Microprocessor Interfacing

Summary

Interfacing concerns the interconnection of the microprocessor unit (MPU) with external logical components or units. This mainly concerns the memory and the input/output (I/O) controllers. The MPU addresses the slave components, that is, the main memory and the I/O controllers, via the associated buses using an address decoding system. The logic components are characterized temporally for a temperature range. When their operation is synchronous, one or more clocks provide the main timing signals. The clock signal generator is the electronic component or unit responsible for generating the clock signal(s), time reference(s) of the logic system. It is called clock source because of its function. Overclocking is a technique that involves increasing the operating frequency of a logic system to increase the operating speed and, therefore, its performance.