Unit-8 : Applications and Trends of Microprocessor Technology

A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is
included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The
microprocessor is a multipurpose, clock-driven, register-based, digital integrated circuit
that accepts binary data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its
memory, and provides results (also in binary form) as output.

The integration of a whole CPU onto a single or a few integrated circuits using Very-Large-
Scale Integration (VLSI) greatly reduced the cost of processing power. Before
microprocessors, small computers had been built using racks of circuit boards with many
medium- and small-scale integrated circuits. Microprocessors combined this into one or a few
large-scale ICs. The first commercially-available microprocessor was the Intel 4004.

The complexity of an integrated circuit is bounded by physical limitations on the number

of transistors that can be put onto one chip, the number of package terminations that can
connect the processor to other parts of the system, the number of interconnections it is
possible to make on the chip, and the heat that the chip can dissipate. Advancing
technology makes more complex and powerful chips feasible to manufacture.

A minimal hypothetical microprocessor might include only an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), and a
control logic section. The ALU performs addition, subtraction, and operations such as AND or
OR. Each operation of the ALU sets one or more flags in a status register, which indicate the
results of the last operation (zero value, negative number, overflow, or others). The control logic
retrieves instruction codes from memory and initiates the sequence of operations required for the
ALU to carry out the instruction. A single operation code might affect many individual data
paths, registers, and other elements of the processor.

As integrated circuit technology advanced, it was feasible to manufacture more and more
complex processors on a single chip. The size of data objects became larger; allowing more
transistors on a chip allowed word sizes to increase from 4- and 8-bit words up to today's 64-bit
words. Additional features were added to the processor architecture; more on-chip registers sped
up programs, and complex instructions could be used to make more compact programs. Floating-
point arithmetic, for example, was often not available on 8-bit microprocessors, but had to be
carried out in software. Integration of the floating-point unit, first as a separate integrated circuit
and then as part of the same microprocessor chip, sped up floating-point calculations.

Occasionally, physical limitations of integrated circuits made such practices as a bit slice
approach necessary. Instead of processing all of a long word on one integrated circuit, multiple
circuits in parallel processed subsets of each word. While this required extra logic to handle, for
example, carry and overflow within each slice, the result was a system that could handle, for
example, 32-bit words using integrated circuits with a capacity for only four bits each.
The ability to put large numbers of transistors on one chip makes it feasible to integrate memory
on the same die as the processor. This CPU cache has the advantage of faster access than off-
chip memory and increases the processing speed of the system for many applications. Processor
clock frequency has increased more rapidly than external memory speed, so cache memory is
necessary if the processor is not to be delayed by slower external memory.

Special-purpose designs:

A microprocessor is a general-purpose entity. Several specialized processing devices have

followed:

 A digital signal processor (DSP) is specialized for signal processing.

 Graphics processing units (GPUs) are processors designed primarily for realtime
rendering of images.
 Other specialized units exist for video processing.
 Microcontrollers integrate a microprocessor with peripheral devices in embedded
systems.
 Systems on chip (SoCs) often integrate one or more microprocessor or microcontroller
cores with other components such as radio modems, and are used in smartphones and
tablet computers.

Speed and power considerations

Microprocessors can be selected for differing applications based on their word size, which is a
measure of their complexity. Longer word sizes allow each clock cycle of a processor to carry
out more computation, but correspond to physically larger integrated circuit dies with higher
standby and operating power consumption. 4-, 8- or 12-bit processors are widely integrated into
microcontrollers operating embedded systems. Where a system is expected to handle larger
volumes of data or require a more flexible user interface, 16-, 32- or 64-bit processors are used.
An 8- or 16-bit processor may be selected over a 32-bit processor for system on a chip or
microcontroller applications that require extremely low-power electronics, or are part of a
mixed-signal integrated circuit with noise-sensitive on-chip analog electronics such as high-
resolution analog to digital converters, or both. Running 32-bit arithmetic on an 8-bit chip could
end up using more power, as the chip must execute software with multiple instructions.
Embedded applications

Thousands of items that were traditionally not computer-related include microprocessors. These
include household appliances, vehicles (and their accessories), tools and test instruments, toys,
light switches/dimmers and electrical circuit breakers, smoke alarms, battery packs, and hi-fi
audio/visual components (from DVD players to phonograph turntables). Such products as
cellular telephones, DVD video system and HDTV broadcast systems fundamentally require
consumer devices with powerful, low-cost, microprocessors. Increasingly stringent pollution
control standards effectively require automobile manufacturers to use microprocessor engine
management systems to allow optimal control of emissions over the widely varying operating
conditions of an automobile. Non-programmable controls would require bulky, or costly
implementation to achieve the results possible with a microprocessor.

A microprocessor control program (embedded software) can be tailored to fit the needs of a
product line, allowing upgrades in performance with minimal redesign of the product. Unique
features can be implemented in product line's various models at negligible production cost.

Microprocessor control of a system can provide control strategies that would be impractical to
implement using electromechanical controls or purpose-built electronic controls. For example, an
internal combustion engine's control system can adjust ignition timing based on engine speed,
load, temperature, and any observed tendency for knocking—allowing the engine to operate on a
range of fuel grades.