Single-Chip Microcontrollers

EE 18 September 1987 SINGLE-CHIP MICROCONTROLLERS Single-chip microcontrollers, such as Intel"s MCS-51 series described in this article, are currently finding their way in more and more industrial control systems. They offer a remarkably low chip-count as well as ease of programming when the computer is assigned a single task. For many applications, the use of a dedicated microcontroller has obvious advantages over a standard microprocessor like the 6502 or Z80. This is mainly due to the microcontroller be- ing tailored to perform only the necessary functions. Input/out- put lines, for instance, are available direct on the chip, ob- viating the need for a complex set-up with individual I/O chips, interfaces, buffers, and all the necessary hardware for address and data decoding. Often, the microcontroller holds a programmable timer/ counter also, and has an exten- sive instruction set for bit manipulation. The Types 8051 and 8052 are single-chip microcontrollers from Intel"s extens...