What is a Microcontroller?

A microcontroller is a small, low-cost and self contained computer-on-a-chip that can

be used as an embedded system. A few microcontrollers may utilize four-bit
expressions and work at clock rate frequencies, which usually include:

 An 8 or 16 bit microprocessor.
 A little measure of RAM.
 Programmable ROM and flash memory.
 Parallel and serial I/O.
 Timers and signal generators.
 Analog to Digital and Digital to Analog conversion
Microcontrollers usually must have low-power requirements since many devices they
control are battery-operated. Microcontrollers are used in many consumer
electronics, car engines, computer peripherals and test or measurement equipment.
And these are well suited for long lasting battery applications. The dominant part of
microcontrollers being used now a days are implanted in other apparatus.

How are Microcontrollers Classified?

The microcontrollers are characterized regarding bus-width, instruction set, and
memory structure. For the same family, there may be different forms with different
sources. This article is going to describe some of the basic types of the
Microcontroller that newer users may not know about.

The types of microcontroller is shown in figure, they are characterized by their bits,
memory architecture, memory/devices and instruction set. Let’s discuss briefly about
it.

Types of Microcontrollers
Classification According to Number of Bits
The bits in microcontroller are 8-bits, 16-bits and 32-bits microcontroller.

In 8-bit microcontroller, the point when the internal bus is 8-bit then the ALU is
performs the arithmetic and logic operations. The examples of 8-bit microcontrollers
are Intel 8031/8051, PIC1x and Motorola MC68HC11 families.

The 16-bit microcontroller performs greater precision and performance as compared

to 8-bit. For example 8 bit microcontrollers can only use 8 bits, resulting in a final
range of 0×00 – 0xFF (0-255) for every cycle. In contrast, 16 bit microcontrollers with
its 16 bit data width has a range of 0×0000 – 0xFFFF (0-65535) for every cycle. A
longer timer most extreme worth can likely prove to be useful in certain applications
and circuits. It can automatically operate on two 16 bit numbers. Some examples of
16-bit microcontroller are 16-bit MCUs are extended 8051XA, PIC2x, Intel 8096 and
Motorola MC68HC12 families.

The 32-bit microcontroller uses the 32-bit instructions to perform the arithmetic and
logic operations. These are used in automatically controlled devices including
implantable medical devices, engine control systems, office machines, appliances
and other types of embedded systems. Some examples are Intel/Atmel 251 family,
PIC3x.

Classification According to Memory Devices

The memory devices are divided into two types, they are

 Embedded memory microcontroller

 External memory microcontroller
Embedded memory microcontroller: When an embedded system has a
microcontroller unit that has all the functional blocks available on a chip is called an
embedded microcontroller. For example, 8051 having program & data memory, I/O
ports, serial communication, counters and timers and interrupts on the chip is an
embedded microcontroller.

External Memory Microcontroller: When an embedded system has a

microcontroller unit that has not all the functional blocks available on a chip is called
an external memory microcontroller. For example, 8031 has no program memory on
the chip is an external memory microcontroller.

Classification According to Instruction Set

CISC: CISC is a Complex Instruction Set Computer. It allows the programmer to use
one instruction in place of many simpler instructions.

RISC: The RISC is stands for Reduced Instruction set Computer, this type of
instruction sets reduces the design of microprocessor for industry standards. It
allows each instruction to operate on any register or use any addressing mode and
simultaneous access of program and data.

Example for CISC and RISC:

CISC: Mov AX, 4 RISC: Mov AX

Mov BX, 2 Mov BX
ADD BX, AX Mov CX
Begin ADD A
Loop Begin
From above example, RISC systems shorten execution time by reducing the clock
cycles per instruction and CISC systems shorten execution time by reducing the
number of instructions per program. The RISC gives a better execution than the
CISC.

Classification According to Memory Architecture

Memory architecture of microcontroller are two types, they are namely:

 Harvard memory architecture microcontroller

 Princeton memory architecture microcontroller
Harvard Memory Architecture Microcontroller: The point when a microcontroller
unit has a dissimilar memory address space for the program and data memory, the
microcontroller has Harvard memory architecture in the processor.

Princeton Memory Architecture Microcontroller: The point when a microcontroller

has a common memory address for the program memory and data memory, the
microcontroller has Princeton memory architecture in the processor.
5 Applications of Microcontrollers
Microcontroller has many applications electronic equipment’s

 Mobile Phones
 Auto Mobiles
 Washing Machines
 Cameras
 Security Alarms
4 Types of Microcontrollers
Microcontroller 8051

It is a 40pin microcontroller with Vcc of 5V connected to pin 40 and Vss at pin 20

which is kept 0V. And there are input and output ports from P1.0 – P1.7 and which
having open drain feature. Port3 has got extra features. Pin36 has open drain
condition and pin17 has internally pulled up transistor inside the microcontroller.
When we apply logic 1 at port1 then we get logic 1 at port21 and vice versa. The
programming of microcontroller is dead complicate. Basically we write a program in
C-language which is next converted to machine language understand by the
microcontroller. A RESET pin is connected to pin9, connected with a capacitor.
When the switch is ON, the capacitor starts charging and RST is high. Applying a
high to the reset pin resets the microcontroller. If we apply logic zero to this pin, the
program starts execution from the beginning.

Memory Architecture of 8051

The memory of 8051 is divided to two parts.They are Program Memory and Data
Memory. Program Memory stores the program being executed whereas Data
Memory temporarily stores the data and the results. The 8051 has been in use in a
wide number of devices, mainly because it is easy to integrate into a device.
Microcontrollers are mainly used in energy management, touch screen, automobiles,
and medical devices.
 Program Memory of 8051
And

Data Memory of 8051

Pin Description of 8051 Microcontroller

Pin-40: Vcc is the main power source of +5V DC.

Pin 20: Vss – it represents ground (0 V) connection.
Pins 32-39: Known as Port 0 (P0.0 to P0.7) to serving as I/O ports.
Pin-31: Address Latch Enable (ALE) is used to demultiplex the address-data signal
of port 0.
Pin-30: (EA) External Access input is used to enable or disable external memory
interfacing. If there is no external memory requirement, this pin is always held high.
Pin- 29: Program Store Enable (PSEN) is used to read signal from external program
memory.
Pins- 21-28: Known as Port 2 (P 2.0 to P 2.7) – in addition to serving as I/O port,
higher order address bus signals are multiplexed with this quasi bi directional port.
Pins 18 and 19: Used to interfacing an external crystal to provide system clock.
Pins 10 – 17: This port also serves some other functions like interrupts, timer input,
control signals for external memory interfacing Read and Write. This is a quasi
bidirectional port with internal pull up.
Pin 9: It is a RESET pin, used to set the 8051 microcontroller to its initial values,
while the microcontroller is working or at the initial start of application. The RESET
pin must be set high for 2 machine cycles.
Pins 1 – 8: This port does not serve any other functions. Port 1 is a quasi bi
directional I/O port.
Renesas Microcontroller
Renesas is latest automotive microcontroller family that offers high performance
feature with exceptionally low power consumption over a wide and versatile extend
of items. This microcontroller offers rich functional security and embedded safety
characteristics required for new and advanced automotive applications. The core
structure of microcontroller CPU support high reliability and high performance
requirements.

The Renesas microcontroller offering low power, high performance, modest

packages and the largest range of memory sizes combined together with
characteristics rich peripherals.

Renesas
Renesas offers the most versatile microcontroller families in the world for example
our RX family offers a many types devices with memory variants from 32K flash/4K
RAM to an incredible 8M flash/512K RAM.

The RX Family of 32-bit microcontrollers is a feature rich, general purpose MCU

covering a wide range of embedded control applications with high speed
connectivity, digital signal processing and inverter control.
The RX microcontroller family uses a 32-bit enhanced Harvard CISC architecture to
achieve very high performance.

Pin Description:
Pin arrangement of Renesas microcontroller is shown in figure:

It is a 20 pin microcontroller. The pin 9 is Vss, ground pin and Vdd, power supply pin.
It has three different kinds of interrupt, which are normal interrupt, fast interrupt, high
speed interrupt.

Normal interrupts store the significant registers on stack by using push and pop
instructions. The fast interrupts are automatically store program counter and
processor status word in special backup registers, so response time is faster. And
high speed interrupts allocate up to four of the general registers for dedicated use by
the interrupt to expand speed even further. The internal bus structure gives 5 internal
busses to ensure data handling is not slowed down. Instruction fetches occur via a
wide 64-bit bus, so that due to the variable length instructions used in CISC
architectures.