Editing AVR microcontrollers (section)

{{Short description|Family of microcontrollers}}
{{About|the series of AVR microcontrollers|the AVR instruction set|Atmel AVR instruction set}}
{{Confuse|automatic voltage regulator}}

[[File:Avr_logo.svg|right|thumb|AVR logo]]
[[File:AVR_group.jpg|right|thumb|Various older AVR microcontrollers: ATmega8 in 28-pin narrow dual in-line package ([[Dual in-line package|DIP]]-28N), ATxmega128A1 in 100-pin thin quad flat pack ([[TQFP]]-100) package, ATtiny45 in 8-pin small outline ([[Small Outline Integrated Circuit|SO]]-8) package]]
[[File:ATMEGA328P-PU.jpg|right|thumb|[[ATmega328]]P in 28-pin narrow dual in-line package ([[Dual in-line package|DIP]]-28N). It is commonly found on [[Arduino]] boards.]]

'''AVR''' is a family of [[microcontrollers]] developed since 1996 by [[Atmel]], acquired by [[Microchip Technology]] in 2016. They are 8-bit RISC single-chip microcontrollers based on a modified Harvard architecture. AVR was one of the first microcontroller families to use on-chip [[flash memory]] for program storage, as opposed to [[Programmable read-only memory|one-time programmable ROM]], [[EPROM]], or [[EEPROM]] used by other microcontrollers at the time.

AVR microcontrollers are used numerously as [[embedded system]]s. They are especially common in hobbyist and educational embedded applications, popularized by their inclusion in many of the [[Arduino]] line of open hardware development boards.

The AVR 8-bit microcontroller architecture was introduced in 1997. By 2003, Atmel had shipped 500 million AVR flash microcontrollers.<ref>Atmel press release. [http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/atmels-avr-microcontroller-ships-500-million-units-72278687.html "Atmel's AVR Microcontroller Ships 500 Million Units"].</ref>