2.3 MICROPROCESSORS THE MICROPROCESSOR What are microprocessors? are one or more integrated circuits which contain the arithmetic, logic and control necessary to make data processing possible. They function as the brain of an electronic device, processing data according to logic instructions and providing results as an output. Microprocessors can both interpret and execute program instructions, given by the different combinations of logic gates inside the device, and arithmetic operations. Microprocessors deal with digital data, which are in the form of bits arranged in strings called words. The speed at which a microprocessor works depends on the maximum word length it can ; modern processors can operate with 32-bit to 64-bit words. Microprocessors 1 circuitry handle deal with DO Can you explain what an integrated circuit is? 1 Functions of microprocessors A microprocessor normally functions as the of an electronic device, for example a computer, and it is connected by conducting traces to its input and output devices . However, there are specially-designed microprocessors which are created for specific purposes, i.e.: Central Processing Unit (CPU) 1 , which are designed for computer graphics; Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) , which are specialised in digital signal processing and widely used for audio signal and digital image processing; they can be found in systems as well as in common devices such as smartphones and high-definition TVs; Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) speech recognition , which are types of microprocessors specifically designed to improve machine vision, a new system, mainly employed in industries, which uses the latest AI technologies to give industrial equipment the ability to see and analyse tasks in manufacturing, quality control and safety. Vision Processing Units (VPUs) emerging MORE Examples of input devices in a computer are the keyboard, the mouse, the scanner and the microphone; examples of output devices are the monitor, the printer, speakers and headphones. 1 A bit of history In the early 1970s the introduction of large-scale integration (LSI) made it possible to insert thousands of electronic components onto a small chip. This led to the development of the microprocessor, and the first commercially produced microprocessor was released by an American company in 1971. During the early 1980s, very large-scale integration (VLSI) vastly increased the circuit density of microprocessors, i.e. the number of transistors they contain. In the 2010s, a single VLSI circuit billions of electronic components on a chip the same size of LSI circuits. 2 held MORE Scale Integration is a way of classifying integrated circuits and gives information about the complexity of the circuit. LSI ( ) circuits contain between 100 and 10,000 transistors; VLSI ( ) ones have between 10,000 and 100,000 transistors. 2 Large Scale Integration Very Large Scale Integration