In this topic we introduce the pic16F84 mcu

Federico Faggin joined Intel in spring 19703 and by the end of the year had produced working samples of the first chip set. This could only be sold to the Nippon Calculating Machine Corporation, but by the middle of 1971, in return for a price reduction, Intel were given the right to sell the chip set to anyone for non-calculator purposes. Intel was dubious about the market for this device, but went ahead and advertised the 4004 "Micro-Programmable Computer on a Chip" in the Electronic News of November 1971. The term microprocessor unit was not coined until 1972. The 4004 created a lot of interest as a means of introducing ‘intelligence’ into electronic products.
The 4004 MPU featured a von Neumann architecture using a four-bit data bus, with direct addressing of 512 bytes of memory. Clocked at 108 kHz, it was implemented with a transistor count of 2300.4 Within a year the eight-bit 200 kHz 8008 appeared, addressing 16 Kbytes and needing a 3500 transistor implementation. Four bits is satisfactory for the BCD digits used in calculators but eight bits is more appropriate for intelligent data terminals (like cash registers) which need to handle a wide range of alphanumeric characters. The 8008 was replaced by the 80805 in 1974, and then the slightly modified 8085 in 1976. The 8085 is still the current Intel eight-bit device. Strangely, 4-bit MPUs were to outsell all other sizes until the early 1990s.
The MPU concept was such a hit that many other electronic manufactures clambered on to the bandwagon. In addition, many designers jumped ship and set up shop on their own, such as Zilog. By 1976 there were 54 different MPUs either available or announced. For example, one of the most successful families was based on the 6800 introduced by Mo-torola.6 The Motorola 6800 had a clean and flexible architecture, could be clocked at 2 MHz and address up to 64 Kbyte of memory. The 6802 (1977) even had 128 bytes of on-board memory and an internal clock oscillator. By 1979 the improved 6809 represented the last in the line of these eight-bit devices, competing mainly with the Intel 8085, Zilog Z80 and MOS Technology’s 6502.
The MPU was not really devised to power conventional computers, but a small calculator company called MITS,7 faced with bankruptcy, took a final desperate gamble in 1975 and decided to make and market a computer. This primitive machine, designed by Ed Roberts, was based on the 8080 MPU and interacted with the operator using front panel toggle switches and lamps – no keyboard and VDU. The Altair8 was advertised for $ 500, and within a month MITS had $2 50,000 in the bank for advance orders.