What is microcontroller?

A microcontroller is a small computer placed on a single Integrated Circuit. It is called computer on a chip. As the name implies, it executes program for controlling some device.

It contains processor, memory and programmable input/output ports. The program memory in the form of flash or ROM is also incorporated on a chip and a small amount of RAM is also included on a single chip. Microcontrollers are specially designed for embedded applications.

Advantages

• Flexibility: Microcontrollers are very small and somewhat flexible due to their nature.
• Speed: As Microcontrollers are fully integrated inside the processor these devices exhibit faster speed of execution.
• Cheap: As Microcontrollers are fully integrated onto one chip, these devices are less expensive.
• Rigid: Microcontrollers use ROM so they cannot be reprogrammed.
• Labor saving: Microcontrollers are able to perform many tasks repetitively, so human efforts can be saved. The programmable nature of these devices make robots reproduce motions very quickly and consistently thereby increasing productivity.

Disadvantages

• Complex architecture: Microcontrollers have more complex architecture than microprocessors. So understanding their functionality is quite difficult.
• Development time: Development time and cost of microcontrollers increase due to complexity of the circuit board.