The 8051 microcontroller is the grandfather of embedded microcontrollers. It was designed by Intel in 1980. Although there were microcontrollers around before then (e.g. the 8048), the 8051 has been the most successful. 8051 processors are generally a little outdated as a processor in their own right, but the 8051 core is commonly used in specialist silicon such as Nordic RF chips.

A recent example of where we used an 8051-based controller was in a Digital DJ Mixing Desk. Although we used a Microchip PIC for the central processor, we used a Texas Instruments TUSB3200 for the USB audio. The TUSB3200 is a USB streaming controller with an 8052 core.

Another example of a recent project using an 8051 core is in a wireless temperature sensor project where we used the Chipcon CC1010 controller.

• Texas Instruments
• Infineon
• Atmel
• Nordic
• Chipcon