Circuits for Digital Micro-controller Designs

[nafix]

Hello all,

I'm curious to know professional design techniques in regards to developing a system based on a micro-controller.

Specifically:
1) What kind of power supply circuits are used in professional designs (protection, filtering, any other important specs).
2) What kind of circuitry is involved on various communication lines and why (SPI, USB).
3) Circuitry used in general uC I/O and analog ports.
4) Other ICs typically implemented and for what reason.

If you guys could guide me towards some reference material (websites, books, pdfs) that would be great. I'm designing some hardware for the company I work for. This is really one of the first hardware designs the company has done as its almost exclusively software engineering. I've done a few amateur hardware designs between senior design in college and some hobby projects. Thanks in advance!

 

[Sceadwian]

nafix, it would take months to answer each question you asked in any detail. You should be able to research each of these topics independently using Google to determine what is in common practice and why. It would be far more practical for you to start looking at what's already available via simple searching before asking questions that would require the greater part of someone's time for weeks to answer in any kind of practical detail.

1) Look up power protection and filtering circuits. These can be as simple as.. nothing, basic bypass caps, simple R/C filters linear regulators or full fledged switch mode supplies with multiple filters for low noise. What you use and why is application dependent.

2) This is a topic best left up to the related standards papers related to each communication protocol, protection circuit could get quiet complicated depending on the application and the specific chips use as many have in depth protection circuitry already included.

3) This is a wide open question there is no way to answer this question within the lifespan of a human being. The reason they're called general purpose devices is because they can be adapted to serve virtually any function with the proper peripheral or additional circuitry. You can only narrow this down for your specific application.

4) This is another wide open question which has no practical way to be answered.

You're basically asking for entire summed knowledge of everyone that ever used a General purpose MCU. You'll be inundated with useless information if you don't fully and absolutely define your requirements.

 

[misterT]

I can recommend these books:
Circuit Design: Know It All
A Baker's Dozen: Real Analog Solutions for Digital Designers
Analog Circuits (World Class Designs)
High Speed Signal Propagation: Advanced Black Magic

You can also find lots of free information by searching the web.. especially application notes from Microchip, Atmel, Texas Instruments, National Instruments, Linear Technologies.. etc.
For example, I just found this great article when searching for reverse battery protection: Reverse Battery Protection - Infineon

Here is a list of some useful "general purpose" Application Notes:
Analog and Interface Guide – Volume 1
Using PWM to Generate Analog Output
AVR Hardware Design Considerations
EMC Design Considerations
PCB Design - Mixed Signal Partitioning
PCB Design Tutorial by David L. Jones
Anti-Aliasing, Analog Filters for Data Acquisition Systems
A Single-Supply Op-Amp Circuit Collection
Design And Application Guide For High Speed MOSFET Gate Drive Circuits
Handbook of Operational Amplifier Applications

..and then there is my all-time favorite free book: The Scientist and Engineer's Guide to Digital Signal Processing
Not exactly electronics, but very useful for embedded systems designer.

 

[nafix]

@Sceadwian, I realize that my post may have been too general. My goal was to find out general references and guidance that other experienced users have found useful over the years. I know how great Google is, but I'm trying to filter out some good data from those who have already made the rounds.

@MisterT, thanks a bunch for the references, this is what I was hoping to find. If you guys have any other resources like this, I'd love to see more!

 

[Sceadwian]

Search further in the forums then, there has been more than one new post along these lines, and even more good bookmarks for reference and reading.

I'd recommend against using the forums search, it's okay but not up to snuff; use Google and narrow the search range to electro-tech-online.com for the domain in the advanced search options.

This site is actively cached by Google, at least within about the last 2-4 years.

I apologize for my lack of immediately useful information as I don't have a set of references I would consider absolutely required outside of what you can already find via generic searching.

 

[atferrari]

..and then there is my all-time favorite free book: The Scientist and Engineer's Guide to Digital Signal Processing
Not exactly electronics, but very useful for embedded systems designer.

Yes. The best, ever.

I downloaded it. It is worth printing in full.