Microcontroller

• Major components
  • CPU
  • ALU
  • Address/Data/Control Bus
  • Memory (RAM/ROM)
  • I/O Lines and Buffers
  • Registers
  • Peripherals
    • Timers & Clock circuitry
    • A/D & D/A
    • Serial Communication

Microprocessor is the brains of the microcontroller. The microcontroller is the brain + the body (the body is the peripherals)

• Architectural Issues
  • Instruction set
  • Data path widths
  • Timing and clock cycles
  • Is buffering required?
  • Power consumption
  • Packaging
  • Timers
  • I/O Ports
  • A/D, D/A
  • Power up/down
  • Battery backup
  • Family support
  • Documentation
  • Part availability

XMEGA

Usage: GPIO Interrupts Serial Communication Timers