MICROPROCESSOR &ITS EVOLUATION

A microprocessor is essentially the CPU (Central Processing Unit) of a

computer.
It is an essential component of any computer system.
A microprocessor is a silicon chip that contains millions of transistors and other
electronic components.
It can process millions of instructions per second, enabling fast computation.
The microprocessor is a versatile chip that works together with:
 Memory
 Special-purpose peripheral chips
It is preprogrammed using software to perform specific tasks.
The microprocessor accepts digital data as input, processes it based on the
instructions stored in memory, and produces output.
Major functions of a microprocessor include:
 Data processing
 Data storage management
 Interfacing with external devices
 Handling timing and control operations
The primary function of a microprocessor is to send and receive data efficiently
so that the computer system functions properly.
This topic also covers the types of microprocessors and the
evolution/generations of microprocessors over time.

Evolution of Microprocessor
The microprocessor has become a more essential part of many gadgets.
The evolution of microprocessor was divided into five generations such
as first, second, third, fourth, and fifth-generation and the characteristics
of these generations are discussed below.
 Microprocessor
First Generation Microprocessors
The first generation microprocessors were introduced in the year 1971-
1972. The instructions of these microprocessors were processed serially,
they fetched the instruction, decoded and then executed it. When an
instruction of the microprocessor was finished, then the microprocessor
updates the instruction pointer & fetched the following instruction,
performing this consecutive operation for each instruction in turn.
Second Generation Microprocessors
In the year 1970, a small number of transistors were available on the
integrated circuit in the second-generation microprocessors. Examples
of the second-generation microprocessors are 16-bit arithmetic 7
pipelined instruction processing, MC68000 Motorola microprocessor.
These processors are introduced in the year 1979, and Intel 8080
processor is another example of the microprocessor. The second
generation of the microprocessor is defined by overlapped fetch,
decode, and execute the steps. When the first generation is processed
in the execution unit, then the second instruction is decoded and the
third instruction is fetched.
The difference between the first generation microprocessor and second-
generation microprocessors was mainly the use of new semiconductor
technologies to manufacture the chips. The result of this technology
resulted in a fivefold increase in instruction, speed, execution, and higher
chip densities.
Third Generation Microprocessors
The third generation microprocessors were introduced in the year 1978,
as denoted by Intel’s 8086 and the Zilog Z8000. These were 16-bit
processors with a performance like mini computers. These types of
microprocessors were different from the previous generations of
microprocessors in that all main workstation industrialists began evolving
their own ISC based microprocessor architectures.
Fourth Generation Microprocessors
As many industries converted from commercial microprocessors to in
house designs, the fourth generation microprocessors are entered with
outstanding design with a million transistors. Leading-edge
microprocessors like Motorola’s 88100 and Intel’s 80960CA could issue
& retire more than one instruction per clock cycle.
Fifth Generation Microprocessors
Fifth-generation microprocessors employed decoupled superscalar
processing, and their design soon exceeded 10 million transistors. In the
fifth generation, PCs are a low-margin, high volume business conquered
by a single microprocessor.
On Dec 23rd, 1947, the Transistor was invented in Bell lab whereas an
integrated circuit was invented in 1958 by J Kilby in Texas Instruments.
So, Intel or INTegrated ELectronics has invented the first
microprocessor.

Evolution of Microprocessor
4-bit Microprocessor
The INTEL 4004/4040 was invented in the year 1971 by Stanley Mazor
& Ted Hoff. The clock speed of this microprocessor is 740 KHz. The
number of transistors used in this microprocessor is 2,300 and
instruction per second is 60K. The number of pins of this microprocessor
is 16.
8-bit Microprocessor
  The 8008 processor was invented in the year 1972. The clock
speed of this microprocessor is 500 KHz and instruction per
second is 50K
 The 8080 microprocessor was invented in the year 1974. The
clock speed is 2 MHz. The number of transistors used is 60k and
instruction per second is 10 times quicker as compared with 8008
processor.
 The 8085 microprocessor was invented in the year 1976. The
clock speed is 3 MHz. The number of transistors used is 6,500 and
instruction per second is 769230. The number of pins of this
microprocessor is 40
16-bit Microprocessor
 The 8086 microprocessor was invented in the year 1978. The
clock speed is 4.77, 8 & 10 MHz. The number of transistors used is
29000 and instruction per second is 2.5 Million. The number of
pins of this microprocessor is 40
 The 8088 microprocessor was invented in the year 1979 and
instruction per second is 2.5 Million
 The microprocessors like 80186 or 80188 were invented in the
year 1982. The clock speed is 6 MHz
 The 80286 microprocessor was invented in the year 1982. The
clock speed is 8 MHz. The number of transistors used is 134000
and instruction per second is 4 Million. The number of pins of this
microprocessor is 68
32-bit Microprocessor
 The Intel 80386 microprocessor was invented in the year 1986.
The clock speed is 16 MHz to 33 MHz. The number of transistors
used is 275000. The number of pins of this microprocessor is 132
14X14 PGA
 The Intel 80486 microprocessor was invented in the year1986. The
clock speed is 16MHz to 100 MHz. The number of transistors used
is 1.2 Million transistors and instruction per second is 8 KB of
 cache memory. The number of pins of this microprocessor is 168
17X17 PGA (Pin Grid Array)
 The PENTIUM microprocessor was invented in the year 1993. The
clock speed is 66 MHz and instruction per second is Cache
memory 8-bit for instructions 8- bit for data. The number of pins of
this microprocessor is 237 PGA
64-bit Microprocessor
 The INTEL core 2 microprocessor was invented in the year 2006.
The clock speed is 1.2 GHz to 3 GHz. The number of transistors
used is 291 Million and instruction per second is 64 KB of L1
cache for each core 4 MB of L2 cache.
 The i3, i5, i7 microprocessors were invented in the years 2007,
2009, 2010 2. The clock speed is 2GHz to 3.3GHz, 2.4GHz to
3.6GHz & 2.93GHz to t 3.33GHz.