Microprocessor & Interfacing

Lecture # 01
Microprocessor Overview & Classification
Microprocessor - Overview
Microprocessor is a controlling unit of a micro-computer,
fabricated on a small chip capable of performing ALU (Arithmetic
Logical Unit) operations and communicating with the other devices
connected to it.
Microprocessor consists of an ALU, register array, and a control unit.
ALU performs arithmetical and logical operations on the data received
from the memory or an input device. Register array consists of registers
identified by letters like B, C, D, E, H, L and accumulator. The control
unit controls the flow of data and instructions within the computer.
How does a Microprocessor Work?
The microprocessor follows a sequence: Fetch, Decode,
and then Execute.
Initially, the instructions are stored in the memory in a
sequential order. The microprocessor fetches those
instructions from the memory, then decodes it and
executes those instructions till STOP instruction is
reached. Later, it sends the result in binary to the output
port. Between these processes, the register stores the
temporarily data and ALU performs the computing
functions.
List of Terms Used in a
Microprocessor
Some of the frequently used terms in a microprocessor
Instruction Set It is the set of instructions that the
microprocessor can understand.
Bandwidth It is the number of bits processed in a single
instruction.
Clock Speed It determines the number of operations per
second the processor can perform. It is expressed in megahertz
(MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).It is also known as Clock Rate.
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. The word length ranges from 4 bits to 64 bits depending
upon the type of the microcomputer.
Data Types The microprocessor has multiple data type formats
like binary, BCD,ASCII, signed and unsigned numbers.
Features of a Microprocessor
Some of the most prominent features of any microprocessor
Cost-effective The microprocessor chips are available at
low prices and results its low cost.
Size The microprocessor is of small size chip, hence is
portable.
Low Power Consumption Microprocessors are
manufactured by using metal oxide semiconductor
technology, which has low power consumption.
Versatility The microprocessors are versatile as we can
use the same chip in a number of applications by configuring
the software program.
Reliability The failure rate of an IC in microprocessors is
very low, hence it is reliable.
Microprocessor - Classification
A microprocessor can be classified into three categories
RISC Processor
RISC stands for Reduced Instruction Set Computer. It is
designed to reduce the execution time by simplifying the
instruction set of the computer. Using RISC processors, each
instruction requires only one clock cycle to execute results
in uniform execution time. This reduces the efficiency as
there are more lines of code, hence more RAM is needed to
store the instructions. The compiler also has to work more
to convert high-level language instructions into machine
code.
Some of the RISC processors are
Power PC: 601, 604, 615, 620
DEC Alpha: 210642, 211066, 21068, 21164
MIPS:TS (R10000) RISC Processor
PA-RISC: HP 7100LC
Architecture of RISC
RISC microprocessor architecture uses highly-optimized set of
instructions. It is used in portable devices like Apple iPod due to its
power efficiency.
Characteristics of RISC
The major characteristics of a RISC processor are as
follows
It consists of simple instructions.
It supports various data-type formats.
It utilizes simple addressing modes and fixed length
instructions for pipelining.
It supports register to use in any context.
One cycle execution time.
LOAD and STORE instructions are used to
access the memory location.
It consists of larger number of registers.
It consists of less number of transistors.
CISC Processor
CISC stands for Complex Instruction Set
Computer. It is designed to minimize the number of
instructions per program, ignoring the number of
cycles per instruction. The emphasis is on building
complex instructions directly into the hardware.
The compiler has to do very little work to translate a
high-level language into assembly level
language/machine code because the length of the
code is relatively short, so very little RAM is required
to store the instructions.
Some of the CISC Processors are
IBM 370/168
VAX 11/780
Intel 80486
Architecture of CISC
Its architecture is designed to decrease the memory cost because
more storage is needed in larger programs resulting in higher
memory cost. To resolve this, the number of instructions per
program can be reduced by embedding the number of operations
in a single instruction.
Characteristics of CISC
Variety of addressing modes.
Larger number of instructions.
Variable length of instruction formats.
Several cycles may be required to execute one instruction.
Instruction-decoding logic is complex.
One instruction is required to support multiple addressing
modes.
Special Processors
These are the processors which are designed for
some special purposes. Few of the special
processors are briefly discussed
Coprocessor
A coprocessor is a specially designed
microprocessor, which can handle its particular
function many times faster than the ordinary
microprocessor.
For example Math Coprocessor.
Some Intel math-coprocessors are
8087-used with 8086
80287-used with 80286
80387-used with 80386
Special Processors
Input/Output Processor
It is a specially designed microprocessor having a local
memory of its own, which is used to control I/O devices
with minimum CPU involvement.
For example
DMA (Direct Memory Access) controller
Keyboard/mouse controller
Graphic display controller
SCSI port controller
Special Processors
Transputer (Transistor Computer)
A transputer is a specially designed microprocessor
with its own local memory and having links to connect
one transputer to another transputer for inter-
processor communications. It was first designed in 1980
by Inmos and is targeted to the utilization of VLSI
technology.
A transputer can be used as a single processor system
or can be connected to external links, which reduces
the construction cost and increases the performance.
For example 16-bit T212, 32-bit T425, the floating
point (T800,T805 & T9000) processors.
Special Processors
DSP (Digital Signal Processor)
This processor is specially designed to process the analog signals into a digital
form. This is done by sampling the voltage level at regular time intervals and
converting the voltage at that instant into a digital form. This process is
performed by a circuit called an analogue to digital converter, A to D converter
or ADC.
A DSP contains the following components
Program Memory It stores the programs that DSP will use to process data.
Data Memory It stores the information to be processed.
Compute Engine It performs the mathematical processing, accessing the program from the
program memory and the data from the data memory.
Input/Output It connects to the outside world.
Its applications are
Sound and music synthesis
Audio and video compression
Video signal processing
2D and 3d graphics acceleration.
For example Texas Instruments TMS 320 series, e.g., TMS 320C40,
TMS320C50.