How to Select the Microcontroller for Your

1.

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Published on June 16, 2019 by John Teel

Selecting the right microcontroller for a project involves juggling many factors. In addition to cost,
performance, power consumption and overall size, the availability of the proper software and
hardware tools is a prime consideration.

Support for the chosen platform is also very important – not just from the vendor, but from the
community at large. It also helps if the chosen microcontroller has a readily available development
board.

Finally, development time can be significantly reduced if the selected microcontroller has extensive,
fully debugged, software libraries with well documented Application Programming Interfaces, or
API’s.

In this article, only microcontrollers that generally meet the above criteria will be presented.

All modern microcontrollers share some basic features. On top of a processing unit, they have a
certain amount of flash that is used to store the application code, some SRAM, and, in most cases,
some EEPROM.

They need a clock source, and this is normally provided by either an internal resistor-capacitor (RC)
oscillator, or by using an external crystal for more timing critical applications. They have some
digital IO ports, and at least one timer/counter.

Also, other than very low-end microcontrollers, most have at least one UART for serial
communications. Beyond that, microcontrollers are distinguished by the amount of memory they
have, the number and type of other peripherals integrated on the chip, and the speed at which they
run user applications.

This is not just dependent on the raw clock speed; it also depends on the data width of the processor
and any hardware acceleration features included.

Microcontrollers for embedded systems mainly fall into three categories based on the width of their
data buses: 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit. There are others, but these are the most popular ones.
In general, 8-bit microcontrollers are geared toward lower end applications, and 32-bit ones are for
the higher ends, with 16-bit for mid-end applications.

By far, most of the products I work on tend to incorporate 32-bit microcontrollers, but 8 or 16-bit
microcontrollers can be a good choice for low-end, low-cost products.

2. 8-Bit Microcontrollers
If an application does not have very high demands on processing power, and is of relatively small
size, then it can make sense to consider an 8-bit microcontroller.

For reference, most Arduinos are based on 8-bit microcontrollers. So if you have built your early
prototype using an Arduino then you may be able to use an 8-bit microcontroller in your final
product.

Don’t let price alone though guide your decision and in many cases 32-bit microcontrollers can be
cheaper than 8-bit chips.

For example, the Atmega328p is the 8-bit microcontroller used the Arduino Uno. It costs a little
over $1 in volumes of around 10k pieces. It runs at 20 MHz and includes 32 KB of Flash and 2KB
of RAM.

On the other hand, you can purchase a 32-bit microcontrollers running at 48 MHz with similar
memory for only 60 cents. This is likely due to the popularly of 32-bit microcontrollers driving
down their cost.

That being said, there are even cheaper 8-bit microcontrollers available that cost less than 25 cents
at similar volumes.

8-bit microcontrollers should typically be considered for applications that are dedicated to just
doing one job, with a limited user interface and little data processing.

8-bit microcontrollers come in all sizes from small 6-pin devices to chips with 64 pins. They have
flash sizes ranging from 512 bytes to 256KB, SRAM sizes from 32 to 8KB, or more, and EEPROM
from 0 to 4K, or more. A minimal system can be as simple as a single chip, with a bypass capacitor
on the power supply rail.

The three most popular lines of 8-bit microcontrollers are the 8051 series, the PIC series from
Microchip, and the AVR series from Atmel, now part of Microchip.

3. The 8051 Series

Originally from Intel, and now made by others, this microcontroller is still in common use today,
embedded in lots of appliances.

While they are available as standalone devices, the 8051 is now mostly used as IP (Intellectual
Property) cores that are embedded in the silicon of dedicated application-specific chips such as
some wireless radio transceivers.

Very rarely would the 8051 be the correct choice to serve as the main microcontroller for your
product.
4. The PIC Series

PIC microcontrollers are quite popular, and have wide support by both Microchip, and third parties.

Microchip provides its MPLAB® X Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which includes a
C-compiler for free. Also available for free as an IDE plug-in is the MPLAB Code Configurator
that generates C-code for the on-board peripherals.

This can then be integrated in the application code. There are PIC models with combinations of
USART’s, SPI, I2C, ADC, USB, LIN, CAN and other interfaces. Microchip also offers several
development tools, including MPLAB PICkit 4, ICD 4 and Real ICE.

Higher quality commercial compliers that have better code optimization are also available. Here is a
quick PDF reference guide to PIC microcontrollers.

5. The AVR series

The AVR is another series of very popular 8-bit microcontrollers. While they are in the same space
as the PIC’s described above, and have comparable performances, they do have one big claim to
fame: Arduino.

Figure 1- Most Arduino boards are based on 8-bit AVR microcontrollers

The original Arduinos, such as the Uno, Leonardo and Mega, all use AVR microcontrollers. Due to
the very wide range of available libraries for Arduinos, the AVRs merit serious consideration for 8-
bit applications, even if only for proof of concept prototypes.

Since Arduino libraries are written in C++, they can be easily incorporated in any application
written in C/C++.

Software development tools include AVR studio, or, if using Arduino, the Arduino IDE and
Platform IO are both commonly used. The complier used in these IDE’s is AVR GCC a free, very
well supported and maintained C/C++ compiler.

Hardware development tools include the Atmel ICE and the PICkit 4. In addition, mature tools such
as the STK600 and AVR Dragon are still widely available. Here is a link to a quick PDF reference
guide for AVR microcontrollers.

6. 16-Bit microcontrollers
16-bit microcontrollers are the next step up from 8-bit, while still sharing many of the same
attributes. They are faster, support even more peripherals, and generally offer more memory, both
flash and SRAM.

In addition to more IO pins, most of them also have hardware multipliers that are significantly
faster, and use less program memory, compared to pure software implementations.

It is easy to find devices that have both ADC’s and DAC’s, or devices with capacitive touch
sensors, segmented LCD drivers and Ethernet.

Internally, these devices also have hardware blocks typically not found in lower end devices. These
include encryption engines, Operational or Programmable Gain Amplifiers, and DMA controllers.

Although 16-bit microcontrollers can be found from various manufacturers such as Microchip (their
dsPIC33 is a popular choice), NXP, Infineon, or Cypress, the TI MSP430 series will be presented
here as a typical example of this microcontroller segment.

7. TI MSP430 Series

The MSP430 is a series of very low power 16-bit microcontrollers that are available in many
flavors. They range from general purpose to very specialized models.

One interesting thing about the specialized variants of these microcontrollers is that it actually
branches out into two extremes: very dedicated, very low-cost models, and high end models with
analog sensor interfaces and Digital Signal Processing (DSP).

An example of a high end application is this ultrasonic flow sensor. At the low end, TI also makes
MSP430-based chips that solve many very specific hardware functions. For more details see this e-
paper.

For example, want a SPI to UART interface, an I/O expander, or a UART-to-UART bridge? It’s all
in there, and all for less than $0.30 for this chip.

Finally, of course, the MSP430 is supported by a number of low-cost tools and development kits.

Table 1 below shows the additional features available on some of the mainstream versions.

MSP430FR2x MSP430FR4x MSP430FR5x MSP430FR6x

Program Memory Up to 32KB Up to 16KB Up to 256KB Up to 128KB
48 to 64 in a 24 to 100 in a 56 to 100 in a
16 to 64 in a variety of
Number of pins variety of variety of variety of
packages
packages packages packages
Peripherals not
DAC’s, PGA’s,
typically available IR modulation
Transimpedance & DMA, AES DMA, AES
in 8-bit logic
operational amps
controllers
LCD segment
— Up 256 — Up to 320
drivers

Table 1 – Mainstream MSP430 summary of features

8. 32-Bit Microcontrollers
32-bit microcontrollers are powerful devices with microprocessor-like features. Some of the
advanced features include instruction pipelining, branch prediction, Nested Vectored Interrupts
(NVI), Floating Point Units (FPU), memory protection, and on-board debuggers.

Instruction pipelining means that the processor core pre-fetches subsequent instructions ahead of
time, and branch prediction pre-fetches the next instructions of both outcomes of an if-else
condition, thus speeding up code execution.

NVI provides for interrupt priorities, where one interrupt can preempt a lower priority one.

FPU’s can do floating point calculations much faster than SW-implemented methods.

Memory protection ensures that application code cannot inadvertently over-write critical sections
dedicated to the operating system, for example.

Finally, on-board debugging allows peeking into registers and other areas of the system to facilitate
application code debugging. All of these together allow these microcontrollers to run large, fast, and
robust applications.

In addition, their raw processing power means they can easily support Real Time Operating
Systems (RTOS) that, in turn, provide multitasking capabilities.

Even though there are many 32-bit microcontrollers on the market, the focus in this note will be on
the ARM Cortex M-based devices, with a special mention of the ESP32 from Espressif.

ARM Holdings actually only designs processor core IP’s, which they then license to various
semiconductor vendors that incorporate them, along with some peripherals, into their own silicon
chips. Numerous chip makers offer microcontrollers based on the Cortex-M architecture.

Two prominent vendors of ARM-based chips are Atmel with their SAM device line, and
STMicroelectronics with their STM32 line of products.

The SAM devices deserve mention here due to their use in some Arduino-compatible boards.
However, in general, the STM32 devices offer more choices, and should be given top consideration
when designing in an embedded 32-bit microcontroller.

9. STM32 microcontrollers

ARM Cortex M cores come in many versions. The most popular ones are the M0/M0+, M1, M3,
M4 and M7, each offering progressively higher performance. STM32 microcontrollers incorporate
M0/M0+, M3, M4 or M7 cores.

Figure 1 shows the STM32 family of ARM Cortex M-based microcontrollers, and their intended
application segments.
 Figure 2 – STM32 family of microcontrollers

Within each of the categories shown in figure 1, there are many families that can be selected to
more closely match a given application.

For example, figure 2 shows the main variants available in the “mainstream” category, and their
relative performance curve. Note that within each family itself, there are many variants with
different combinations of peripherals and amounts of memory.

In fact, at this time, there are over three hundred STM32 microcontrollers available in this category.

Figure 3 – Family of microcontrollers in the STM32 Mainstream category

STM32 hardware support: The STM32 family is supported by a wide variety of hardware tools
provided both by ST Microelectronics, and third parties.

An inexpensive in-circuit debugger/programmer is the STLink V2. It is made by ST, and is

available from places such as Digi-Key; however, very inexpensive clones are also available.

ST Microelectronics also has a large selection of development boards under their Nucleo and
Discovery families.
Both contain a STLink debugging interface. All that is needed is a computer with USB, running the
appropriate software tool to evaluate the chosen microcontroller.

Discovery boards include additional external peripherals such as MEMs sensors, and capacitive
touch plates. However, Nucleos have headers that are compatible with Arduino shields.

Figure 4 – ST Discovery development board for an STM32F407 microcontroller

Before leaving this section, it is worth mentioning yet another very inexpensive development
board. Commonly known as Blue Pill, this board sports a STM32F103 Cortex M3-based chip, and
costs less than $2.00 from some sources.

An appealing feature of this board is that it can be made compatible with Arduino so that the
Arduino IDE, or Platform IO, can be used to write and download code for quick proof of concept
designs.

While the process of making it Arduino compatible is a bit involved, there are several places that
sell Arduino-ready boards. Just do a search for ‘STM32duino’.

STM32 software support: STMicroelectronics provides a version of ARM’s Mbed development

suite for all its STM32 product line. This includes an IDE, compiler and an extensive set of
libraries.

For developers that prefer to use other compilers, ST provides its STMCube. This is code generator
software that produces initialization codes for the STM32 peripherals.

With that, there is no need to fully go through the bit settings of multiple registers to set up the
peripherals such as IO ports or timers, for example.

10. ESP32

The ESP32 is a microcontroller from Espressif Systems. As shown in figure 3, it has all the features
on a typical 32-bit microcontroller.
 Figure 5 – Espressif ESP32 module

However, what distinguishes this particular microcontroller from others is the inclusion of WiFi
and Bluetooth hardware on the chip.

That includes not just the protocol stacks, but the actual radio transceivers as well. The ESP32 is
also available as a small pre-certified module with integrated antenna.

For applications that require WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity, the ESP32 deserves serious
consideration. The price of the ESP32 (both discrete chip and module) are very affordably priced,
especially considering the number of features and performance packed into this chip.

Figure 6 – ESP32 functional block diagram

Conclusion
The microcontroller is arguably the most important component you must select for your product.
Changing to a new microcontroller mid-project can be a nightmare, so be sure you get this choice
right upfront.

Other components in a design can commonly be changed without requiring massive, system-wide
changes. That is not the case with the microcontroller which serves as the core of your product.

When picking a microcontroller you want to generally pick one that gives your product some room
to grow. For example, if you determine that you require 16 GPIO pins then you don’t want to pick a
microcontroller with only 16 GPIO pins.
What happens if you decide to add a new button in the future so you need another GPIO pin? If
your microcontroller doesn’t give you room to grow, then you may find that seemly simple design
upgrades in the future will require a massive redesign because a new microcontroller is necessary.

On the other hand, you don’t want to select more performance or features than you ever anticipate
needing.

For instance, if your product simply monitors temperature and humidity then you won’t ever need
an advanced 32-bit microcontroller running at hundreds of MHz. That would be overkill which will
add unnecessary costs and design complexities to your product.

Instead, you need to find the sweet spot between having room to grow if needed, but yet not paying
for performance or features you will never really need.

Selecting the best microcontroller (and every other component too) for your product is one key part
of our Predictable Hardware Report service.

If you need affordable coaching, training, and support to help bring your new electronic
hardware product to market then be sure to check out the Hardware Academy program.