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Intel 8048

The Intel 8048 was the microcontroller used in IBM PC keyboards. The 8048 was inspired by, and similar to, the Fairchild F8 microprocessor[?] but, being a microcontroller, was designed for low cost and small size. The 8048 has a modified Harvard architecture, with program ROM on chip and 64 to 256 bytes of RAM also on chip. I/O is mapped in its own address space.

Though the 8048 was eventually replaced by the very popular but bizarre Intel 8051 and Intel 8052[?], even in 2000 it is still very popular due to its low cost, wide availability, and development tools.

[Was it really _the_first_ microcontroller? Are the ROM and RAM both on-chip?]

This article (or an earlier version of it) contains material from FOLDOC, used with permission.

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