Silicon Labs MCUniversity Program
In support of colleges and universities worldwide, Silicon Laboratories has established the MCUniversity Program. The MCUniversity Program is a complete course on mixed-signal MCUs that includes lecture materials, development tools, tutorial questions, lab exercises and required solutions. Professors can quickly incorporate the content into their curriculum without having to develop lectures or code.
Registered professors can also log onto the MCUniversity support community page to access the solutions for the labs and tutorials, share teaching and lab ideas and post files. Solutions are not available directly to students.
The course is based on the second edition of the Embedded Programming with Field-Programmable Mixed-Signal Microcontrollers book that covers in detail the features of the C8051F020 mixed-signal MCU, enabling students to go through basic functions and complex analog features.
Students perform all labs using the Silicon Labs' USB ToolStick platform. Students do not need software, lab equipment or even a power supply for the ToolStick. The software development tools consist of the easy-to-use Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and the ToolStick Virtual Display tool set. The ToolStick Virtual Display tools avoid the need for expensive lab equipment, only a PC is required to develop on the MCU.
Watch the video to learn more about the program.
Hardware and Software Set Up
To setup and use the MCUniversity kit, please download and install the software packages from the Development Software table below.
Lab exercises are provided with solutions in Assembly and C languages. All the lab exercises correspond to the lectures for the entire course. The assembly programming assignments provided work with the Keil software A51 macro assembler and the C programming assignments work with both Keil and SDCC compilers.
Detailed instructions to setup the hardware and software are available in the ToolStick University Daughter Card User's Guide. You can also contact Silicon Laboratories at mcuapps@silabs.com for all technical questions.
All the educational material, including a PDF version of the textbook and software tools are available below. The schematic diagram, bill-of-materials and gerber files needed to build the ToolStick University Daughter Card are also available for download.
Development Software Downloads
Silicon Laboratories IDE
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Includes a project manager, source editor, source-level debugger and other utilities. The IDE interfaces to third party development tool chains to provide system designers a complete embedded software development environment |
MCUniversity Development Tools
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Includes Silicon Labs MCU Virtual Tools, example code, and documentation; it also includes a schematic, bill of materials and fab drawing for easy development of a ToolStick University Daughter Card |
SDCC Small Device
C Compiler
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A freeware, open source, C compiler that includes support for 8051 microcontrollers; the Silicon Labs IDE can be configured to use SDCC, Keil and many other tool chains |
Educational Materials Downloads
MCUniversity Course Material
Simplified Chinese Version
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Set of 12 lecture notes (English and Simplified Chinese) covering each chapter of the textbook in PowerPoint with speaker's notes; it also includes lab and tutorial questions and additional advanced lectures covering topics such as analog performance measurement, digital signal processing and mixed-signal design techniques |
Labs and Tutorial Solutions
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Solutions for each lab exercise and tutorial question provided in the textbook; only available for registered professors |
Embedded Programming Textbook
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PDF version of the Embedded Programming textbook with an updated chapter on the ToolStick Development Platform |
ToolStick Virtual Tools
The ToolStick Virtual Tools software replaces the need for expensive lab equipment like an oscilloscope. The software provides both a virtual LCD and a virtual oscilloscope.
MCUniversity Kit
This kit contains all the material needed by the students:
- ToolStick University Starter Kit
- Embedded Programming Textbook
- Silicon Labs MCU Selector Guide
- Engineer Notepad
- Pen
Buy Now - MCUniversity Kit
Toolstick University Starter Kit
The ToolStick University Starter Kit is a complete development platform for MCUniversity course lab exercises. The ToolStick base adapter provides a USB debug interface and data communications path between a Windows PC and the C8051F020 microcontroller. The base adapter is powered from the USB port and also provides power to the University Daughter Card. The C8051F020 microcontroller and application circuitry are located on the daughter card.
Kit Contents:
- ToolStick base adapter
- ToolStick University Daughter Card
- 3-foot USB extension cable
Buy Now - ToolStick University Starter Kit
ToolStick University Daughter Card
The ToolStick University Daughter Card features a Silicon Labs C8051F020 Mixed-Signal MCU. The external circuitry on the daughter card includes a 22.1184 MHz crystal to enable UART communication, 4 LEDs, 4 push-button switches, an 8-bit DIP switch, a potentiometer and a reset switch. Ports P0, P1 and P2 of the C8051F020 MCU are accessible via standard headers. A separate header is available for analog input/output that connects external signals to the ADC, comparator inputs and DAC outputs of the C8051F020 MCU. A small area for prototyping is also provided that allows a student to construct any desired additional interface circuitry without the need to build a custom PCB.
Buy Now - ToolStick University Daughter Card
University Prototype Board
The University Prototype Board provides easy development and debugging of applications on the C8051F020 microcontroller through use of a JTAG debug header and direct through-hole access to each pin.
Buy Now - University Prototype Board
Embedded Programming Textbook
Embedded Systems with Field-Programmable Mixed-Signal µControllers examines the features of an advanced mixed-signal microcontroller. Only the relevant information is presented in a concise manner which is simple to read and comprehend. All the clutter has been cut out to make learning easy and interesting. At the same time all the knowledge that is required to accomplish a project is covered in fair details. Targeted at anyone involved in learning microcontrollers either at an introductory or advanced level, 
Embedded Systems serves as a handy reference and source of information for projects using microcontrollers to design and build systems.
The textbook content includes:
- 8051 architecture overview
- Introduction to Silicon Labs C8051F020
- Instruction set
- ASM directives
- System clock, crossbar and GPIO
- C8051F020 C programming
- ToolStick University Daughter Card
- Timer operation and programming
- ADC, DAC and voltage comparator
- Serial communication
- Interrupts
Buy Now - Embedded Programming Textbook
Becoming a Silicon Labs MCUniversity Program Member
To become an universityprogram@silabs.com: MCUniversity program member please e-mail the following information to
- University name and address
- Professor or faculty contact and academic position
- Microcontroller course title
- Phone number
- E-mail address
Discounted Tools
Silicon Laboratories’ comprehensive development kits come complete with all of the required hardware and software to develop complex embedded systems quickly and easily. These development tools assist faculty and students with everything needed for basic introductory courses to the most advanced design classes. The C8051F330DK development kit is especially well-matched for senior design projects. Silicon Laboratories offers a discount of 50% on the following tools to qualified MCUniversity program members:
Third-Party Tool Support
A broad range of third-party compilers and development tools are available, including a free C Compiler from Small Device C Compiler (SDCC), which is supported by Application Note 198: Integrating SDCC 8051 Tools into the Silicon Labs IDE.
Contact our MCUniversity Relations Team
Silicon Laboratories is dedicated to making a valuable impact on the university community and is ready to work with you. To contact our team, please send an e-mail to universityprogram@silabs.com