Z8

Z8 is a family of 8-bit microcontrollers developed by Zilog. Introduced in the late 1970s and widely used during the 1980s and 1990s, the Z8 line was designed to provide inexpensive, configurable control for embedded applications. It is a distinct product line from Zilog’s Z80 microprocessor and is intended primarily for standalone control devices rather than general-purpose computing.

The Z8 family comprises multiple variants with different memory configurations and peripheral sets. Typical devices include on‑chip RAM and program memory options, along with a range of input/output capabilities. Peripherals commonly found in Z8 parts include timers, interrupts, serial communication interfaces, and general-purpose I/O. The instruction set is compact and geared toward predictable control-oriented software, making assembly language and higher-level language tools available from Zilog and third-party vendors.

Development and tooling for Z8 devices historically included Zilog’s own assemblers and compilers, emulators, and programmer software, complemented by third‑party development tools. The family evolved through several generations, with improvements in memory density, peripheral integration, and packaging, alongside enhanced toolchains and documentation to support embedded developers.

Applications and legacy: Z8 microcontrollers were used across a broad spectrum of products, including consumer electronics, automotive components, and industrial control systems. As the microcontroller market matured, newer architectures and families supplanted many Z8 parts, but legacy devices remain in service in older equipment. The Z8 is of interest to historians of computing and to engineers maintaining or studying legacy embedded systems.