 PIC microcontroller was developed in the year 1993 by microchip technology.

 The term PIC stands for Peripheral Interface Controller.

 Developed for supporting PDP computers to control its peripheral devices, and therefore,
named as a peripheral interface device.
 These microcontrollers are very fast and easy to execute a program compared with
other microcontrollers.
 Harvard architecture
 PIC microcontrollers are very popular due to their
1. ease of programming,
2. wide availability,
3. easy to interfacing with other peripherals,
4. low cost,
5. large user base and
6. serial programming capability (reprogramming with flash memory), etc.

 PIC microcontroller architecture consists of RAM, ROM, CPU, timers, counters and
supports the protocols such as SPI, CAN, and UART for interfacing with other peripherals.
 At present PIC microcontrollers are extensively used for
1. industrial purpose due to low power consumption,
2. high performance ability and
3. easy of availability of its supporting hardware and software tools like compilers,
debuggers and simulators.

What is a PIC Microcontroller?

 PIC (Programmable Interface Controllers) microcontrollers
 worlds smallest microcontrollers that can be programmed to carry out a huge range of tasks.
 These microcontrollers are found in many electronic devices such as
1. phones,
2. computer control systems,
3. alarm systems,
4. embedded systems, etc
 microcontrollers are programmed and simulated by a circuit-wizard software.
 Every PIC microcontroller architecture consists of some registers and stack where registers
function as
o Random Access Memory( RAM) and
o stack saves the return addresses.

The main features of PIC microcontrollers:

i. RAM,
ii. flash memory,
iii. Timers/Counters,
iv. EEPROM,
v. I/O Ports,
vi. USART,
vii. CCP (Capture/Compare/PWM module),
viii. SSP,
ix. Comparator,
x. ADC (analog to digital converter),
xi. PSP(parallel slave port),
xii. LCD
xiii. ICSP (in circuit serial programming)

 The 8-bit PIC microcontroller is classified into four types on the basis of internal
architecture,
 1. Base Line PIC,
2. Mid Range PIC,
3. Enhanced Mid Range PIC and
4. PIC18

Architecture of PIC Microcontroller:

 The PIC microcontroller architecture comprises of

1. CPU,
2. I/O ports,
3. memory organization,
4. A/D converter,
5. timers/counters,
6. interrupts,
7. serial communication,
8. oscillator and
9. CCP module

CPU (Central Processing Unit):

 the PIC microcontroller CPU consists of the

1. ALU,
2. CU,
3. MU and
4. accumulator, etc
 Arithmetic logic unit is mainly used for arithmetic
operations and to take logical decisions
 Memory is used for storing the instructions after processing.
 To control the internal and external peripherals, control unit
is used which are connected to the CPU and
 the accumulator is used for storing the results and further
process.

Memory Organization:

 The memory module in the PIC microcontroller architecture

consists of
1. RAM (Random Access Memory),
2. ROM (Read Only Memory) and
3. STACK.

Random Access Memory (RAM):

 RAM is an unstable memory which is used to store the data

temporarily in its registers.
 he RAM memory is classified into two banks, and each
bank consists of so many registers
 The RAM registers are classified into two types:
1. Special Function Registers (SFR) and
2. General Purpose Registers (GPR).
General Purpose Registers (GPR)

 These registers are used for general purpose

 For example,

if we want to multiply two numbers by

using the PIC microcontroller. Generally,
we use registers for multiplying and storing
the numbers in other registers. So these
registers don’t have any special function,-
CPU can easily access the data in the
registers.

Special Function Registers

 These registers are used for special purposes

 For example,
if you cannot use the STATUS register for
storing the data, these registers are used
for showing the operation or status of the
program. So, user cannot change the
function of the SFR; the function is given by
the retailer at the time of manufacturing.

Read Only Memory (ROM):

 Read only memory is a stable memory which is

used to store the data permanently.
 In PIC microcontroller architecture, the
architecture ROM stores the instructions or
program, according to the program the
microcontroller acts.
  The ROM is also called as program memory,
wherein the user will write the program for
microcontroller and saves it permanently, and
finally the program is executed by the CPU.
 The microcontrollers performance depends on
the instruction, which is executed by the CPU.

Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM)

 In the normal ROM, we can write the program
for only once we cannot use again the
microcontroller for multiple times. But, in the
EEPROM, we can program the ROM multiple
times.
Flash Memory

 Flash memory is also programmable read only memory (PROM) in

which we can read, write and erase the program thousands of times.
 Generally, the PIC microcontroller uses this type of ROM.

Stack

 When an interrupt occurs, first the PIC microcontroller has to execute

the interrupt and the existing process address. Then that is being
executed is stored in the stack.
 After completing the execution of the interrupt, the microcontroller calls
the process with the help of address, which is stored in the stack and get
executes the process.

I/O Ports

 The series of PIC16 consists of five ports such as Port A, Port B, Port C,
Port D & Port E.

1. Port A is an 16-bit port that can be used as input or output port based
on the status of the TRISA (Tradoc Intelligence Support Activity)
register.
2. Port B is an 8- bit port that can be used as both input and output port.
3. Port C is an 8-bit and the input of output operation is decided by the
status of the TRISC register.
4. Port D is an 8-bit port acts as a slave port for connection to the
microprocessor BUS.
5. Port E is a 3-bit port which serves the additional function of the
control signals to the analog to digital converter.
BUS

 BUS is used to transfer and receive the data from one peripheral to
another.
 It is classified into two types such as

1. data bus and

2. address.

Data Bus: It is used for only transfer or receive the data.

Address Bus:

 Address bus is used to transmit the memory address from the

peripherals to the CPU.
 I/O pins are used to interface the external peripherals; UART and
USART both are serial communication protocols which are used
for interfacing serial devices like GSM, GPS, Bluetooth, IR , etc.

A/D converters

 The main intention of this analog to digital converter is to convert

analog voltage values to digital voltage values.
 A/D module of PIC microcontroller consists of 5 inputs for 28 pin
devices and 8 inputs for 40 pin devices.
 The operation of the analog to digital converter is controlled by
ADCON0 and ADCON1 special registers.
 The upper bits of the converter are stored in register ADRESH and
lower bits of the converter are stored in register ADRESL. For this
operation, it requires 5V of an analog reference voltage.

Timers/ Counters

 PIC microcontroller has four timer/counters wherein the one 8-bit timer
and the remaining timers have the choice to select 8 or 16-bit mode.
 Timers are used for generating accuracy actions, for example, creating
specific time delays between two operations.

Interrupts

 PIC microcontroller consists of 20 internal interrupts and three external

interrupt sources which are associated with different peripherals like
ADC, USART, Timers, and so on.
Serial Communication

Serial communication is the method of transferring data one bit at a time

sequentially over a communication channel.

 USART: The name USART stands for Universal synchronous and

Asynchronous Receiver and Transmitter which is a serial
communication for two protocols. It is used for transmitting and
receiving the data bit by bit over a single wire with respect to clock
pulses. The PIC microcontroller has two pins TXD and RXD. These
pins are used for transmitting and receiving the data serially.

 SPI Protocol: The term SPI stands for Serial Peripheral Interface. This
protocol is used to send data between PIC microcontroller and other
peripherals such as SD cards, sensors and shift registers.
PIC microcontroller support three wire SPI communications between
two devices on a common clock source. The data rate of SPI protocol is
more than that of the USART.

Oscillators

 Oscillators are used for timing generation.

 Pic microcontroller consist of external oscillators like RC oscillators or
crystal oscillators.
 The modes are crystal mode, high-speed mode and the low-power mode.

PIC Microcontroller Applications

The PIC microcontroller projects can be used in different applications, such as

peripherals, audio accessories, video games, etc. For better understanding of
this PIC microcontroller, the following project demonstrates PIC
microcontroller’s operations.

Advantages of PIC Microcontroller

1. The basis of PIC microcontroller is RISC architecture thus operates

faster.
2. It offers easy interfacing of analog device.
3. It exhibits lower power consumption.

Disadvantages of PIC Microcontroller

1. Less number of instructions increases the length of the program.

2. It holds only a single accumulator.