57 Do you remember what an integrated circuit is? An oscillator is a circuit which produces a voltage or a current in a continuous and alternating waveform at a certain frequency. MICROPROCESSORS What are microprocessors? Microprocessors are made up of one or more integrated circuits , connected together on a motherboard, containing the arithmetic, logic, and control circuitry 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. Functions of microprocessors A microprocessor normally functions as the Central Processing Unit (CPU) of an electronic device, for example a computer, and it is connected by conducting traces to its input and output devices. However, there are microprocessors created for specific purposes, for example: The ROM is the built-in memory in an electronic device. The information stored in the RAM is lost when the device is turned off. Graphic Processing Units (GPUs), which are designed for computer graphics; Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), widely used for audio signal and digital image processing; they can be found, for example, in speech recognition systems; Vision processing units (VPUs), which are emerging 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. motherboard: scheda madre path: percorso speech recognition: riconoscimento vocale the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), which carries out arithmetic and logic operations; registers, local areas inside the microprocessor used to quickly accept, store, and transfer data and instructions to be used by the CPU; the Control Unit (CU), formed by circuits coordinating and controlling the processing system according to the instructions stored in the permanent memory of the microprocessor. This function is carried out by an oscillator , called clock. The CPU is connected by paths called buses to a series of memory circuits of different kinds: the permanent memory of the microprocessor, which is called ROM (Read Only Memory) and which stores the instructions required to start and operate the system. It cannot be modified ; the temporary memory, known as RAM (Random Access Memory), which is used to store data for a short period while the device is working ; the cache memory, which is a particular type of RAM that makes it easier and faster for the processor to retrieve data. RAM vs ROM The structure of microprocessors A microprocessor functioning as the CPU of an electronic device contains three basic parts: 132 ELECTRONICS AND ELECTROTECHNOLOGY RAM Temporary storage Volatile Faster ROM Permanent storage Non-volatile Slower