Digital System Design (3+1)

DE-40 EE Semester 7
Fall 2021

ASSIGNMENT # 1

Submitted by Reg No

MUHAMMAD ARSLAN AMJAD QURESHI 242979

Syndicate B

Instructor In-charge: DR USMAN

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (CEME)

National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST)
 Microprocessors
A microprocessor is a component that performs the instructions
and tasks involved in computer processing. In a computer
system, the microprocessor is the central unit that executes and
manages the logical instructions passed to it.

A microprocessor may also be called a processor or central

processing unit, but it is actually more advanced in terms of
architectural design and is built over a silicon microchip.

A microprocessor is the most important unit within a computer

system and is responsible for processing the unique set of
instructions and processes. A microprocessor is designed to
execute logical and computational tasks with typical operations
such as addition/subtraction, interprocess and device
communication, input/output management, etc. A
microprocessor is composed of integrated circuits that hold
thousands of transistors; exactly how many depends on its
relative computing power.

Microprocessors are generally classified according to the number

of instructions they can process within a given time, their clock
speed measured in megahertz and the number of bits used per
instruction.
 Microcontroller
A microcontroller is a computer present in a single integrated
circuit which is dedicated to perform one task and execute one
specific application.

It contains memory, programmable input/output peripherals as

well a processor. Microcontrollers are mostly designed for
embedded applications and are heavily used in automatically
controlled electronic devices such as cellphones, cameras,
microwave ovens, washing machines, etc.

Features of a microcontroller:

• Far more economical to control electronic devices and

processes as the size and cost involved is comparatively
less than other methods.
• Operating at a low clock rate frequency, usually use four-bit
words and are designed for low power consumption.
• Architecture varies greatly with respect to purpose from
general to specific, and with respect to microprocessor,
ROM, RAM or I/O functions.
• Has a dedicated input device and often has a display for
output?
• Usually embedded in other equipment and are used to
control features or actions of the equipment.
• Program used by microcontroller is stored in ROM.
• Used in situations where limited computing functions are
needed

Digital Signal Processor

Digital Signal Processors (DSP) take real-world signals like voice,
audio, video, temperature, pressure, or position that have been
digitized and then mathematically manipulate them. A DSP is
designed for performing mathematical functions like "add",
"subtract", "multiply" and "divide" very quickly. A digital signal
processor (DSP) is a specialized microprocessor chip, with its
architecture optimized for the operational needs of digital signal
processing. DSPs are fabricated on MOS integrated circuit chips.
They are widely used in audio signal
processing, telecommunications, digital image
processing, radar, sonar and speech recognition systems, and in
common consumer electronic devices such as mobile
phones, disk drives etc.

Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)

A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is an integrated circuit
that can be programmed or reprogrammed to the required
functionality or application after manufacturing. Important
characteristics of field-programmable gate arrays include lower
complexity, higher speed, volume designs and programmable
functions. With more technological advances, field-
programmable gate arrays are a convenient proposition for most
designs and markets.

A field-programmable gate array consists of logic blocks which

are programmable, reconfigurable interconnects and
input/output pads. The logic blocks used in a field-programmable
gate array could consist of memory elements such as flip-flops or
memory blocks. The logic blocks are capable of performing
simple to complex computational functions. Field-programmable
gate arrays are in many ways similar to programmable read-only
memory chips. However, unlike programmable read-only
memory chips, which are limited to hundreds of gates, a field-
programmable gate array can support several thousand gates.
Another salient feature of field-programmable gate arrays is the
ability to be reprogrammed, unlike application-specific integrated
circuits which are manufactured for specific tasks.
 System on Chip
A system on a chip (SoC) combines the required electronic
circuits of various computer components onto a single,
integrated chip (IC). SoC is a complete electronic substrate
system that may contain analog, digital, mixed-signal or radio
frequency functions. Its components usually include a graphical
processing unit (GPU), a central processing unit (CPU) that may
be multi-core, and system memory (RAM).

Because SOC includes both the hardware and software, it uses

less power, has better performance, requires less space and is
more reliable than multi-chip systems. Most system-on-chips
today come inside mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.
 ➢ Differences
MICROCONTOLLER VS The microcontroller combines all the
MICROPROCESSOR functionality needed to run it on a
single chip while the microprocessor
only has processing capability and
depends upon external peripherals for
its use such as external memory and
input output peripherals.

FPGAS VS MICROPROCESSORS AND Architecture of FPGA is flexible and its

MICROCONTROLLER hardware can be modified to the users
will whereas a microprocessor is fixed
in its hardware. It does not have
reconfigurable logic. Microcontroller is
small computers coded on a chip. A
user can give set of instructions to
the microcontroller and it will execute
them in sequence, whereas FPGA is a
chip that contains lots of logic gates
that can be configured to execute any
logic.

Digital Signal Processor VS DSPs are special processors designed

MICROPROCESSORS for digital signal
processing applications. Hence, they
have additional capabilities like
parallel adders, multipliers, shifter
units etc. In order to execute signal
processing algorithms faster, DSP
processors support parallel execution
whereas in simple processors
execution is always sequential.

System On Chip VS Micro-controller provides only

MICROCONTROLLER minimal memory, interfaces,
processing power etc. The peripherals
included on the micro-controller are
lot less specific than the System on
Chip. It is focused on small embedded
control systems or control
applications.