Pre-Requisites: Microprocessor and Its Application Digital Electronics
Pre-Requisites: Microprocessor and Its Application Digital Electronics
Introduction
Microcontroller versus general purpose microprocessor General-purpose microprocessors contains
No RAM No ROM No I/O ports
Microcontroller has
CPU (microprocessor) RAM ROM I/O ports Timer ADC and other peripherals
General-purpose microprocessors
Must add RAM, ROM, I/O ports, and timers externally to make
them functional Make the system bulkier and much more expensive Have the advantage of versatility on the amount of RAM, ROM, and I/O ports
Microcontroller
The fixed amount of on-chip ROM, RAM, and number of I/O ports
makes them ideal for many applications in which cost and space are critical In many applications, the space it takes, the power it consumes, and the price per unit are much more critical considerations than the computing power
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in embedded system products. An embedded product uses a microprocessor (or microcontroller) to do one task and one task only. A printer is an example of embedded system since the processor inside it performs only one task; namely, getting the data and printing it. Contrast this with a Pentium-based PC. A PC can be used for any number of applications such as word processor, print server, bank teller terminal, video game player, network server, or internet terminal.
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software that is typically burned into ROM. An PC contains or is connected to various embedded products such as the keyboard, printer, modem, disk controller, sound card, CD-ROM driver, mouse, and so on. Each one of these peripherals has a microcontroller inside it that performs only one task. For example, inside every mouse there is a microcontroller that performs the task of finding mouse position and sending it to the PC.
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Home
Appliances, intercom, telephones, security systems, garage door openers, answering machines, fax machines, home computers, TVs, cable TV tuner, VCR, camcorder, remote controls, video games, cellular phones, musical instruments, sewing machines, lighting control, paging, camera, pinball machines, toys, exercise equipment Office Telephones, computers, security systems, fax machines, microwave, copier, laser printer, color printer, paging Auto Trip computer, engine control, air bag, ABS, instrumentation, security system, transmission control, entertainment, climate control, cellular phone, keyless entry
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microprocessors have targeted their microprocessor for the high end of the embedded market There are times that a microcontroller is inadequate for the task When a company targets a general purpose microprocessor for the embedded market, it optimizes the processor used for embedded systems Very often the terms embedded processor and microcontroller are used interchangeably
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is to decrease power consumption and space In high-performance embedded processors, the trend is to integrate more functions on the CPU chip and let designer decide which features he/she wants to use In many cases using x86 PCs for the high-end embedded applications
Saves money and shortens development time A vast library of software already written Windows is a widely used and well understood platform
Choosing a microcontroller
8-bit microcontrollers Motorolas 6811 Intels 8051 Zilogs Z8 Microchips PIC There are also 16-bit and 32-bit microcontrollers made
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