CHAPTER 1

Introduction to Microprocessor
What is Microprocessor?
Microprocessor is a controlling unit of a microcomputer, fabricated on a small chip capable of
performing ALU (Arithmetic Logical Unit) operations and communicating with the other
devices connected to it.

Microprocessor consists of an ALU, register array, and a control unit. ALU performs
arithmetical and logical operations on the data received from the memory or an input device.
Register array consists of registers identified by letters like B, C, D, E, H, L and accumulator
(a register inside which the intermediate arithmetic and logical operation data is stored). The
control unit controls the flow of data and instructions within the computer.

Fig 1.1 Block Diagram of Basic Microcomputer

How does a Microprocessor Work?

The microprocessor follows a sequence: Fetch, Decode, and then Execute.

Initially, the instructions are stored in the memory in a sequential order. The microprocessor
fetches those instructions from the memory, then decodes it and executes those instructions until
STOP instruction is reached. Later, it sends the result in binary to the output port. Between these
processes, the register stores the temporarily data and ALU performs the computing functions.

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Some frequently used terms in a microprocessor

 Instruction Set − It is the set of instructions that the microprocessor can understand.
 Bandwidth − It is the number of bits processed in a single instruction.
 Clock speed − It determines the number of operations per second the processor can
perform. It is expressed in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz). It is also known as
Clock Rate.
 Word Length − It depends upon the width of the internal data bus, registers, ALU, etc. An
8-bit microprocessor can process 8-bit data at a time. The word length ranges from 4 bits
to 64 bits depending upon the type of the microcomputer.
 Data Types − The microprocessor has multiple data type formats like binary, BCD, ASCII,
signed and unsigned numbers.
Some of the most prominent features of any microprocessor

 Cost-effective −The microprocessor chips are available at low prices and results in its low
cost.
 Size −The microprocessor is of small size chip, hence is portable.
 Low Power Consumption −Microprocessors are manufactured by using metal oxide
semiconductor technology, which has low power consumption.
 Versatility −The microprocessors are versatile as we can use the same chip in a number
of applications by configuring the software program.
 Reliability −The failure rate of an IC in microprocessors is very low, hence it is reliable.

Classifications of Microprocessor

Fig 1.2 Types of microprocessor

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RISC Processor

RISC stands for Reduced Instruction Set Computer. It is designed to reduce the execution
time by simplifying the instruction set of the computer. Using RISC processors, each instruction
requires only one clock cycle to execute results in uniform execution time. This reduces the
efficiency as there are more lines of code, hence more RAM is needed to store the instructions.
The compiler also has to work more to convert high-level language instructions into machine
code.

Architecture of RISC
RISC microprocessor architecture uses highly-optimized set of instructions

Fig 1.3 Architecture of RISC

Characteristics of RISC
The major characteristics of a RISC processor are as follows −

 It consists of simple instructions.

 It supports various data-type formats.
 It utilizes simple addressing modes and fixed length instructions for pipelining.
 It supports register to use in any context.
 One cycle execution time.
 “LOAD” and “STORE” instructions are used to access the memory location.
 It consists of larger number of registers.
 It consists of less number of transistors.

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CISC Processor
CISC stands for Complex Instruction Set Computer. It is designed to minimize the number of
instructions per program, ignoring the number of cycles per instruction. The emphasis is on
building complex instructions directly into the hardware.

The compiler has to do very little work to translate a high-level language into assembly level
language/machine code because the length of the code is relatively short, so very little RAM is
required to store the instructions.

Architecture of CISC
Its architecture is designed to decrease the memory cost because more storage is needed in larger
programs resulting in higher memory cost. To resolve this, the number of instructions per
program can be reduced by embedding the number of operations in a single instruction.

Fig 1.4 Architecture of CISC

Characteristics of CISC
 Variety of addressing modes.
 Larger number of instructions.
 Variable length of instruction formats.
 Several cycles may be required to execute one instruction.
 Instruction-decoding logic is complex.
 One instruction is required to support multiple addressing modes

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Special Processors: These processors are designed for some special purposes.
1. Superscalar microprocessor
These processors can perform many tasks at a time. They can be used for ALUs and
multiplier-like arrays. They have multiple operation units and perform tasks by executing
multiple commands.
2. DSP (Digital Signal Processor)
This processor is specially designed to process the analog signals into a digital form. This is
done by sampling the voltage level at regular time intervals and converting the voltage at that
instant into a digital form. This process is performed by a circuit called an analogue to digital
converter, A to D converter or ADC.
Evolution of Microprocessors
 First Generation (4 - bit Microprocessors)
The first generation microprocessors were introduced in the year 1971-1972 by Intel
Corporation. It was named Intel 4004 since it was a 4-bit processor. It was a processor on a
single chip. It could perform simple arithmetic and logical operations such as addition,
subtraction, Boolean OR and Boolean AND.
 Second Generation (8 - bit Microprocessor)
The second generation microprocessors were introduced in 1973 again by Intel. It was a first 8 -
bit microprocessor which could perform arithmetic and logic operations on 8-bit words. It was
Intel 8008, and another improved version was Intel 8088.
 Third Generation (16 - bit Microprocessor)
The third generation microprocessors, introduced in 1978 were represented by Intel's 8086,
Zilog Z800 and 80286, which were 16 - bit processors with a performance like minicomputers.
 Fourth Generation (32 - bit Microprocessors)
Several different companies introduced the 32-bit microprocessors, but the most popular one is
the Intel 80386.
 Fifth Generation (64 - bit Microprocessors)
From 1995 to now we are in the fifth generation. After 80856, Intel came out with a new
processor namely Pentium processor followed by Pentium Pro CPU, which allows multiple
CPUs in a single system to achieve multiprocessing. Other improved 64-bit processors
are Celeron, Dual, Quad, Octa Core processors.

F Intel microprocessor (Software and hardware specification)  Reading Assignment

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Review of Number System and Conversion from one form to the other form

Electronic and Digital systems may use a variety of different number systems, (e.g.
Decimal, Hexadecimal, Octal, and Binary).

A number N in base or radix b can be written as:

For integers: (N)b = dn-1 dn-2 -- -- -- -- d1 d0

For fractional numbers: (N)b = dn-1 dn-2 -- -- -- -- d1 d0 . d-1 d-2 -- -- -- -- d-m
In the above, dn-1 to d0 is the integer part, then follows a radix point, and then d-1 to d-m is
the fractional part.

dn-1 = Most significant bit (MSB)

d -m = Least significant bit (LSB)

Types of Number Systems

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Conversion from one form to the other form
Decimal to Binary
Decimal numbers can be converted to binary by repeated division of the number by 2 while
recording the remainder. Let us take an example to see how this happens.

LSB

MSB

The remainders are to be read from bottom to top to obtain the binary equivalent.
4310 = 1010112
Decimal to Octal
Decimal numbers can be converted to octal by repeated division of the number by 8 while
recording the remainder. Let us take an example decimal number 473

LSB

MSB

Reading the remainders from bottom to top,

47310 = 7318
Decimal to Hexadecimal
Decimal numbers can be converted to octal by repeated division of the number by 16 while
recording the remainder. Let us take an example decimal number 423.

Reading the remainders from bottom to top we get,

42310 = 1A716
Binary to Octal and Vice Versa
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To convert a binary number to octal number, these steps are followed
 Starting from the least significant bit, make groups of three bits.
 If there are one or two bits less in making the groups, 0s can be added after the most
significant bit
 Convert each group into its equivalent octal number
Let’s take an example to understand this.

101100101012 = 26258
To convert an octal number to binary, each octal digit is converted to its 3-bit binary equivalent
according to this table.

Octal Digit 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Binary Equivalent 000 001 010 011 100 101 110 111

546738 = 101 100 110 111 011 2

Binary to Hexadecimal
To convert a binary number to hexadecimal number, these steps are followed:
 Starting from the least significant bit, make groups of four bits.
 If there are one or two bits less in making the groups, 0s can be added after the most
significant bit.
 Convert each group into its equivalent octal number.
Let’s take an example to understand this.

101101101012 = 5B516
Fractional decimal conversion
Example. A. (10.25)10 = X2 ?
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Note: Keep multiplying the fractional part with 2 until decimal part .00 is obtained.
(0.25)10 = (0.01)2
Answer: (10.25)10 = (1010.01)2
But what is the result for (1010.01)2 = X10 ?. How can we convert?

(1010.01)2 should be given superscript first. (13 02 11 00 . 0-1 1-2 ) 2

And then
1x23 + 0x22 + 1x21+ 0x20 + 0x2 -1 + 1x2 -2 = 8+0+2+0+0+0.25 = 10.25
(1010.01)2 = (10.25)10

The same procedure for the others

Exercise: Convert the following number system?

B. (10.25)10 = X8? And vice versa

C. (10.25)10 = X16? And vice versa

“End”