INTRODUCTION to

Microprocessor

ENGR. ANNALYN D.
SORIA
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS

Digital computers – it is a machine that will

accept data and information presented in its
required form, carry out arithmetic logical
operations, and then generate the required
results in an acceptable form.
Main characteristics of a computer:
1. Automatic 3. Electronic
2. Programmable 4. Digital
Brief History of computers

 Generation 0 (1940-1950) – this was the

experimental period when most of the
pioneering work was under taken in
universities in the US and UK.
1. ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and
Caculator) – built in 1943 by John Maulchy and J.
Presper Echert of Moore School of Engineering at
the University of Pennsylvania.
– It is a general purpose device programmable by
means of pluggable interconnections.
– Performs 5000 arithmetic operation per second.
– Used 19000 vacuum tubes and consumed 200
KW of electricity
2. EDVAC – built by John Von Neuman
- It uses the stored program computer concept
where a sequence of instructions are stored in a
memory and executed one by one by a central
processor.
3. IAS (Institute of Advance Studies) –built by John Von
Neuman in Princeton.
- it was a parallel machine and processed data in
words. It was the first parallel stored program
computer.
4. BINAC – made by Echert and Maulchy when they
founded their Echert Maucchy Corp.
- Other experimental machines during this period
were EDSAC and FERANT 1, Mark 1 from UK and
the Whirlwind 1 from MIT which was designed for air
traffic control and similar applications.
 Generation 1 (1950-1958) – the first
machines for commercial use were
developed and sold during this period.
These computers utilizes vacuum tube
technology.
1. UNIVAC – made by Echert and Mauchy after
BINAC was unsuccessful.
- The first to use magnetic tape storage and was
initially used for census applications in US.
2. IBM 701 – a machine designed for defense
and aerospace applications.
3. IBM 702 – a machine designed for business
applications.
4. IBM 704 – first successful designed first
generation computer
 Generation 2 (1958-1964) – the transistor
was invented and started the new era of
solid state computers and the emergence of
the supercomputer.
1. IBM 1401 – first transistorized computer
2. STRETCH – the next machine after 1401 was
proven successful.
3. LARC – a modification of UNIVAC and it was
also successful
4. DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) –
introduced the first minicomputer, the PDP/1
and PDP/5, made possible by the integrated
circuit.
- new players entered the market such as
Honeywell Control Data, Philco Ford,
General Elecrric, NCR and RCA
 Generation 3 (1964-early 70’s) – the
integrated circuit was invented and this
increased the capacity and power of
computers and gave rose to the
minicomputer.
1. DECs, PDP/11, VAX 11/780 (one of the most
successful minicomputers)
2. IBMs 8/360 & 5/370
3. CDC 6600 – designed by Seymour Cray
under Cray research.
- it is a super computer and was under
control data.
4. CRAY 1 – designed by Seymour Cray.
- one of the most powerful computer in the
world during this generation.
 Generation 4 (80’s to present) – the
microprocessor was invented and desktop
computers emerged, distributed computing became
popular.
1. ALTAIR 8800 – first computer that utilizes
microprocessors
2. APPLE II – owned by apple computer
- One of the first commercially successful company.
- Joined by Commodore, Cormemco, Vector Graphics,
Osborne and North Star.
3. IBM PC – first desktop to hit the commercial
market
- more popular than apple macintosh
- a family of high performance desktop
computer called workstations also emerged.
These are power scientific applications using
RISK architectures.
Three Basic Elements of a
Microcomputer

1. CPU (central processing unit) – performs arithmetic

and logical operations.
- it also controls the system operation like data
transfer.
ALU (arithmetic logic Unit) – generally controls the
other elements of the microcomputer by means of
control signals and timing signals
2. Input/Output Devices – provide the communication
means between the microcomputer and the user.
3. Memory – for storing instructions, results of
operations and data
 - directly connected to the CPU
- it is where the programs reside before
being executed.
2 types of memory:
a. RAM (random access memory) – a volatile
memory
- must have continuous electrical power
- user’s memory
- types: SRAM (static RAM) and DRAM
(dynamic RAM)
b. ROM (read only memory) – non-volatile
memory
- contains first program to boot up
- automatically present: system boot up,
bootsrap program and system memory
- types:
a1. MROM (mask read only memory) – type of ROM
that is programmed by the manufacturer during
production. It cannot be reprogrammed.
a2. MPROM(mask programmable read only
memory) – type of ROM that is programmed by the
user and uses fusible links that are burned out during
programming stage. It cannot be reprogrammed.
a3. EPROM (Erasable programmable read only
memory)- a type of ROM that can be programmed
and reprogrammed by the user with application of
UV rays into a window type opening on the chips
design.
a4. EEPROM (Electrically erasable programmable
read only memory) – a type of ROM that can be
programmed and reprogrammed by the user with the
application of electric charges across the pins of the
IC chip.
2 types of programs

1. Transient program – stored in the RAM execution.

- changed due to the loading of different
applications and is temporary.
2. Resident program – found in the ROM
- executed automatically at boot up, used to run
other programs and is permanent.
SPC (Stored program computer) – programs/
instructions should be stored in the main memory
before it can be executed
Computer Codes

1. ASCII (american standard code for

information interchange) – 7 bit code
– Usually with an additional bit called “parity bit” and
the parity bit is located at the MSB.
2. EBCDIC (extended binary coded decimal
interchange code) – 8 bit code
- Designed primarily for the IBM computers
Three bus architecture

 The microcomputer uses three buses to

transfer data to and from one unit to another
thereby facilitating the proper execution of
program.
1. Address bus – unidirectional
- carries the memory address that must be
read or written
2. Control bus – unidirectional
- carries the signal that specifies the type of
operation to be performed.
3. Data bus – bidirectional
- carries the data that needs to be decoded
by the computer.
Introduction to Microprocessors

 The microprocessor is one of the most

important components of a digital computer.
It acts as the brain of the computer system.
As technology has progressed,
microprocessors have become faster,
smaller and capable of doing more work per
clock cycle. Sometimes, microprocessor is
written as µP. ( µ is pronounced as Mu )
Definition:
Microprocessor is the controlling unit or CPU
of a micro-computer, fabricated on a very
small chip capable of performing ALU
operations and communicating with the
external devices connected to it.
A Micro-Computer

 As the name implies, microcomputers are

small computers. The block diagram of the
microcomputer is similar to the computer
except that the central processing unit of the
microcomputer is contained in a single IC
called the microprocessor.
 A microprocessor is a LSI (Large Scale Integration)
IC that does almost all the functions of the CPU.
 It is also defined as a CPU contained in a single
chip.
 The basic function of the microprocessor is:
– to fetch the instructions stored in the main memory
– identify the operations and the devices involved in it and
accordingly generate control signals to determine when a
given action is to take place.
 We can say that a computer with a microprocessor
as its CPU, is known as Microcomputer.
 Microprocessor: The central processing unit built
on a single IC is called Microprocessor.
 A microprocessor (sometimes abbreviated as µP)
is a digital electronic component with miniaturized
transistors on a single semiconductor integrated
circuit (IC).
 One or more microprocessors typically serve as a
central processing unit (CPU) in a computer
system or handheld device.
 Microcomputer: A digital computer, in which one
microprocessor has been provided to act as a
CPU, is called Microcomputer.
 A desktop computer, laptop, notebook, palmtop,
etc. contain one microprocessor to act as a CPU
and hence they come under the category of
microcomputer.
 The term microcomputer is generally synonymous
with personal computer.
 Multiprocessor System:
 The CPU of a large powerful digital computer
contains more than one microprocessor.
 High-end powerful servers, mainframe
computers, supercomputers, etc. contain more
than one microprocessor to act as CPU.
 A computer whose CPU contains more than one
microprocessor is called Multiprocessor System.
 Microcontroller:
 A highly integrated chip that contains all the
components such as CPU, RAM, some form of
ROM, I/O ports, and timers is called
Microcontroller.
 Unlike a general-purpose computer, which also
includes all of these components, a microcontroller
is designed for a very specific task to control a
particular system.
Microprocessor Characteristics

 Instruction Set:
The set of instructions that a microprocessor can
understand.
 Bandwidth:

The number of bits processed in a single instruction.

 Capability:

It depends upon the number of instructions and

capability of each instruction.
 Clock Speed:
-The clock speed determines how many operations per second
the processor can perform.
-It is also called Clock Rate.
- Every computer contains an internal clock that regulates the rate
at which instructions are executed and synchronizes the
various computer components.
- The faster the clock, the more instructions the CPU can execute
per second.
- Clock speeds are expressed in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz
(GHz).
- The microprocessors of personal computers have clock speeds
of anywhere from 300 MHz to over 3.8 GHz.
 Word Length:
It depends upon the width of internal data bus, registers,
ALU etc.
An 8-bit microprocessor can process 8 bit data at a time.
A processor with longer word length is more powerful and
can process data at a faster speed as compared to
processor with shorter word length.
The word length ranges from 4 bits for small
microprocessor, to 64 bits for high-end microcomputers.
Width of Data Bus:
This is the size of the data bus. It defines the number of
bits that can be transferred through data bus.
Width of Address Bus:
This parameter decides the memory addressing capability
of the microprocessor. The maximum size of the memory
unit is decided by this parameter.
Input/Output Addressing Capability:
The maximum number of the input/output ports accessed
by the microprocessor depends upon the width of the
input/output address provided in the input/output instruction.
 Data Types:
The microprocessor handles various types of data
formats like binary, BCD, ASCII, signed and unsigned
numbers.
 Interrupt Capability:

Interrupts are used to handle unpredictable and random

events in the microcomputer.
It is used to interrupt the microprocessor. Interrupt
driven input/output improves the throughput of a system.
Features of Microprocessor
 Cost:
The most important feature of a microcomputer is its low cost.
Because of the widespread use of microprocessors, the volume
of production is very high.
That is why, microprocessor chips are available at fairly low
prices.
 Size:
The second important feature of a microprocessor is its small
size.
As a result of improvement in fabrication technology, VLSI,
electronic circuitry has become so dense that a minute silicon
chip can contain hundred and thousands of transistors.
 Power Consumption:
Another important feature is its low power consumption.
Microprocessors are normally manufactured by Metal-Oxide
semiconductor technology, which has the feature of low power
consumption.
 Versatility:
The microprocessors are versatile.
Keeping the same basic hardware, a microprocessor-based system can
be configured for a number of applications by simply altering the
software program.
Reliability:
 Another important property of microprocessors is its extreme reliability.
It has been established that the failure rate of an IC is fairly uniform
at the package level, regardless of its complexity.
Micron

 A unit of length equal to one millionth of a meter.

It is denoted by µ (Mu).
 For Example:

If we pluck a hair from the head, it is very thin. But a hair is
more than 2000 times wider than a transistor on a
microprocessor.
 Wires between transistors are even thinner. They're more
than 4000 times thinner than a hair.
A hair is about 100 microns in diameter.
That means, a transistor is just 0.045 microns wide.