Introduction to PIC16F877A Microcontroller

Microcontroller PIC16F877A is one of the PICMicro Family microcontroller which is popular at this moment, start from beginner until all professionals. Because very easy using PIC16F877A and use FLASH memory technology so that can be write-erase until thousand times. The superiority this Risc Microcontroller compared to with other microcontroller 8-bit especially at a speed of and his code compression. PIC16F877A have 40 pin by 33 path of I/O.

PIC16F877A perfectly fits many uses, from automotive industries and controlling home appliances to industrial instruments, remote sensors, electrical doorlocks and safety devices. It is also ideal for smart cards as well as for battery supplied devices because of its low consumption.EEPROM memory makes it easier to apply microcontrollers to devices where permanent storage of various parameters is needed (codes for transmitters, motor speed, receiver frequencies, etc.). Low cost, low consumption, easy handling and flexibility make PIC16F877A applicable even in areas where microcontrollers had not previously been considered (example: timer functions, interface replacement in larger systems, coprocessor applications, etc.).In System Programmability of this chip (along with using only two pins in data transfer) makes possible the flexibility of a product, after assembling and testing have been completed. This capability can be used to create assembly-line production, to store calibration data available only after final testing, or it can be used to improve programs on finished products.

High-Performance RISC CPU:

• Only 35 single-word instructions to learn
• All single-cycle instructions except for program branches, which are two-cycle
• Operating speed: DC – 20 MHz clock input DC – 200 ns instruction cycle
• Up to 8K x 14 words of Flash Program Memory, Up to 368 x 8 bytes of Data Memory (RAM), Up to 256 x 8 bytes of EEPROM Data Memory
• Pinout compatible to other 28-pin or 40/44-pin PIC16CXXX and PIC16FXXX microcontrollers

Peripheral Features:

• Timer0: 8-bit timer/counter with 8-bit prescaler
• Timer1: 16-bit timer/counter with prescaler, can be incremented during Sleep via external crystal/clock
• Timer2: 8-bit timer/counter with 8-bit period register, prescaler and postscaler
• Two Capture, Compare, PWM modules
• Synchronous Serial Port (SSP) with SPI™ (Master mode) and I2C™ (Master/Slave)
• Universal Synchronous Asynchronous Receiver
• Transmitter (USART/SCI) with 9-bit address detection
• Parallel Slave Port (PSP) – 8 bits wide with external RD, WR and CS controls (40/44-pin only)
• Brown-out detection circuitry for Brown-out Reset (BOR)

Analog Features:

• 10-bit, up to 8-channel Analog-to-Digital Converter (A/D)
• Brown-out Reset (BOR)
• Analog Comparator module (Two analog comparators , Programmable on-chip voltage reference (VREF) module , Programmable input multiplexing from device inputs and internal voltage reference , Comparator outputs are externally accessible)

Special Microcontroller Features:

• 100,000 erase/write cycle Enhanced Flash program memory typical
• 1,000,000 erase/write cycle Data EEPROM memory typical
• Data EEPROM Retention > 40 years
• Self-reprogrammable under software control
• In-Circuit Serial Programming™ (ICSP™) via two pins
• Single-supply 5V In-Circuit Serial Programming
• Watchdog Timer (WDT) with its own on-chip RC oscillator for reliable operation
• Programmable code protection
• Power saving Sleep mode
• Selectable oscillator options
• In-Circuit Debug (ICD) via two pins

CMOS Technology:

• Low-power, high-speed Flash/EEPROM technology
• Fully static design
• Wide operating voltage range (2.0V to 5.5V)
• Commercial and Industrial temperature ranges
• Low-power consumption

(Continued with how to programming PIC16F877A)