Lesson 1 - Structural Components of Microprocessors/Microcontroller

1.1 Internal CPU Interconnection

1.2 ALU
1.3 CU
1.4 Registers
1.5 Other Peripherals

The First Microprocessor like Intel 4004 was invented by Ted Hoff, Masatoshi Shima,
Federico Faggin and Stanley Mazor. The size of these processors is 8bit processors (it
read or write only 1 byte at a time), 16bit (it read or write only 2bytes at a time), 32bit (it
read or write only 4 bytes at a time) and 64bit (it read or write the only byte at a time). It
performs all the operations or functions depends on the program which is written in
assembly language by the programmer and its lifetime is more than 3000 hours. Almost
all household electronic products contain a microprocessor, some examples are washing
machines, fridges, geysers, alarm systems, microwave oven, laptops, etc.

What is a Microprocessor?
embedded control applications the microprocessor is mostly used in such as household
applications, automobiles, and computer peripherals. It is an integrated electronic
circuit transistors that controls all functions of the CPU, or central processing unit, of a
computer or other digital devices. The entire function of the CPU is controlled by a single
integrated circuit that accepts binary data as input and processes that data according to
the given instructions then generates the output. This processor contains millions of tiny
components like, registers, and diodes. The block diagram of this processor is shown in
the below figure.
COMPONENTS OF THE MICROPROCESSOR
Components of this processor are ALU, Control unit, Input-output devices, and Register
array.
• ALU (arithmetic logic unit) performs both arithmetic and logical operations. Arithmetic
operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplications, divisions, and logical operations such as
NOR, AND, NAND, OR, XOR, NOT, XNOR, etc.
• The control unit is used to control the instructions and it generates the signals to operate the
other components.
• Registers The register array consists of registers. that are used by the programmer to store
arbitrary data are known as general-purpose registers and the registers which are not used by a
programmer to store the data are known as the reserved registers. The length of the register is
known as the word length of the computer.
• Input-output devices are used to transfer data between microcomputers and external devices

Arithmetic and Logic Unit

The "arithmetic and logic unit" (ALU) performs math computations, such as subtraction,
addition, division and Boolean functions. Boolean functions are a type of logic used for
circuit designs. The ALU also executes comparisons and logic testing. The processor
transmits signals to the ALU, which interprets the instructions and performs the
calculations
Registers
Microprocessors have temporary data holding places called registers. These memory
areas maintain data, such as computer instructions, storage addresses, characters and
other data. Some computer instructions may require the use of certain registers as part
of a command. Each register has a specific function, such as instruction register, program
counter, accumulator and memory address register. For example, a program register
holds the address of instructions taken from random access memory.
Control Unit
Control units (CUs) receive signals from the CPU, which instructs the control unit to move
data from microprocessor to microprocessor. The control unit also directs the arithmetic
and logic unit. Control units consist of multiple components, such as decoder, clock and
control logic circuits. Working together, these devices transmit signals to certain locations
on the microprocessor.
For example, the decoder receives commands from an application. The decoder
interprets the instructions and takes an action. It sends signals to the ALU or directs
registers to perform specific tasks. The control logic unit transmits signals to different
sections of the microprocessor and registers, which informs these components to execute
actions. The clock sends signals that synchronize and ensure timely execution of
commands and processes.
Buses
Microprocessors have a system of buses, which move data. Buses refer to classifications
of wiring that have specific tasks and functions. The data bus transfers data between the
central processing unit and random-access memory (RAM) --the computer's primary
memory. The control bus sends information necessary to coordinate and control multiple
tasks. The address bus transmits the address between the CPU and the RAM for data
being processed.
Cache Memory
Some advanced microprocessors have memory caches, which retain the last data used
by the CPU. Memory caches speed up the computing process, because the CPU does
not have to go to the slower RAM to retrieve data. Many computers have level 1 or level
2 caches; some systems have level 3 caches. The cache level indicates the order in which
the CPU checks for data, starting with level 1. Manufacturers often integrate level 2 and
level 3 caches into the microprocessor, which enhances processing speed.
The microprocessors are made by silicon or germanium. Silicon and germanium are
semiconductors, almost all electronic components are made by these semiconductors
Generations of Microprocessor
There are five generations of this processor that mainly include the following.
• First Generation Microprocessor: The first generation processors are 4 – bit microprocessor
introduced in 1971 – 1972.
• Second Generation Microprocessor: The second-generation processors are 8 – bit
microprocessor introduced in 1973.
• Third Generation Microprocessor: The third-generation processors are 16 – bit microprocessor
introduced in 1978.
• Fourth Generation Microprocessor: The fourth-generation processors are 32 – bit
microprocessors.
Fifth Generation Microprocessor: The fifth-generation processors are 64 – bit
microprocessor.

WORKING OF MICROPROCESSOR
To get the output, the first microprocessor fetches the instructions from the computer
memory and then decodes it and executes those instructions as a result in a binary
form. The power of the given microprocessor is measured in terms of bits.
This processor executes the instruction using the following steps
• Fetching (IF): It is the first step of the microprocessor which fetches the instruction from the
memory.
• Decoding (ID): It is the second step of the microprocessor used to decodes the instruction.
• Executing (EX): It is the last step of this processor that executes the instructions and the output.

Best Companies of Microprocessor

AMD (advanced micro devices), Intel, Nvidia, Marvell technology group, Enoceangmbh,
Ensilica, ARM, Adaptevaare some best companies of this processor. AMD (advanced
micro devices) company recently implemented AMD ryzen 9 3900x, AMD ryzen 5 2600
x, etc and intel best microprocessor is Intel core i9-9900k.
Applications
The applications of this processor include the following.
• Gaming
• Web browsing
• Creating documents
• Mathematical calculations
• Simulations
• Photo editing
• In-home appliances
• In automotive electronics
• In metering
• In mobile electronics
• building automation In etc
Advantages
The advantages of this processor include the following
• Low cost
• High speed
• Small size
• Low power consumption
• Versatile
• Reliable
• Portable
• Easy to implement
• Easy to modify Disadvantages
The disadvantages of this processor include the following.
• Floating-point operations are not supported.
• Sometimes it may get overheated.

Microprocessor, thus, this is all about an overview of the. As we know that this processor
is one of the best technologies which can be used in almost all electronic products. Its
usage is increasing day by day, compared to other technologies the cost is less and the
speed of the microprocessor is high.

COMPARISON BETWEEN MICROPROCESSOR AND

MICROCONTROLLER
The main comparison between microprocessor and microcontroller

Microprocessors Microcontrollers

It is only a general-purpose computer

1 It is a microcomputer itself
CPU

Memory, I/O ports, timers, interrupts are n All are integrated inside the microcontr
2
ot available inside the chip oller chip

This must have many additional digital co Can function as a microcomputer with
3
mponents to perform its operation out any additional components.

Make the system simple, economic an

Systems become bulkier and
d
4
expensive. compact

5 Not capable for handling Boolean Handling Boolean functions

 functions

6 Higher accessing time required Low accessing time

7 Very few pins are programmable Most of the pins are programmable

Very few numbers of bit handling instructi

8 Many bit handling instructions
ons

9 Widely Used in modern PC and laptops widely in small control systems

E.
INTEL 8086,INTEL Pentium series INTEL8051,89960, PIC16F877
g.

TYPES OF MICROPROCESSORS
• Vector Processors: The vector processor is designed for vector computations and it is an array of
operands. It is the process of using vectors to store a large number of variables for high-intensity
data processing. Weather forecasting, human genome mapping, GIS data are some examples of
vector processors are IBM 390/VF, DEC’S vax 9000, etc.
• Processors or SIMD Processors: An array processor is also designed for vector computations and
it is a single instruction multiple data (SIMD) processor. The applications of SIMD include image
processing, 3d rendering, speech recognition, networking, DSP functions, etc.
• Scalar and Superscalar Processors: The processor which executes scalar data is known as a scalar
processor. Scalar processors are maybe the RISC scalar processor or CISC scalar processor. The
superscalar processor executes more than one instruction per clock cycle and it has multiple
pipelines.
• Digital Signal Processors: Digital signal processors are used to process signals in a digital form.
Applications of DSP are audio signal processing, digital image processing, video compression,
audio compression, speech processing and recognition etc. Digital signal processors are Motorola
56000, national lm 32900 etc.
• RISC Processors: The full form of RISC is reduced instruction set computer. The instructions in
this processor are not complex. It is used in high-end applications such as video processing,
telecommunications, and image processing.
• CISC Processors: The full form of CISC is a complex instruction set computer. The instructions
in this processor are complex. It requires an external memory for calculations. The CISC -
architecture is used in low-end applications such as security systems, home automation, etc.
• ASIC Processors: ASIC stands for application-specific integrated circuits. It is implemented for
special functions or applications.

RESOURCES:
https://www.elprocus.com/microprocessor-generations-and-its-
types/ https://www.techwalla.com/articles/what-is-a-flag-in-a-microprocessor
https://www.circuitstoday.com/basics-of-microcontrollers