eZ80® CPU User Manual

1

Introduction

The eZ80® CPU is a high-speed, 8-bit microcontroller capable of executing code four times faster than a standard Z80 operating at the same clock speed. The increased processing efficiency of the eZ80® CPU can improve available bandwidth and decrease power consumption. Simply stated, the eZ80® CPU’s 8-bit processing power rivals the performance of competitors’ 16-bit microcontrollers.

The eZ80® CPU is also the first 8-bit microcontroller to support 16MB linear addressing. Each software module, or each task, under a real-time executive or operating system can operate in Z80-compatible (64KB) mode or full 24-bit (16MB) address mode.

The eZ80® CPU’s instruction set is a superset of the instruction sets for the Z80 and Z180 CPUs. Z80 and Z180 programs can be executed on an eZ80® CPU with little or no modification.

The eZ80® CPU is combined with peripherals, I/O devices, volatile and nonvolatile memory, etc., for various eZ80® CPU products within the eZ80® and eZ80Acclaim! product lines. Refer to the eZ80 and eZ80Acclaim! product specifications for more information on these products.1

1.For the sake of simplicity, the term eZ80® CPU is referred to as CPU for the bulk of this document.