Intel MCS-51

The Intel MCS-51 (commonly termed 8051) is an internally Harvard architecture, complex instruction set computing (CISC) instruction set, single chip microcontroller (µC) series developed by Intel in 1980 for use in embedded systems. Intel's original versions were popular in the 1980s and early 1990s and enhanced binary compatible derivatives remain popular today.

Intel's original MCS-51 family was developed using N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS) technology like its predecessor Intel MCS-48, but later versions, identified by a letter C in their name (e.g., 80C51) used complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology and consume less power than their NMOS predecessors. This made them more suitable for battery-powered devices.

The family was continued in 1996 with the enhanced 8-bit MCS-151 and the 8/16/32-bit MCS-251 family of binary compatible microcontrollers. While Intel no longer manufactures the MCS-51, MCS-151 and MCS-251 family, enhanced binary compatible derivatives made by numerous vendors remain popular today. Some derivatives integrate a digital signal processor (DSP). Beyond these physical devices, several companies also offer MCS-51 derivatives as IP cores for use in field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designs.