What is Microcontroller

Micro-controller = Microprocessor + ROM + RAM + I/O + Controllers

          In simple terms, if we assume our Brain as a main processor (Microprocessor) of our human body,  then it need to communicate with the external parts like hand, eye, ear, leg etc., plus it need to have some amount of memory. In this memory there are two types. One memory never forget, it stores things permanently.  The other memory we use is for temporary operations. When we add 6 + 7 we use this memory. We put all together,  so our brain is not only a processor, it also contain some permanent memory (ROM), Some scratch memory (RAM),  Part to communicate with the external world (I/O, Input/Output).  Controllers (to process Image, voice ,etc..).

        In essence we call Micro-controller a Silicon Brain. The beauty is, this Silicon Brain's activities can be controlled by Human Brain. Human Brain can store all the activities to be performed by the Silicon Brain, in its ROM.

Micro controllers are a type of integrated circuits which contains a number of pins used as ports for giving inputs and recieving outputs. It can be thought of as a machine whose functions you are controlling with your external input whose logic has been prewritten in the machine itself, example at the entrance gate of a mall are opened as soon as you reach at certain distance from it(function controlled by a microcontroller). Technologically this ic has inbuilt processing unit, RAM, flash memory, eeprom, input output consoles(ex sensors, led's) often sold assembled on a development board. One has to write codes to its EEPROM using software and bootloader in order to perform a specific task. They are capable of performing single function at a time like controlling brightness of lights wrt the daylight, fire alarm system,etc.

Variety of microcontrollers are available in the market AtMega8, AtMega16, AtMega 32, AtMega328p, PIC, varying according to their internal memory, ram and other factors mentioned above. Arduino is often misregarded as a microcontroller rather its' a development board whose software for writing commands is written in user friendly language. But in the microcontrollers u have to work on each of the pins, activating , deactivating them individually. Software used for writing codes is Atmel Studio whose various versions are available on web.

Microcontroller has many applications electronic equipment’s

• Mobile Phones
• Auto Mobiles
• Washing Machines
• Cameras
• Security Alarms

Features of Microcontrollers

    Microcontrollers are used in embedded systems for their various features. As shown in the below block diagram of a microcontroller, it comprises of processor, I/O pins, serial ports, timers, ADC, DAC, and Interrupt Control.

Processor or CPU

Processor is the brain of a microcontroller. When provided the input through input pins and instructions through programs, it process the data accordingly and provide at the output pins.

Memory

Memory chips are integrated in a microcontroller to store all the programs and data. There could be different types of memory integrated in microcontrollers like RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, Flash memory, etc.

Input-Output Ports

Every microcontroller has input output ports. Depending on the types of microcontrollers, the number of input output pins may vary. They are used to interface with external input and output devices like sensors, display units, etc.

Serial Ports

They facilitate microcontrollers serial interface with other peripherals. A serial port is a serial communication interface through which information transfers in or out one by one bit at a time.

ADC and DAC

Sometimes embedded systems need to convert data from digital to analog and vice versa. So most of the microcontrollers are incorporated with inbuilt ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) and DAC (Digital to Analog Converters) to perform the required conversion.

Timers

Timers and counters are important parts of embedded systems. They are required for various operations like pulse generation, count external pulses, modulation, oscillation, etc.

Interrupt Control

Interrupt control is one of the powerful features of microcontrollers. It is a sort of a notification which interrupts the ongoing process and instructs to perform the task defined by interrupt control.

To summarize all this up, microcontrollers are sort of compact mini computers which are designed to perform specific tasks in embedded systems. With a wide range of features, their importance and use are vast and they can be found in products and devices across all industries.