From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Intel P8051 microcontroller. The Intel MCS-51 (commonly termed 8051) is a single chip microcontroller (MCU) series developed by Intel in 1980 for use in embedded systems. The architect of the Intel MCS-51 instruction set was John H. Wharton.

Why is it called micro controller?

It is so called because this device comprises of transistors which are small in size (micro-meter). The word micro is used in electronics and in science generally, to mean One-millionth or 10^-6. It has also used to denote something very small like a very small processor or micro controller.

What is the meaning of 8-bit microcontroller?

8 bit microcontroller means CPU or ALU can process 8 bit data at a time. Means it has to take 8 bit data from memory (which it has to process). Thus each location in memory is 8 bit and data bus is also 8 bit.