8.7 The microcontroller system

Outcome 7 of 12 in domain 8 · Systems, reading and designing a complete device

The device around the chip, what the little ready-made board was hiding.

My targets

I declare:

Draw the block diagram of a microcontroller device: supply and regulation, reset and clock, protected inputs, driven outputs, communication, and the chip in the middle.
Design a button or switch input: pull-up, debounce by RC or software, protection against electrostatic discharge.
Protect the inputs that come from the world (clamp diodes, series resistors, filters) and the outputs that go to loads (transistor, driver, isolation).
Design a chip device’s supply: regulator, decoupling, separate rails for analog, and monitor its own voltage.
Read the full schematic of a microcontroller product (a charger, a bike controller, a thermostat) and name each block.
Diagnosis: a device that reboots when a motor or relay switches, sagging supply, spurious reset or shared ground; how to prove and fix it.