The high-performance, low-power Atmel 8-bit AVR RISC-based microcontroller combines 64KB ISP flash memory with read-while-write capabilities, 2KB EEPROM, 4KB SRAM, 53 general purpose I/O lines, 32 general purpose working registers, a real time counter, four flexible timer/counters with compare modes and PWM, two USARTs, a byte-oriented 2-wire serial interface, an 8-channel/10-bit A/D converter with optional differential input stage with programmable gain, programmable watchdog timer with internal oscillator, SPI serial port, a JTAG (IEEE 1149.1 compliant) test interface for on-chip debugging and programming, and six software selectable power saving modes. The device operates between 2.7-5.5 volts.

By executing powerful instructions in a single clock cycle, the device achieves throughputs approaching 1 MIPS per MHz, balancing power consumption and processing speed.