Basics of Microcontrollers – History, Structure and Applications

Welcome to the World of Microcontrollers, a tiny (yet very powerful) device

that changed the face of Embedded Systems. In this tutorial / article, you will
learn about the Rise of Microcontrollers, few Basics of Microcontrollers,
Microcontroller’s Structure and also few differences between Microprocessor
and Microcontroller.

Before going in to the details of Basics of Microcontrollers, you need to know

what a Microcontroller is. Microcontrollers are similar to Microprocessors, but
they have few additional components on the same chip.

What is a Microcontroller?

A Microcontroller is a VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) Integrated Circuit

(IC) that contains electronic computing unit and logic unit (combinedly
known as CPU), Memory (Program Memory and Data Memory), I/O Ports
(Input / Output Ports) and few other components integrated on a single chip.

Sometimes, a Microcontroller is also called as a Computer-on-a-Chip or a

Single-Chip-Computer. Since the Microcontroller and its supporting circuitry
are often embedded in the device it controls, a Microcontroller is also called
as an Embedded Controller.

Microcontrollers are omnipresent. If a device or an application involves

measuring, storing, calculating, controlling or displaying information, then
device contains a Microcontroller in it. Let us see some of the areas where
microcontrollers are used.

The biggest user of Microcontrollers is probably the Automobiles Industry.

Almost every car that comes out of the assembly factory contains at least
one Microcontroller for the purpose of engine control. You can find many
more Microcontrollers for controlling additional systems.

Consumer Electronics is another area which is loaded with Microcontrollers.

Microcontrollers are a part of Digital Cameras, Video Camcorders, CD and
DVD Players, Washing Machines, Ovens, etc.

Microcontrollers are also used in test and measurement equipment like

Multimeters, Oscilloscopes, Function Generators, etc. You can also find
microcontrollers near your desktop computer like Printers, Routers, Modems,
Keyboards, etc.

The above definitions of the Microcontroller might seem complicated or

confusing to newbies in Electronics or Embedded Systems but the concept
will become clear as we move forward.

First, we will see the Rise of Microcontrollers, where you can find how the
development to the Microcontroller took place.

Rise of Microcontrollers

Microprocessor, the invention that took the field of computation by storm. A

Microprocessor is an Integrated Circuit (IC) that contains the Central
Processing Unit (CPU). The earliest known Microprocessors are the Intel’s
4004 and the Texas Instruments’ TMS1000.

Since then, the computational power, complexity and power consumption

kept on increasing in order to provide ultimate performance (Power
Consumption must be discussed separately due to developments such as
Low Power VLSI etc.).

For a Microprocessor to work, it needs a bunch of supporting hardware that

can be found on a mother board. The hardware includes memory, ICs for
peripheral devices, etc.

In the beginning itself, the Microprocessors ability to control other electronic

equipment like Photocopiers is realized. The emphasis here is not on the
computational power of the Microprocessor but rather on a control
mechanism with less complex hardware and increased reliability.
This requirement paved way for integrating the minimum hardware required
for complete functioning of a Processor on to a single chip i.e. same chip as
the processor, to be precise.

This is the rise of Microcontrollers, an Integrated Circuit, which contains all

the functions and hardware in order to make a complete computer system.
Here, the computational power of the device is of less importance than the
integration of all the components, including memory.

Microprocessors
Microcontrollers

1 It is only a general purpose It is a microcomputer itself

computer CPU

2 Memory, I/O ports, timers, All are integrated inside the

interrupts are not available microcontroller chip
inside the chip

3 This must have many Can function as a microcomputer

additional digital components without any additional components.
to perform its operation

4 Systems become bulkier and Make the system simple, economic

expensive. and compact

5 Not capable for handling Handling Boolean functions

Boolean functions

6 Higher accessing time Low accessing time

required

7 Very few pins are Most of the pins are programmable

programmable

8 Very few number of bit Many bit handling instructions

handling instructions

9 Widely Used in modern PC widely in small control systems

and laptops

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

series
Basics of Microcontrollers

Basically, a Microcontroller consists of the following components.

 Central Processing Unit (CPU)

 Program Memory (ROM – Read Only Memory)

 Data Memory (RAM – Random Access Memory)

 Timers and Counters

 I/O Ports (I/O – Input/Output)

 Serial Communication Interface

 Clock Circuit (Oscillator Circuit)

 Interrupt Mechanism

Most modern Microcontrollers might contain even more peripherals like SPI
(Serial Peripheral Interface), I2C (Inter Integrated Circuit), ADC (Analog to
Digital Converter), DAC (Digital to Analog Converter), CAN (Controlled Area
Network), USB (Universal Serial Bus), and many more.

The CPU (Central Processing Unit) in a Microcontroller performs the

arithmetic, logic, math and data-oriented function, similar to CPU in the
Microprocessor. The difference between a Microprocessor and Microcontroller
is that a Microprocessor need to be interface with external memory and other
I/O Interfaces to work as a computer whereas, a Microcontroller has all the
required peripherals on the same chip as the CPU.

The integration of features like ADC, DAC etc. on the same chip as the CPU
makes it more efficient and cheaper than to use a separate ADC Chip.

Developing a Computer Controlled System involves design of the Hardware

and also writing an efficient Software Program. Since a Microcontroller has all
the hardware, that are required to make a computer controlled system on a
single chip, using a Microcontroller will drastically reduce the efforts and time
spent on hardware design and wiring.

Basic Structure of a Microcontroller

You might have seen the basic structure of a Microcontroller many times. If
you have already seen the structure of Microcontroller and the basic
components of a Microcontroller before, then consider this as a revision. If
you haven’t seen it, then it is very important to get an idea about the basic
structure of a Microcontroller.

The following image shows the Basic Structure of a Microcontroller.

From the above image, you can understand that the three important (or
major) components of a Microcontroller are:

 The CPU (Central Processing Unit)

 The Memory and

 The I/O Ports

This doesn’t mean that other components are of less importance. But these
can be considered as supporting devices. We will now see each of the Basic
Components of a Microcontroller mentioned in the above structure.

CPU

Central Processing Unit or CPU is the brain of the Microcontroller. It consists

of an Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) and a Control Unit (CU). A CPU reads,
decodes and executes instructions to perform Arithmetic, Logic and Data
Transfer operations.
Memory

Any Computational System requires two types of Memory: Program Memory

and Data Memory. Program Memory, as the name suggests, contains the
program i.e. the instructions to be executed by the CPU. Data Memory on the
other hand, is required to store temporary data while executing the
instructions.

Usually, Program Memory is a Read Only Memory or ROM and the Data
Memory is a Random Access Memory or RAM. Data Memory is sometimes
called as Read Write Memory (R/W M).

I/O Ports

The interface for the Microcontroller to the external world is provided by the
I/O Ports or Input/Output Ports. Inputs device like Switches, Keypads, etc.
provide information from the user to the CPU in the form of Binary Data.

The CPU, upon receiving the data from the input devices, executes
appropriate instructions and gives response through Output Devices like
LEDs, Displays, Printers, etc.

Bus

Another important component of a Microcontroller, but rarely discussed is

the System Bus. A System bus is a group of connecting wire that connect the
CPU with other peripherals like Memory, I/O Ports and other supporting
components.

Timers/Counters

One of the important components of a Microcontroller are the Timers and

Counters. They provide the operations of Time Delays and counting external
events. Additionally, Timers and Counters can provide Function Generation,
Pulse Width Modulation, Clock Control, etc.

Serial Port

One of the important requirement of a Microcontroller is to communicate

with other device and peripherals (external). Serial Port proves such interface
through serial communication. Most common serial communication
implemented in Microcontrollers is UART.

Interrupts
A very important feature of a Microcontroller is Interrupts and its Interrupt
Handling Mechanism. Interrupts can be external, internal, hardware related
or software related.

ADC (Analog to Digital Converter)

Analog to Digital Converter or ADC is a circuit that converts Analog signals to

Digital Signals. The ADC Circuit forms the interface between the external
Analog Input devices and the CPU of the Microcontroller. Almost all sensors
are analog devices and the analog data from these sensors must be
converted in to digital data for the CPU to understand.

DAC (Digital to Analog Converter)

DIgital to Analog Converter or DAC is a circuit, that works in contrast to an

ADC i.e. it converts Digital Signals to Analog Signals. DAC forms the bridge
between the CPU of the Microcontroller and the external analog devices.

Advantages of Microcontrollers

 A Microcontroller is a true device that fits the computer-on-a-chip idea.

 No need for any external interfacing of basic components like Memory,

I/O Ports, etc.

 Microcontrollers doesn’t require complex operating systems as all the

instructions must be written and stored in the memory. (RTOS is an
exception).

 All the Input/Output Ports are programmable.

 Integration of all the essential components reduces the cost, design

time and area of the product (or application).

Disadvantages of Microcontrollers

 Microcontrollers are not known for their computation power.

 The amount of memory limits the instructions that a microcontroller

can execute.

 No Operating System and hence, all the instruction must be written.

Applications of Microcontrollers

There are huge number of applications of Microcontrollers. In fact, the entire

embedded systems industry is dependent on Microcontrollers. The following
are few applications of Microcontrollers.
  Front Panel Controls in devices like Oven, washing Machine etc.

 Function Generators

 Smoke and Fire Alarms

 Home Automation Systems

 Automatic Headlamp ON in Cars

 Speed Sensed Door Locking System

In this tutorial/article, we have seen the basics of Microcontrollers, Basic

Structure of a Microcontroller, different components of a Microcontroller,
advantages, disadvantages and applications of Microcontrollers.