Intel 8048

processor The microcontroller used in IBM PC keyboards.

The 8048 was inspired by, and similar to, the Fairchild F8

microprocessor but, being a microcontroller, was designed for

low cost and small size. The 8048 has a modified Harvardarchitecture, with program ROM on chip and 64 to 256 bytes

of RAM also on chip. I/O is mapped in its own addressspace.

Though the 8048 was eventually replaced by the very popular

but bizarre Intel 8051 and Intel 8052, even in 2000 it is

still very popular due to its low cost, wide availability, and

development tools.

[Was it really _the_first_ microcontroller? Are the ROM and

RAM both on-chip?]

(2000-06-01)