Common 5 Types of Microcontroller on the Market 2023

A microcontroller is an IC chip that is primarily used to execute programs that control other devices or machines. This is a tiny chip used to control other equipment machines, hence the name "Microcontroller Development". In this article, our team introduced 5 types of microcontrollers that are common in the market.

1. PIC MCU

PIC stands for Peripheral Interface Controller, which means Peripheral Interface Controller, a microcontroller component that is widely used in the development of electronics, computer robotics, and similar devices.

Although PIC is produced by Microchip technology and based on hardware computing architecture, here code and data are still placed in separate registers to increase input and output. PIC microcontrollers have built-in data memory, a data bus, and a dedicated microprocessor that provides I/O usage and processing.

Advantages of PIC Microcontrollers

1. The PIC single-chip microcomputer adopts a simplified instruction set, and the mid-range products only need 35 instructions, and the entry threshold is low, and it will never feel inconvenient during use.

2. The data lines and instruction lines of PIC microcontrollers are independent, and the code efficiency is high, which is 2-3 times that of traditional 51 series microcontrollers. Except for a few jump instructions, they are all single-cycle instructions, which is very convenient when calculating delay time .

3. The peripheral interface of PIC microcontroller is very rich, which can meet the needs of most application systems; for example, PIC16F877A includes 8 ADCs, 1 CCP, PWM, USART, SSP, I2C/SPI, 3 timers/counters, and 1 hardware WDT and other interfaces, 8K FLASH program memory, 256 bytes EEPROM, can meet the requirements of more complex measurement and control systems; some also integrate LCD drivers, CAN controllers and wireless transceiver modules, as well as chips specifically for motor control Multi-channel high-precision PWM is very suitable for voltage regulation and frequency regulation control of the motor.

4. PIC microcontroller product types are very rich, the number of pins is from 8-128, and the peripheral interface configuration is reasonable. It is very convenient to find the matching type for different purposes, and it will never cause waste of resources.

2. ARM Microcontroller

ARM stands for Advanced RISC Machine. It is the most popular microcontroller programming in the world of digital embedded systems, and most of the industry prefers only ARM microcontrollers because of the significant features that allow for great looking products.

It is a cost-sensitive, high-performance device that has been widely used in industrial instrumentation and control systems, wireless networks and sensors, and body systems.

Advantages of ARM Microcontrollers

The arm microcontroller adopts a new 32-bit arm core processor, which makes it surpass the traditional 51 series single-chip microcomputer in terms of instruction system, bus structure, debugging technology, power consumption and cost performance.

At the same time, the arm microcontroller integrates a large number of on-chip and external devices inside the chip, so the function and reliability are greatly improved.

With its advantages of low power consumption and high cost performance, arm microcontrollers have gradually stepped into the high-end market and become the mainstream products nowadays.

3. 8051 MCU

Intel created the 8051 microcontroller in 1981. It is an 8-bit microcontroller. It consists of 40-pin DIP (dual in-line package), ROM storage space is 4kb, RAM storage space is 128 bytes, and two 16-bit timers. It consists of four parallel 8-bit ports that can be programmed and addressed according to the specification.

Advantages of 8051 MCU

The 8051 single-chip microcomputer is a relatively general chip that can be used in many occasions. After learning this single-chip microcomputer, you can develop products in many application fields.

The 8051 single-chip microcomputer is widely used, and its structure is familiar to many people.

There are many manufacturers using this core for 8051 single-chip microcomputers, and there is no out-of-stock situation. Even if one of them stops producing, the others may continue to produce.

It has more development tools and is relatively cheap, so it can be developed without investing too much cost.

Its entire series is relatively complete, that is to say, you can use 8051 single-chip microcomputer to develop various products, as long as you choose a more suitable chip for development within its model.

With the continuous development of technology, some relatively high-performance 8051 cores are now widely used.

4. AVR Microcontroller

AVR refers to the RISC processor of Alf and Vegard. It is a modified Harvard architecture machine in which programs and data are stored in separate physical storage systems that appear in different address spaces, but with the ability to browse information from program memory victim-specific directions. AVR is not synonymous with associate degrees, nor is it a dedicated symbol.

Advantages of AVR Microcontroller

1. Harvard structure, with 1MIPS/MHz high-speed processing capability;

2. Super-functional reduced instruction set (RISC), with 32 general-purpose working registers, overcomes the bottleneck phenomenon caused by the single ACC processing of 8051 MCU;

3. The fast access register group and single-cycle instruction system greatly optimize the size and execution efficiency of the target code. Some models have very large FLASH, which is especially suitable for development with high-level languages;

4. When used as an output, it is the same as PIC’s HI/LOW, and can output 40mA (single output). When used as an input, it can be set as a three-state high-impedance input or an input with a pull-up resistor, and has the ability to sink current from 10mA to 20mA;

5. The chip integrates RC oscillators with multiple frequencies, power-on automatic reset, watchdog, start-up delay and other functions, the peripheral circuit is simpler, and the system is more stable and reliable;

6. Most AVRs are rich in on-chip resources: with E2PROM, PWM, RTC, SPI, UART, TWI, ISP, AD, Analog Comparator, WDT, etc.;

7. In addition to the ISP function, most AVRs also have the IAP function, which is convenient for upgrading or destroying applications.

5. MSP MCU

MSP stands for Mixed Signal Processor and is a family member of Texas Instruments (TI). MSPs are built around 16-bit CPUs and are intended for low-cost and low-power embedded statements respectively.

The appearance of the controller is directly related to the 16-bit data bus, 7 addressing modes and reduced instruction set, allowing shorter and denser programming code to achieve fast performance.

Advantages of MSP MCU

Powerful processing capability, adopting a reduced instruction set (RISC) structure, rich addressing modes (7 kinds of source operand addressing, 4 kinds of destination operand addressing), concise 27 kernel instructions and a large number of simulation instructions ; A large number of registers and on-chip data memory can participate in various operations; there are also efficient look-up table processing instructions; there is a high processing speed, and the instruction cycle is 125 ns under the 8MHz crystal drive.

In terms of computing speed, it can achieve an instruction cycle of 125ns under the drive of 8MHz crystal. The combination of 16-bit data width, 125ns instruction cycle and multifunctional hardware multiplier (capable of multiplying and adding) can realize certain algorithms of digital signal processing (such as FFT, etc.).

In terms of ultra-low power consumption, the reason why the MSP430 microcontroller has ultra-low power consumption is because it has its unique features in reducing the power supply voltage of the chip and flexible and controllable operating clock. The power supply voltage is 1.8~3.6V. Therefore, when it runs at 1MHz clock condition, the current of the chip will be about 200~400uA, and the minimum power consumption in clock off mode is only 0.1uA.