Microprocessor

• Understand the internal operation of a microprocessor and a microcontroller.

• Distinguish fundamental concepts such as sampling, quantization, resolution, memory organization, data buses, and instruction cycles.

• Be able to describe the architecture of a microcontroller, particularly the PIC families (8-, 16-, and 32-bit).

• Learn how to program a microcontroller at a low level:

  • Understanding of assembly language,

  • Introduction to C programming for embedded systems.

• Be capable of configuring and using internal peripherals such as timers, ADCs, GPIO ports, UART, SPI, and interrupts.

This course is a comprehensive introduction to embedded microelectronics.
It covers:

1. The basic principles of digital systems (sampling, quantization, buses, and memory).

2. The detailed operation of a microprocessor: arithmetic and control units, instruction cycles, and instruction sets.

3. Memory types and hierarchy: RAM, ROM, EEPROM, Flash, and their characteristics.

4. PIC Microcontrollers:

   • Harvard vs Von Neumann architectures

   • RISC vs CISC concepts

   • Memory organization and interrupt handling

   • On-chip peripherals: I/O ports, timers, ADC, UART, SPI, etc.

   • Practical assembly and C code examples for PIC18 and PIC24.

The course combines theory and hands-on practice, focusing on understanding hardware architecture and low-level programming.

To follow this course effectively, students should have:

• Solid knowledge of digital electronics (bits, buses, binary logic).

• Basic understanding of logic circuits and system architecture.

• Some experience with C programming (variables, loops, syntax).

• An interest in embedded systems and processor-level operation.