Hardware view of the Embedded
Systems-1
Lecture-2
Core of the Embedded System
• Core will fall into one of these categories
– Processors
• Microprocessor(General purpose)
• Microcontroller(General purpose/Application
Specific)
• Digital signal processor(Application specific)
– Application Specific Integrated Circuits(ASIC)
– Programmable Logic Devices(PLD)
– Commercial off-the- shelf components(COTS)
Processors-Microprocessors
• CPU fabricated in a single IC-
ALU,CU,registers
• dependent unit-memory,timer
unit,interrrupt controllers etc
• Intel 4004-4 bit processor
– 1K data memory.12 bit program counter,4K
program memory,16 registers(4 bit),46
instructions,740kHz(clock speed)
• 4004 upgraded to 4040
– 60 instructions,8K program memory,interuppts
added
• Intel 8008-8 bit processor
• Intel 8080-16 bit processor-
– 16 bit address bus,program counter,7 nos of 8
bit registers(A-E,H,L:BC,DE,HL-16 bit
processors)
– used in industry and control
• Motorola 6800-different architecture and
instruction set compared to 8080
• Intel 8080 upgraded to 8085-
– two newly added instructions,3 interrupt pins,
– serial i/o,built-in clock generator and bus
controller,5V supply
• Z80(Zilog) -improved version of 8080
– same architecture and instruction set (but 80
new instructions added)of 8080
– register banking-doubling the register set
– included 2 sets of index registers for flexible
design
• 16,32,64 bit processors
• clock speed over 3GHz
• Different instruction set -RISC and CISC
architecture available -Harvard and
VonNeumann
Microprocessor
System control
Control Unit bus
Register
System
address and
Arithmetic data bus
and Logic
Unit
Clock
Microcontrollers
• Highly integrated chip-CPU,scratch pad
RAM,special and genral purpose register
arrays,on chip ROM/flash
memory,timer,interrupt,I/O ports
• Superset of Microprocessors
• Texas TMS1000-world's first
microcontroller
– similar to 4004/4040 with additional
RAM,ROM and I/O ports on single chip
• Intel family of microcontrollers-MCS-48
– 8038,39,40A,48,49,50
• 8051-popular,powerful,family MCS-51
– 75% of the microcontrollers used in
embedded system is 8051 family
– low cost,memory efficient instruction set
– CISC set
– general purpose
• 8051 with special addons
– built in Serial parallel Interface
– I2C serial buses,USB controller
• 8 bit microcontrollers -processing power not a constraint
• Peripheral Interface Conroller(PIC)-Microchip Technologies
– 8/16/32 bit ,high performance,RISC
• Intel-8096,MSP430(Texas)-16 bit
• High processing speed microcontrollers
– ARM Cortex M series-32 bit
– AVR(Advance Virtual RISC)-8 bit RISC flashmemory,fast
enough to execute powerful instructions in a single clock
cycle ,Application specific-automotive domain
• PSoC-Programmable System on Chip
– 8 bit M8C core(PSoC1)/8bit 8051core(PSoC3)/32 bit ARM core(PSoc5)
– more peripherals-programmable
– Programmable analog digital blocks,configurable peripherals(flexible and
can be coonected to any peripherals)
– Cypress PSoC-popular
– PSoC used in controlling the touch sensitive scroll in Apple iPod
Microcontroller
Registers
Memory I/O ports
Arithmetic and
Logic Unit
Counters Timing and
control Interrupts
Microprocessor Microcontroller
• Si chip-CPU-Arithmetic • highly integrated chip-
and logic operations - CPU,RAM,on chip
instruction ROM/FLASH,timer,interr
• dependent unit upt,I/O ports
• General purpose mostly • self contained
• No in built I/O port-8255 • Application specific
peripherl interface mostly
needed • built in I/O port
• for market -performance • Performance is not
is important critical
• Limited power saving • More power saving
PC Microcontroller
• executes program • does not have any
from hard disk or disk to be read
solid drive from
– program gets – on chip ROM
loaded into stores the
memory and from program to be
the memory executed
instructions are – size of ROM limits
executed the size of
• Has an OS to application
handle all low • No OS-ROM
level operations handles the
operations
Digital signal processor
• special purpose-8/16/32 bit
microprocessor designed for
– audio
– video
– communication
• Faster than general purpose processor
– algorithm in hardware
• microchip-high speed computational
operations
Key units of DSP
• Program memory
– to store program
• Data memory
– working memory-store temporary variables or
data
• Computational engine
– performs signal processing
– special ALU
• I/O unit-interface-capture and deliver signals
Applications of DSP
• Audio video signal processing
• telecommunication
• multimedia
• Real time calculations
– SOP(Sum of Product)
– convolution
– FFT
– DFT
• Ex:Blackfin processor-signal processing
Instruction set
• CISC(Complete Instruction • RISC(Reduced Instruction
Set Computer) Set Computer)
• More instructions • Lesser instructions
• No pipelining feature • Has pipelining-so faster
• Instruction specific(particular • Allows each instruction to
register & particular operate on any register and
addressing mode) uses any addressing modes
• operations performed on • operations performed only on
registers/memory depends on registers
instruction
• can be Harvard/Von Neuman • Harvard Architecture
Architecture
• Ex:8051-255 instructions • Ex:ATMEL-32 instructions
Note: Intel was with CISC but later to design Pentium Pro it made CISC to
breakdown into simpe RISC. “Pentium Pro is a RISC processor with CISC
instructions”
Harvard Von-Neumann
• Separate buses for • Single shared bus for
instruction and data instruction and data
fetching fetching
• High performance • Low performance
• Comparatively high • cheaper
cost • Allows self modifying
• No memory alignment codes
problem • Chances of program
• No chances of getting corrupted
program getting
corrupted
Von Neumann architecture
I/O CPU Memory
Harvard architecture
Program CPU Data
Memory
Memory
Application Specific Integrated Circuits(ASICs)
• microchip-performs specific application-processor used
in these called ASIP(Application Specific Instruction
Processor)
• integrates many functions into single chip
• Less area and low cost
• proprietary products-prefabricated/custom fabricated
• Ex:Video codec
• non-refundable initial investment needed -for
configuration-NRE(Nonrecurring Engineering Charges)
• ASIC in open markets-Application Specific Standard
Product(ASSP) when NRE borne by third party
• Ex:ADE7760 energymeter is ASSP
Programmable Logic Devices
• specific functions
– device to device interfacing
– data communication
– signal processing
– display data
– timing and control operations
• Two categories
– Fixed -circuits cannot be changed
– Programmable-reconfigured
• wide range of capacity
• speed
• inexpensive software used
• No NRE cost
• circuits changed at design phase
CPLDs and FPGAs
• FPGA(Field Programmable Gate Arrays)
– logic density
– highest performance
– used in data processing,storage
instrumentation,digital signal processing
– Ex:Xilinx Virtex
• CPLD(Complex Programmable Logic Devices)
– Less logic density
– Gives predictable timing characteristics-critical control
applications
– needs low power,inexpensive
– Ex: Xilinx Coolrunner
CPLDs and FPGAs..
Commercial Off the Shelf Components(COTS)
• used “as-is”-used directly in an ES-itself is an ES
• readily or commercially available,cheap,
• easy integration with existing components
• developed around general processor/Application specific
processor/PLD
• EX:control units like RF circuitry part,high frequency
microwave electronics,high bandwidth ADC,electro-optic
IR imaging arrays,UV/IR detectors,TCP/IP plug in
modules,
• Demerit-if its outdated, product manufacturing will stop
and ES using them will get affected
