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Microprocessor and Microcontroller

Microprocessors and microcontrollers are small electronic components that process data. A microprocessor contains a CPU on a single chip, while a microcontroller contains a CPU with RAM, ROM, and peripherals on a single chip. Microprocessors are classified based on their word size, memory size, clock speed, and number of cores. Word size determines the maximum number of bits processed at a time, memory size depends on word size, clock speed is the number of pulses per second from the internal clock, and cores refer to the number of basic computation units. Microcontrollers are smaller in size and can be embedded in devices to control their specific functions, like automatically running washing cycles in washing machines.

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Om Jagdeesh
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27 views

Microprocessor and Microcontroller

Microprocessors and microcontrollers are small electronic components that process data. A microprocessor contains a CPU on a single chip, while a microcontroller contains a CPU with RAM, ROM, and peripherals on a single chip. Microprocessors are classified based on their word size, memory size, clock speed, and number of cores. Word size determines the maximum number of bits processed at a time, memory size depends on word size, clock speed is the number of pulses per second from the internal clock, and cores refer to the number of basic computation units. Microcontrollers are smaller in size and can be embedded in devices to control their specific functions, like automatically running washing cycles in washing machines.

Uploaded by

Om Jagdeesh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Microprocessor and

Microcontroller
Microprocessor
A processor (CPU) which is implemented on a single microchip is called
microprocessor.
Almost all the CPUs are microprocessors.
Microprocessor is a small-sized electronic component inside a computer that
carries out various tasks involved in data processing as well as arithmetic and
logical operations.
A microprocessor is built over an integrated circuit comprising millions of small
components like resistors, transistors and diodes.
Microprocessors are capable of processing millions of instructions per
millisecond.
Generations of Microprocessor
Microprocessor Specifications
Microprocessors are classified on the basis of different features which include
chip type, word size, memory size, clock speed, etc.
These features are briefly explained below:
◦ Word Size
◦ Memory Size
◦ Clock Speed
◦ Core
Microprocessor Specifications
Word Size
◦ Word size is the maximum number of bits that a microprocessor can process at a time. Earlier, a
word was of 8 bits, as it was the maximum limit at that time.
◦ At present, the minimum word size is 16 bits and maximum word size is 64 bits.

Memory Size
◦ Depending upon the word size, the size of RAM varies.
◦ Initially, RAM was very small (4MB) due to 4/8 bits word size.
◦ As word size increased to 64 bits, it has become feasible to use RAM of size upto 16 Exabytes
(EB).
Microprocessor Specifications
Clock Speed
◦ Computers have an internal clock that generates pulses (signals) at regular intervals of time.
◦ Clock speed means the number of pulses generated per second by the clock inside a
computer.
◦ The clock speed indicates the speed at which the computer can execute instructions.
◦ Earlier, it was measured in Hertz (Hz) and Kilohertz (kHz).
◦ With advancement in technology and chip density, it is now measured in Gigahertz (GHz), i.e.,
billions of pulses per second.
Microprocessor Specifications
Cores
◦ Core is a basic computation unit of the CPU.
◦ Earlier processors had only one computation unit, thereby capable of performing only one
task at a time
◦ With the advent of multicore processor, it has become possible for the computer to execute
multiple tasks, thereby increasing the system’s performance.
◦ CPU with two, four, and eight cores is called dual-core, quad-core and octa-core processor,
respectively.
Microcontroller
The microcontroller is a small computing device that has a CPU, a fixed amount
of RAM, ROM and other peripherals all embedded on a single chip as compared
to microprocessor that has only a CPU on the chip.
Keyboard, mouse, washing machine, digital camera, pendrive, remote
controller, microwave are few examples of microcontrollers.
Microcontroller
Microcontroller are small in size.
Because of this, it can embedded in another device or system to perform a
specific functionality.
For example, the microcontroller in a fully automatic washing machine is used to
control the washing cycle without any human intervention.
The cycle starts with the filling of water, after which the clothes are soaked and
washed; thereafter the water is drained and the clothes are spin dry.
The simple use of microcontroller has permitted repetitive execution of tedious
tasks automatically without any human intervention, thereby saving precious
time.

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