Lesson 1Microcontroller families comparison: AVR, PIC, ARM Cortex-M (M0/M3/M4) — performance, peripherals, an ecosystemDis section compares major microcontroller families. You will examine AVR, PIC, an ARM Cortex-M devices in terms of performance, peripherals, tools, ecosystem, cost, an suitability fi communication-centric embedded designs.
AVR architecture, strengths, an use casesPIC families an typical application domainsARM Cortex-M cores: M0, M3, an M4 featuresEcosystem, tools, an community supportPeripherals, memory, an performance scalingCost, availability, an long-term lifecycleLesson 2Basic firmware safety: watchdog timer usage, fault reporting, an robust reset strategiesDis section focuses on basic firmware safety mechanisms. You will configure watchdog timers, design safe reset an recovery flows, implement fault reporting, an ensure dat unexpected hangs or corrupt states are detected an handled.
Watchdog timer configuration an feedingDetecting an handling lockups an dead loopsBrown-out, POR, an external reset handlingStoring reset cause an fault contextNonvolatile logging of critical failuresSafe restart an degraded operation modesLesson 3GPIO an peripheral budgeting: ADC channels, UART/SPI/I2C ports, timers, interrupts an DMA planningDis section covers mapping GPIOs an on-chip peripherals to system needs. You will plan ADC channels, serial ports, timers, interrupts, an DMA usage to avoid conflicts, support future expansion, an meet real-time constraints.
Creating a complete signal an pin inventoryMapping ADC channels to sensors an referencesAllocating UART, SPI, an I2C fi peripheralsTimer allocation fi PWM, capture, an timebaseInterrupt priority an nesting considerationsPlanning DMA channels fi high data throughputLesson 4Essential MCU hardware choices: supply voltage, clock source (internal RC, crystal, external oscillator), an power domainsDis section guides key MCU hardware choices. You will evaluate supply voltage ranges, clock source options, an power domains, considering performance, noise, analog accuracy, an compatibility wid sensors, radios, an external logic.
Selecting core supply voltage an regulatorsI/O voltage levels an level shifting needsInternal RC oscillator pros an consCrystal an external oscillator selectionSeparating analog an digital power domainsDecoupling an ground layout implicationsLesson 5Clocking an timing: selecting clock source, configuring system tick, low-power modes an wake sourcesDis section explains clock tree an timing configuration. You will select clock sources, set PLLs, configure system tick, an design low-power modes an wake sources while meeting timing, jitter, an power consumption requirements.
Clock tree overview an configuration stepsPLL, prescalers, an frequency trade-offsSystem tick configuration an timekeepingTimer usage fi delays an schedulingLow-power sleep an stop mode selectionWakeup sources an latency managementLesson 6ADC driver design: sampling sequence, oversampling, averaging, an conversion timingDis section details ADC driver design fi accurate measurements. You will plan sampling sequences, configure triggers, apply oversampling an averaging, manage conversion timing, an minimize noise through hardware an firmware techniques.
ADC reference selection an calibrationChannel sequencing an scan configurationSampling time an trigger source selectionOversampling, averaging, an filteringDMA-based ADC data acquisitionMitigating noise an crosstalk in readingsLesson 7Embedded power management: sleep modes, brown-out detection, RTC fi wakeups, an battery considerationsDis section addresses embedded power management strategies. You will use sleep modes, brown-out detection, an RTC-based wakeups, an consider battery chemistry, capacity, an lifetime fi reliable low-power communication systems.
Sleep mode selection an entry criteriaRTC configuration fi timed wake eventsBrown-out detection thresholds an actionsMeasuring an budgeting average currentBattery chemistry an discharge behaviorDesigning fi long battery life an safetyLesson 8Firmware architecture an flow: boot, peripheral init, sensor read routine, error handling, data formatting, comms schedulingDis section presents overall firmware structure from reset to normal operation. You will design boot flow, peripheral initialization, sensor read loops, error handling paths, data formatting, an communication scheduling fi deterministic behavior.
Boot sequence an startup code overviewPeripheral an middleware initialization orderDesigning periodic sensor read tasksCentralized error handling an logging pathsData formatting, scaling, an unit handlingCooperative scheduling an main loop designLesson 9Communication driver design: UART, SPI, I2C stacks; polling vs interrupt vs DMA approachesDis section explains how fi design reusable UART, SPI, an I2C drivers. You will compare polling, interrupt, an DMA methods, define driver APIs, handle errors an timeouts, an integrate drivers into higher-level protocol stacks.
Layered architecture fi serial driversUART driver: framing, buffering, an flow controlSPI driver: modes, chip select, an throughputI2C driver: addressing, arbitration, an retriesPolling versus interrupt-driven transfersDMA-based transfers an ring buffer design
