microcontrollerperiferen

Microcontroller peripherals are the dedicated hardware blocks embedded in microcontrollers that perform specialized tasks alongside the central processing unit. They provide interfaces to sensors, actuators, storage, and communication networks, allowing the microcontroller to interact with the physical world without external chips for common functions.

Common peripherals include general-purpose input/output pins (GPIO); analog-to-digital converters (ADC) and digital-to-analog converters (DAC); timers and pulse-width modulation (PWM) generators; and watchdog timers and real-time clocks (RTC). Communication interfaces such as UART/USART, I2C, SPI, and sometimes CAN, USB, or Ethernet enable data exchange with other devices.

Peripherals are controlled via memory-mapped registers and are clocked by the microcontroller's system clock. They can generate interrupts, be synchronized with a pulse or event, or use direct memory access (DMA) to move data without CPU intervention. Many MCUs allow peripheral configuration through dedicated programming interfaces and toolchains, which helps tailor timing, power, and performance to the application.

Designers choose MCUs based on the set of required peripherals, performance, power consumption, and package size. Integrated peripherals reduce component count and cost, but may limit flexibility or increase software complexity. External peripherals are used when a needed function is not provided or higher performance is required.

Applications range from simple data acquisition and control to motor control, embedded communications, and real-time systems. Understanding the available peripherals and their configuration is essential for efficient software, timing accuracy, and reliable operation.