Microcontrollers [3 1 0 4]
(ICE 2222)
Microcontroller Basics
Bipin Krishna
Assistant Professor (Sr.)
ICE Department
Manipal Institute of Technology
MAHE, Karnataka, India
What is a microprocessor??
• A microprocessor is a programmable electronics chip that has computing
and decision making capabilities similar to central processing unit of a
computer.
• Any microprocessor based systems having limited number of resources are
called microcomputers.
• Multipurpose
• Programmable
• Clock driven
• Register-based
• Which reads binary instructions from storage
• Accept binary data and process
• Provide result as o/p
General-purpose microprocessor
• CPU for Computers
• No RAM, ROM, I/O on CPU chip itself
• Example：Intel’s x86, Motorola’s 680x0
General-purpose microprocessor
Arithmetic and Logic Unit
Accumulator
Working Register
Program Counter Stack Pointer
Clock Circuit Interrupt Circuits
What is a Microcontroller?
• A smaller computer
• On-chip RAM, ROM, I/O ports...
• Example：Motorola’s 6811, Intel’s 8051, Zilog’s Z8 and PIC 16X
Microprocessor vs. Microcontroller
Microprocessor Microcontroller
• CPU is stand-alone, RAM, ROM, I/O, • CPU, RAM, ROM, I/O and timer are all
timer are separate on a single chip
• designer can decide on the amount of • fix amount of on-chip ROM, RAM, I/O
ROM, RAM and I/O ports. ports
• expansive • for applications in which cost, power
• versatility and space are critical
• general-purpose • single-purpose
Three criteria in Choosing a Microcontroller
1. Meeting the computing needs of the task efficiently and cost effectively. We must first see
whether an 8-bit, 16-bit or 32-bit microcontroller can best handle the computing needs of the task
most effectively
• Speed
• Packaging (Dual-In-line Package (DIP) or Quad Flat Package (QFP))
• Power consumption
• The amount of RAM and ROM on chip
• The number of I/O pins and timer on the chip
• How easy it is to upgrade to the higher performance or lower power consumption versions
• Cost per unit
Friday, January 31, 2025
2. The second criterion in selecting a microcontroller is how easy it is to develop products around it.
• Key considerations include availability of an assembler, debugger, a code efficient C language
compiler, emulator, technical supports.
3. The third criterion in selecting a microcontroller is its ready availability in needed quantities both
now and in the future
Von Neumann (Princeton) and Harvard Architecture
In a microprocessor, input /output (I/O) devices are externally interfaced and are mapped either to
memory address (memory mapped I/O) or a separate I/O address space (I/O mapped I/O) Ex:8085
Input/Output Registers in Princeton Architecture
The Princeton or Vonneumann architecture one bus is used to carry the address and data with an
appropriate multiplexing technique ,which in turn reduces the cost
But Harvard architecture which 8051 employs has separate Data memory and
separate Code
Organization of I/O registers in Harvard Architecture
Harvard Architecture
RISC Vs CISC
References:
• Muhammad Ali Mazidi, Janice Gillispie Mazidi, Rolin McKinlay, The
8051 Microcontroller and Embedded Systems Using Assembly and C,
Pearson Education, (2e), 2007.
• Kenneth J. Ayala, The 8051 Microcontroller, Cengage Learning, (3e),
2004.
