Choosing a microcontroller is one of the most important aspects of early stage system design. The chosen microcontroller can determine the starting point of the schematic design; the overall clock speed; how many and what type of peripheral components are needed; the instruction set or operating system that will be used; and perhaps most importantly--the software design environment.

And how does one choose an MCU? This is a question that many systems designers wish was an easier one to answer. When getting feedback from the audience while preparing the Fundamentals of Microcontrollers course, it came up as a big issue. In response to the diverse market demand, MCU vendors have introduced many devices to address new markets, or to improve the performance for existing applications. So there are just too many options currently available, and any advice on how to choose the right device for a particular application becomes very valuable

TechInsights cannot tell you exactly which MCU device will be the best for your specific application. But what we can do is profile some of the recent MCU releases in this spreadsheet (click here). This MCU summary table looks at some of the important aspects that are considered when a systems designer needs to choose an MCU for their design including price, processor, serial I/O, analog peripherals, and target applications.

This is just a small portion of the MCUs that are currently available.  Let us know what kind of information (or even what kind of devices) you would like to see in tables on EE Times or TechOnline.  Some other aspects of the microcontroller world that could be worth exploring include design tools, development / evaluation kits, and code compatibility.  Email Patrick Mannion at pmannion@techinsights.com with your feedback.