Microprocessor Systems

EE 180
Three Basic Blocks - microcomputer
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
executes all the instructions
performs arithmetic and logic operations on data.
Typically VLSI
Registers
control unit
arithmetic/ logic circuits of the microcomputer
Memory Unit
stores both data and instructions.
Typically consists of ROM and RAM.
Input/Output Unit
Interface for transferring of data between the
microcomputer and the external devices via I/O ports
Levels of Integration
Smallscale integration (SSI)
several independent gates in a single package.
The inputs and outputs of the gates are connected
directly to the pins in the package.
usually fewer than 10 gates and is limited by the number
of pins available in the IC.

Mediumscale integration (MSI)

approximately 10 to 1,000 gates in a single package.
usually perform specific elementary digital operations.
Levels of Integration
Largescale integration (LSI)
thousands of gates in a single package.
They include digital systems such as processors,
memory chips, and programmable logic devices.

Very largescale integration (VLSI)

contain millions of gates within a single package.
Ex. large memory arrays and complex microcomputer
chips.
small size and low cost,
Whats the difference then
between a microcomputer and
a microprocessor?
Ugghhhh Spelling?
Microcomputer = the whole
package (CPU, memory ,I/O
unit)
Microprocessor =the CPU of
the microcomputer.
How about microcomputers
and microcontrollers?
Spelling again! Duh??
Microcontrollers
single-chip microcomputers.
typically used for dedicated
applications
Example:
automotive systems
home appliances
home entertainment systems
Basic Blocks of a microcomputer
Simplified version of a typical microcomputer
Read and Write
WRITE operation
memory or an I/O chip receives data from the MPU
data is written into a selected memory location or
an I/O port (register).

READ operation
memory or an I/O chip sends data to the MPU
data is read from a selected memory location or an I/O
port.
Address Bus
Information transfer takes place only in one direction
microprocessor -> memory or I/O elements.
"unidirectional bus.

This bus is typically 20 to 32 bits long

Specified by the total number of address pins on the

MPU chip
Address Bus
For example, a microprocessor with 20 address pins
can generate
220 = 1,048,576 (one megabyte)
different possible addresses
The microprocessor includes addresses from:
0 to 1,048,575 binary combos of 1s and zeros
0000016 through FFFFFI6 in HEX
For example, an 8-bit data item can be stored at
address >> 0020016
Data Bus
data can flow in both directions, that is, to or from the
microprocessor. a bidirectional bus.
Control Bus
consists of a number of signals that are used to
synchronize the operation of the individual
microcomputer elements.

LOD 0010,BO;
Clock Signals
System clock signals are in the control bus.

These signals generate the appropriate clock periods

during which instruction executions are carried out by
the microprocessor.

Some microprocessors have an internal clock

generator circuit to generate a clock signal and some
do not.
Important
Its clock frequency determines the speed of the
microcomputer.

# of data determines the MPUs word size

# of address determines the maximum memory size.

MPUs I/O and interfacing capabilities are determined

by the control pins on the microprocessor chip.
LOGIC IN CPU
Register Section
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
Control Unit
Register Section
Basic Microprocessor Registers
Instruction Register (IR). The instruction register
stores instructions. The contents of an instruction
register are always decoded by the microprocessor as an
instruction. A l6-bit microprocessor has a 16-bit
instruction register.
Program Counter (PC). The program counter contains
the address of the instruction or operation code (op-
code). The program counter normally contains the
address of the next instruction to be executed. It is
basically the queuing system for the op-code.
 Basic Microprocessor Registers
Memory Address Register (MAR). The memory
address register contains the address of data. The
microprocessor uses the address, which is stored in the
memory address register, as a direct pointer to memory.
The contents of the address consists of the actual data
that is being transferred.
Accumulator (A). For an 8-bit microprocessor, the
accumulator is typically an 8-bit register. It is used to
store the result after most ALU operations.
 Depending on the register section, the microprocessor
can be classified either as an
accumulator-based or
a general-purpose register-based
machine.
In an accumulator-based microprocessor such as the
Intel 8085 and Motorola 6809, the data is assumed
to be held in a register called the "accumulator."
All arithmetic and logic operations are performed
using this register as one of the data sources. The result
after the operation is stored in the accumulator. Eight-
bit microprocessors are usually accumulator based.
 The general-purpose register-based microprocessor is
usually popular with
16,32-, and 64-bit microprocessors,
such as the Intel 8086/80386/80486/Pentium and the
Motorola 68000/68020/68030/68040 IPowerPC.

The term "general-purpose" comes from the fact that

these registers can hold data, memory addresses,
or the results of arithmetic or logic operations.
Use of Basic Microprocessor Register
Suppose we have :
[2010]=000216
[2012]=000516

Where [NNNN] is the content of memory address NNNN

 1. Load the memory address register (MAR) with the
address of the first data item to be added, that is
LOAD 2010 into MAR.
2. Move the contents of this address to a data register, DO;
that is move first data into DO.
3. Increment the MAR by 2 to hold 2012, the address of
the second data item to be added.
4. Add the contents of this memory location to the data
that was moved to the data register, DO in step 2, and store
the result in the 16-bit data register, DO.
 Index Register An index register is typically used as a
counter in address modification for an instruction, or
for general storage functions. The index register is
particularly useful with instructions that access tables
or arrays of data.
Status Register, also known as the "processor status
word register" or the "condition code register," contains
individual bits, with each bit having special
significance. The bits in the status register are called
"flags."
Carry flag
The carryflag is used to reflect whether or not the
result generated by an arithmetic operation is greater
than the microprocessor's word size.
 While performing BCD arithmetic with
microprocessors, the carry out of the low nibble (4
bits) has a special significance. Because a BCD digit is
represented by 4 bits, any carry out of the low 4 bits
must be propagated into the high 4 bits for BCD
arithmetic. This carry flag is known as the auxiliary
carry flag and is set to 1 if the carry out of the low 4
bits is 1, otherwise it is O.
Zero flag
is used to show whether the result of an operation is
zero. It is set to 1 if the result is zero, and it is reset to 0
if the result is nonzero.
Parity Flag
A parity flag is set to 1 to indicate whether the result of
the last operation contains either an even number of 1s
(even parity) or an odd number of 1 's (odd parity),
Sign Flag
The sign flag (also sometimes called the negative flag)
is used to indicate whether the result of the last
operation is positive or negative. If the most
significant bit of the last operation is 1, then this flag is
set to 1 to indicate that the result is negative. This flag
is reset to 0 if the most significant bit of the result is
zero, that is, if the result is positive
Overflow Flag
the overflow flag arises from the representation of the
sign flag by the most significant bit of a word in signed
binary operation. The overflow flag is set to 1 if the
result of an arithmetic operation is too big for the
microprocessors maximum word size, otherwise it is
reset to O.

Overflow = Cp (+) Cf
Stack pointer Register
The stack consists of a number of RAM locations set
aside for reading data from or writing data into these
locations and is typically used by subroutines .
(a subroutine is a program that performs operations
frequently needed by the main or calling program).

The address of the stack is contained in a register

called the "stack pointer."
Stack PUSH & POP
LIFO Last in First Out data structure
Review
Determine the carry (C), sign (S), zero (Z), overflow
(V), and parity (P) flags for the following operation:

01102
+10102
Review
Determine the carry (C), sign (S), zero (Z), overflow
(V), and parity (P) flags for the following operation:
01102 plus 10102
Control Unit
The main purpose of the control unit is to read and
decode instructions from the program memory.
The control unit interprets the contents of the
instruction register and then responds to the
instruction by generating a sequence of enable signals.
RESET.
READ/WRITE (R/W).
READY
Interrupt Request (INT or IRQ).
RESET
This input is common to all microprocessors. When
this input pin is driven to HIGH or LOW the program
counter is loaded with a predefined address specified
by the manufacturer.
READ/WRITE
This output line is common to all microprocessors.
The status of this line tells the other microcomputer
elements whether the microprocessor is performing a
READ or a WRITE operation. A HIGH signal on this
line indicates a READ operation and a LOW indicates
a WRITE operation. Some microprocessors have
separate READ and WRITE pins.
READY
This is an input to the microprocessor. Slow devices
(memory and I/O) use this signal to gain extra time to
transfer data to or receive data from a microprocessor.

The READY signal is usually an active low signal, that

is, LOW means that the microprocessor is ready.
Interrupt Request (INT or IRQ).
The external I/O devices can interrupt the
microprocessor via this input pin

During IRQ event, Microprocessor jumps to a special

program, called the "interrupt service routine (ISR).

Microprocessor returns to program counter to where it

was prior to the INT event after completing the ISR
Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)
The ALU performs all the data manipulations, such as
arithmetic and logic operations, inside the
microprocessor.
Typically, the ALU performs the following functions:
I. Binary addition and logic operations
2. Finding the ones complement of data
3. Shifting or rotating the contents of a general-purpose
register 1 bit to the left or right through carry
Functional Representation of Simple MPU
Memory
The main or external memory stores both instructions
and data.
For 8-bit microprocessors, the memory is divided into
a number of 8-bit units called "memory words.
An 8-bit unit of data is termed a "byte.

Therefore, for an 8-bit microprocessor,

"memory word" and "memory byte" mean the same
thing
Summary of available semiconductor memories for microprocessor systems