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What is an MCU?
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Hi. Welcome to TI Precision Labs for "What is an MCU?" This video will give an overview of what makes an MCU and introduces the TI Precision Labs MCU video series. Microcontrollers, or MCUs, surround us everywhere from smoke detectors to power tools to cell phones and even children's toys.
You can think of an MCU as a small computer that has a high level of integration in a single part or chip. Think about the makeup of a typical computer. It has a central processor, memory for both short and long-term storage, and various ways to input and output data to perform actions.
An MCU has all of these components integrate it into a single small package instead of different components connected through a motherboard. This allows an MCU to perform simple or complex functions in a variety of applications or embedded systems. To better explain the anatomy of an MCU, the MCU Precision Lab series has divided the MCU up into different components.
This video will not go into each of the subcomponents in depth. However, further videos will explore these topics and more. Please keep in mind that not every MCU will have all of these components or their subcomponents. The main components of an MCU are the MCU core component, where everything is directed and controlled; memory, where instructions are found and data is stored; I/O component, which describes the physical pins of the device and their functionality.
Peripheral component, where modules that assist the core in specific functions. This component is further broken down into subcomponents depending on functionality. This will be further explored in the video. First up is the core component of the MCU. Within the industry, core is commonly used to describe the CPU or brain of the microcontroller. For this discussion, the core component is comprised of said core and everything that supports it directly.
The core controls everything inside the chip and typically does all of the calculations needed. Surrounding the core are modules that are essential for operation of the MCU outside of memory, including subcomponents like the power system, clocking, programming, and debug capabilities. The core may get some additional computation help from accelerators. Think of these as additional brains that can do specific tasks independently and more efficiently than the core can.
Memory is essential for operation, and its integration is a key feature of MCUs. Like your laptop or phone, MCUs have typically two types of memory, volatile memory, such as RAM, or random access memory, is used by the CPU for ongoing operations and calculations. Think of RAM as the MCUs notepad or whiteboard to work out problems or to remind itself of some data.
Non-volatile memory, such as flash or ROM, also known as Read-Only Memory, is used for program storage and saving data. It is similar in function to the hard drive in your computer as it allows the CPU to save the work it was doing and grab instructions for the next task. The inputs and outputs, or I/O component controls and defines the physical pins of the device.
All information going into or out of an MCU must eventually pass through a pin. Some pins are dedicated to specific functions, like power pins or a device reset pin, while others can be mixed with different digital and analog-focused functionality. Digital-focused I/O interpret high or low voltages as set thresholds as ones or zeros while analog-focused pins pass through voltages without interpretation to the MCU.
Some I/O pins even have different physical characteristics to allow for larger currents or voltages to pass through them without damaging the MCU. The peripherals component is the most varied section of the MCU when comparing different MCUs to one another. Peripherals can differ in what's available and what features that peripheral has.
In this video series, we have broken up peripherals into several subcomponents, timing and control, data converters, amplifiers, and communication. Timing and control peripherals are a group of peripherals that are all about keeping time in different ways.
Some examples include a watchdog timer which can wake the MCU when it is not responsive; a real-time clock which keeps track of time in terms of seconds and even can include a calendar; general purpose timers that can be utilized to tell you when to kick off the next task; and PMs that you can output to control a multitude of different circuits and systems.
For a given application, there are instances where an MCU needs to the exact voltage coming into the device. That's where data converters come in. They translate voltage signals coming in from analog pins to and from the MCUs language of ones and zeros. Analog-to-digital converters, or ADCs, sample and convert analog signals into digital representation, while digital-to-analog converters, or DACs, take digital data and converts it to an analog voltage output.
Amplifiers are a useful group of peripherals that can amplify or condition an analog signal via operational amplifiers, or Op-Amps for short. Op-Amps have many purposes and are frequently used in conjunction with data converters to translate real-world signals, such as light and sound, into electrical signals.
The amplifiers group also contains comparators, which are peripherals that can inform the MCU when an input has crossed a set voltage threshold. This is really useful when you don't necessarily need to the exact voltage level a signal is but need to know quickly that the signal has crossed a critical threshold.
Communications is a category of peripherals dealing with the transferring of information between different embedded systems, MCUs, or other devices via physical connections. UART, SPI, and I2C are the most common communication interfaces. Some MCUs have interfaces that are more application specific, such as CAN, USB, or Ethernet, and each have a different set of advantages and disadvantages.
These interfaces have standards and protocols on how data is packaged, interpreted, and transferred. Everything discussed so far are components you will find on most MCUs, also known as general purpose MCUs. You may also encounter MCUs that are not generic and are designed to be used in specific applications.
These could be just MCUs with a certain mix of peripherals that are needed for that specific application. Certain MCUs have application-specific peripherals integrated to better meet the needs of said application, such as various wireless communication protocols, human interfaces, advanced security, and many more.
MCUs can be found in a variety of different configurations and levels of integration. They range from being targeted to specific applications, such as motor control or wireless connectivity, to being completely general purpose with basic to full feature sets within the device. They vary in clock speed, memory size or type, pin count, package size, or even multiple cores within the device.
With all this variety, there is certainly an MCU that can meet your needs. The videos in this series should give you a basic understanding of what typical components of an MCU are so you are better prepared to bring your application to life. Please follow the links below to learn more about all of the MCU components discussed today.