CHAPTER Microprocessors 5 5.1 SINGLE-CORE MICROPROCESSOR UNITS A microprocessor incorporates most of the entire central processing functions on a single inte- grated circuit (IC). The first microprocessors emerged in the early 1970s, and were used for electronic calculators. Since then, microprocessors within personal computers and industrial embedded controllers have evolved continuously, with each version being compatible with its predecessors. The major producers of microprocessors have been Intel (Integrated Electronics Corporation) and AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.) since the early 1970s. Intel marketed the first microprocessor in 1971, named the 4004, a revolution in the electronics industry. With this processor, functionality started to be programmed by software. Am2900 is a family of integrated circuits (ICs) created in 1975