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Power-on Reset
A power-on reset (PoR, POR) generator is a microcontroller or microprocessor peripheral that generates a reset signal when power is applied to the device. It ensures that the device starts operating in a known state. PoR generator In VLSI devices, the power-on reset (PoR) is an electronic device incorporated into the integrated circuit that detects the power applied to the chip and generates a reset impulse that goes to the entire circuit placing it into a known state. A simple PoR uses the charging of a capacitor, in series with a resistor, to measure a time period during which the rest of the circuit is held in a reset state. A Schmitt trigger may be used to deassert the reset signal cleanly, once the rising voltage of the RC network passes the threshold voltage The threshold voltage, commonly abbreviated as Vth or VGS(th), of a field-effect transistor (FET) is the minimum gate-to-source voltage (VGS) that is needed to create a conducting path between the source and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microcontroller
A microcontroller (MCU for ''microcontroller unit'', often also MC, UC, or μC) is a small computer on a single VLSI integrated circuit (IC) chip. A microcontroller contains one or more CPUs ( processor cores) along with memory and programmable input/output peripherals. Program memory in the form of ferroelectric RAM, NOR flash or OTP ROM is also often included on chip, as well as a small amount of RAM. Microcontrollers are designed for embedded applications, in contrast to the microprocessors used in personal computers or other general purpose applications consisting of various discrete chips. In modern terminology, a microcontroller is similar to, but less sophisticated than, a system on a chip (SoC). An SoC may connect the external microcontroller chips as the motherboard components, but an SoC usually integrates the advanced peripherals like graphics processing unit (GPU) and Wi-Fi interface controller as its internal microcontroller unit circuits. Microcontrollers ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microprocessor
A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circuitry required to perform the functions of a computer's central processing unit. The integrated circuit is capable of interpreting and executing program instructions and performing arithmetic operations. The microprocessor is a multipurpose, clock-driven, register-based, digital integrated circuit that accepts binary data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and provides results (also in binary form) as output. Microprocessors contain both combinational logic and sequential digital logic, and operate on numbers and symbols represented in the binary number system. The integration of a whole CPU onto a single or a few integrated circuits using Very-Large-Scale Integration (VLSI) greatly reduced the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peripheral
A peripheral or peripheral device is an auxiliary device used to put information into and get information out of a computer. The term ''peripheral device'' refers to all hardware components that are attached to a computer and are controlled by the computer system, but they are not the core components of the computer, such as the CPU or power supply unit. In other words, peripherals can also be defined as devices that can be easily removed and plugged into a computer system. Several categories of peripheral devices may be identified, based on their relationship with the computer: *An ''input device'' sends data or instructions to the computer, such as a mouse, keyboard, graphics tablet, image scanner, barcode reader, game controller, light pen, light gun, microphone and webcam; *An ''output device'' provides output data from the computer, such as a computer monitor, projector, printer, headphones and computer speaker; *An ''input/output device'' performs both input and outp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reset (computing)
In a computer or data transmission system, a reset clears any pending errors or events and brings a system to normal condition or an initial state, usually in a controlled manner. It is usually done in response to an error condition when it is impossible or undesirable for a processing activity to proceed and all error recovery mechanisms fail. A computer storage program would normally perform a "reset" if a command times out and error recovery schemes like retry or abort also fail. Most computers have a reset line that brings the device into the startup state and is active for a short time after powering on. For example, in the x86 architecture, asserting the RESET line halts the CPU; this is done after the system is switched on and before the power supply has asserted "power good" to indicate that it is ready to supply stable voltages at sufficient power levels. Reset places less stress on the hardware than power cycling, as the power is not removed. Many computers, especi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Signalling (telecommunication)
In telecommunication, signaling is the use of signals for controlling communications. This may constitute an information exchange concerning the establishment and control of a telecommunication circuit and the management of the network. Classification Signaling systems may be classified based on several principal characteristics. In-band and out-of-band signaling In the public switched telephone network (PSTN), in-band signaling is the exchange of call control information within the same physical channel, or within the same frequency band, that the telephone call itself is using. An example is dual-tone multi-frequency signaling (DTMF), which is used on most telephone lines to customer premises. Out-of-band signaling is telecommunication signaling on a dedicated channel separate from that used for the telephone call. Out-of-band signaling has been used since Signaling System No. 6 (SS6) was introduced in the 1970s, and also in Signalling System No. 7 (SS7) in 1980 which beca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Computer Hardware
Computer hardware includes the physical parts of a computer, such as the case, central processing unit (CPU), random access memory (RAM), monitor, mouse, keyboard, computer data storage, graphics card, sound card, speakers and motherboard. By contrast, software is the set of instructions that can be stored and run by hardware. Hardware is so-termed because it is " hard" or rigid with respect to changes, whereas software is "soft" because it is easy to change. Hardware is typically directed by the software to execute any command or instruction. A combination of hardware and software forms a usable computing system, although other systems exist with only hardware. Von Neumann architecture The template for all modern computers is the Von Neumann architecture, detailed in a 1945 paper by Hungarian mathematician John von Neumann. This describes a design architecture for an electronic digital computer with subdivisions of a processing unit consisting of an arithmetic log ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
State (computer Science)
In information technology and computer science, a system is described as stateful if it is designed to remember preceding events or user interactions; the remembered information is called the state of the system. The set of states a system can occupy is known as its state space. In a discrete system, the state space is countable and often finite. The system's internal behaviour or interaction with its environment consists of separately occurring individual actions or events, such as accepting input or producing output, that may or may not cause the system to change its state. Examples of such systems are digital logic circuits and components, automata and formal language, computer programs, and computers. The output of a digital circuit or deterministic computer program at any time is completely determined by its current inputs and its state. Digital logic circuit state Digital logic circuits can be divided into two types: combinational logic, whose output signals are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VLSI
Very large-scale integration (VLSI) is the process of creating an integrated circuit (IC) by combining millions or billions of MOS transistors onto a single chip. VLSI began in the 1970s when MOS integrated circuit (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) chips were developed and then widely adopted, enabling complex semiconductor and telecommunication technologies. The microprocessor and memory chips are VLSI devices. Before the introduction of VLSI technology, most ICs had a limited set of functions they could perform. An electronic circuit might consist of a CPU, ROM, RAM and other glue logic. VLSI enables IC designers to add all of these into one chip. History Background The history of the transistor dates to the 1920s when several inventors attempted devices that were intended to control current in solid-state diodes and convert them into triodes. Success came after World War II, when the use of silicon and germanium crystals as radar detectors led to improvements in fabricat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schmitt Trigger
In electronics, a Schmitt trigger is a comparator circuit with hysteresis implemented by applying positive feedback to the noninverting input of a comparator or differential amplifier. It is an active circuit which converts an analog input signal to a digital output signal. The circuit is named a ''trigger'' because the output retains its value until the input changes sufficiently to trigger a change. In the non-inverting configuration, when the input is higher than a chosen threshold, the output is high. When the input is below a different (lower) chosen threshold the output is low, and when the input is between the two levels the output retains its value. This dual threshold action is called ''hysteresis'' and implies that the Schmitt trigger possesses memory and can act as a bistable multivibrator (latch or flip-flop). There is a close relation between the two kinds of circuits: a Schmitt trigger can be converted into a latch and a latch can be converted into a Schmitt tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RC Network
A resistor–capacitor circuit (RC circuit), or RC filter or RC network, is an electric circuit composed of resistors and capacitors. It may be driven by a voltage or current source and these will produce different responses. A first order RC circuit is composed of one resistor and one capacitor and is the simplest type of RC circuit. RC circuits can be used to filter a signal by blocking certain frequencies and passing others. The two most common RC filters are the high-pass filters and low-pass filters; band-pass filters and band-stop filters usually require RLC filters, though crude ones can be made with RC filters. Introduction There are three basic, linear passive lumped analog circuit components: the resistor (R), the capacitor (C), and the inductor (L). These may be combined in the RC circuit, the RL circuit, the LC circuit, and the RLC circuit, with the acronyms indicating which components are used. These circuits, among them, exhibit a large number of important ty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Threshold Voltage
The threshold voltage, commonly abbreviated as Vth or VGS(th), of a field-effect transistor (FET) is the minimum gate-to-source voltage (VGS) that is needed to create a conducting path between the source and drain terminals. It is an important scaling factor to maintain power efficiency. When referring to a junction field-effect transistor (JFET), the threshold voltage is often called pinch-off voltage instead. This is somewhat confusing since ''pinch off'' applied to insulated-gate field-effect transistor (IGFET) refers to the channel pinching that leads to current saturation behaviour under high source–drain bias, even though the current is never off. Unlike ''pinch off'', the term ''threshold voltage'' is unambiguous and refers to the same concept in any field-effect transistor. Basic principles In n-channel ''enhancement-mode'' devices, a conductive channel does not exist naturally within the transistor, and a positive gate-to-source voltage is necessary to create one s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IBM System/360 Architecture
The IBM System/360 architecture is the model independent architecture for the entire S/360 line of mainframe computers, including but not limited to the instruction set architecture. The elements of the architecture are documented in the ''IBM System/360 Principles of Operation'' and the ''IBM System/360 I/O Interface Channel to Control Unit Original Equipment Manufacturers' Information'' manuals. Features The System/360 architecture provides the following features: * 16 32-bit general-purpose registers * 4 64-bit floating-point registers * 64-bit processor status register (PSW), which includes a 24-bit instruction address * 24-bit (16 MB) byte-addressable memory space * Big-endian byte/word order * A ''standard instruction set'', including fixed-point binary arithmetic and logical instructions, present on all System/360 models (except the Model 20, see below). ** A ''commercial instruction set'', adding decimal arithmetic instructions, is optional on some models ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
