Development boards are batteries-included, ready-to-use boards that simplify prototyping and testing; microcontrollers are integrated circuits that serve as the core computing units in embedded systems.
What components are on a development board?
- MCU
- Supporting Components
- Voltage regulators: Regulate power supply voltages for stable operation.
- Crystal oscillators: Provide clock signals for precise timing; most MCUs such as Nucleos don’t include oscillators on the chip, but provide options for connecting external clock sources
- Reset circuitry: Ensures proper initialization and resets.
- Programming/debugging interfaces: Allow for easy programming and debugging.
- Power Supply Circuitry
- Voltage regulators and filtering components to ensure a stable power supply.
- Connectors and Headers
- GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) headers: Allow connection to external devices.
- Communication interfaces (USB, UART, SPI): Enable connectivity with a computer or other devices.
- Power supply connectors: Provide power to the board.
- Expansion headers: Allow additional peripherals to be connected.
- Built-in Peripherals
- LEDs, buttons, and switches for testing and user interaction.
- On-board sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes) for experimentation.
- Memory
- Additional Flash memory for storing firmware
- EEPROM for non-volatile data storage