Microprocessor is an electronic computer Central Processing Unit (CPU) made from miniaturized transistors and other circuit elements on a single semiconductor Integrated Circuit (IC). Before the advent of microprocessors, electronic CPUs were made from individual small-scale Integrated Circuits
containing the equivalent of only a few transistors. By integrating the processor onto one or a very few large-scale Integrated Circuit packages (containing the equivalent of thousands or millions of discretetransistors), the cost of processor power was greatly reduced.
The evolution of microprocessors has been known to follow Moore’s Law when it comes to steadily increasing performance over the years. This law suggests that the complexity of an Integrated Circuit with respect to minimum component cost will double in about 18 months. From humble beginnings as the drivers for calculators, the continued increase in power has led to the dominance of microprocessors over every other form of computer; every system from the largest mainframes to the smallest handheld computers now uses a microprocessor at their core. As with many advances in technology, the microprocessor was an idea wbose time had come.
Three projects arguably delivered a complete microprocessor at about the same time: Intel’s 4004, Texas Instruments’ TMS1000, and Garrett AiResearch’s Central Air Data Computer. A computer-on- a-chip is a variation of a microprocessor, which combines the microprocessor core (CPU), some memory, and I/O (input/output) lines, all on one chip. The proper meaning of microcomputer is a computer using a (number of) microprocessor(s) as its CPU(s), while the concept of the patent is somewhat more similar to a micro controller.