Microcontrollers and Microprocessors

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Microcontrollers, also known as single-circuit computers, are integrated circuits which combine a processing unit (single or multi-core processor), Random Access Memory (RAM), data memory (usually flash), and a programmable system of universal ports (in-out) for communication with the outside world — all in one enclosure. Thanks to that, their application is simple. Therefore, unlike the microprocessors used in personal computers, using microcontrollers effectively requires relatively little external components.

Microcontrollers have become so popular that you would now be hard pressed to find an electronic device without at least one such circuit. A large variety of available microcontrollers facilitates picking the right one for a given application. Microcontrollers differ in architecture, core number, computing power, word size (8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit), clock frequency, memory capacity, and I/O port number. They can be equipped with additional blocks, such as comparators and A/C or C/A converters, RTC circuits, PWM circuits, Watchdog, or transmission controllers. (UART, SPI, I2C, USB, CAN and others).

Solutions requiring high speed and high computing power have FPGA blocks or DSP units installed. There also exist microcontrollers whose structure is only a small part of the whole integrated circuit. (SoC — System on Chip) In case of battery-powered devices, power consumption and size matter. They come equipped in such packages as the SOT23, featuring physically and digitally lowered power consumption (including low voltage operation and an integrated sleep mode) Industrial applications require ICs with an extended temperature range and a large number of I/O ports. Chips designed for automotive applications additionally fulfil high impedance and temperature resistance requirements.

The popularity of any given version is determined not only by the constructors' knowledge of development environments, but also by the developer tools' availability.

Microcontrollers available at TME

TME is an official distributor of many renowned manufacturers, therefore our offer includes a wide selection of microcontrollers. In addition, we also provide tools and technical support. This applies primarily to all products from Microchip Technology (including the products previously available under the Atmel brand), such as these microcontrollers:

with 8051 architecture (AT89);
8-bit PIC and AVR (PIC10, PIC12, PIC16, PIC18, tinyAVR, and megaAVR);
16-bit PIC24, XMEGA and dsPIC30/dsPIC33 with DSP core, 32-bit PIC32 and AVR UC3 (UC3);
the most advanced models with ARM7, ARM9, Cotex-A, Cortex-M cores.

Our official distribution also includes microcontrollers from Infineon (8051 and industrial circuits with ARM core), dedicated circuits with a microcontroller from 4D System and Bridgetek (FTDI) designed for graphics control, and from Nordic Semiconductor (SoC circuits with ARM Cortex-M0 core) – for Bluetooth communication solutions.

Furthermore, TME's offer includes solutions from STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments, Maxim-Dallas, NXP (including Freescale), Renesas, Silicon Labs, and other companies.