operating temperature -20°C to +85°C

  • Castellated module allows soldering direct to carrier boards

  • Drag-and-drop programming using mass storage over USB

  • Low-power sleep and dormant modes

  • Accurate on-chip clock

  • Temperature sensor

  • Accelerated integer and floating-point libraries on-chip

Pico’s Pins

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Name

Description

Function

GP0-GP28

General-purpose input/output pins

Act as either input or output and have no fixed purpose of their own

GND

0 volts ground

Several GND pins around Pico to make wiring easier.

RUN

Enables or diables your Pico

Start and stop your Pico from another microcontroller.

GPxx_ADCx

General-purpose input/output or analog input

Used as an analog input as well as a digital input or output – but not both at the same time.

ADC_VREF

Analog-to-digital converter (ADC) voltage reference

A special input pin which sets a reference voltage for any analog inputs.

AGND

Analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 0 volts ground

A special ground connection for use with the ADC_VREF pin.

3V3(O)

3.3 volts power

A source of 3.3V power, the same voltage your Pico runs at internally, generated from the VSYS input.

3v3(E)

Enables or disables the power

Switch on or off the 3V3(O) power, can also switches your Pico off.

VSYS

2-5 volts power

A pin directly connected to your Pico’s internal power supply, which cannot be switched off without also switching Pico off.

VBUS

5 volts power

A source of 5 V power taken from your Pico’s micro USB port, and used to power hardware which needs more than 3.3 V.

The best place to find everything you need to get started with your Raspberry Pi Pico.

Or you can click on the links below: