What is a microcontroller? A microcontroller (sometimes called an MCU or microcontroller unit) is a single integrated circuit (IC) that is typically used for a specific application and designed to perform certain tasks. Products and devices that must be controlled automatically under certain circumstances, such as appliances, power tools, automotive engine control systems, and computers are good examples, but the range of applications for microcontrollers goes far beyond these applications.

Essentially, the microcontroller collects input, processes this information, and outputs specific actions based on the collected information. Microcontrollers typically operate at lower speeds, in the range of about 1MHz to 200MHz, and need to be designed to consume less power because they are embedded in other devices and may have higher power consumption in other areas.

Inside a microcontroller: Basic components A microcontroller can be thought of as a small computer because of the basic components inside it; Central processing unit (CPU), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, serial bus interfaces, input/output ports (I/O ports), and in many cases, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory memory (EEPROM).

Figure 1 shows a schematic of the main components and other components in a microcontroller. Let’s dive into each of these components to see how they work in a microcontroller. Figure 2: Typical machine cycles performed by the CPU. Microcontroller memory RAM is a component that temporarily stores data and can be accessed quickly. It provides fast read and write access to storage devices.

This is different from most other memory because the data is not readily available, so it takes longer to extract the data. You can think of it as RAM that can access the data surface – easy to access – but any in-depth study will require a different type of memory. RAM improves overall system performance because it allows the microcontroller to process more information at once.

Since RAM is temporary data, its contents are always erased when the microcontroller is turned off. Using Flash memory in a microcontroller Flash memory is a type of non-volatile memory that, unlike RAM, retains its data for a long time even when the microcontroller is turned off. This preserves saved programs that you may have uploaded to the microcontroller.

Flash writes one “block” or “sector” at a time, so if you only need to rewrite one byte, the flash will need to rewrite the entire block that byte is in, which will wear out faster. What is EEPROM in a microcontroller? EEPROM, like flash memory, is a non-volatile memory that retains its data even after it is turned off. The difference is that while flash will rewrite “block” bytes, EEPROM can rewrite any specific byte at any time. This extends the life of the EEPROM compared to flash memory, but also means it is more expensive.