The ATMEGA8A-PU is a high-performance, low-power 8-bit AVR RISC-based Microcontroller combines 8kb ISP flash memory with read-while-write capabilities, 512B EEPROM, 23 general purpose I/O lines, 32 general purpose working registers, three flexible timer/counters with compare modes, internal and external interrupts, serial programmable USART, a byte oriented two-wire serial interface, 6-channel 10-bit A/D converter (8-channel in TQFP and QFN/MLF packages), programmable watchdog timer with internal oscillator, SPI serial port and five software selectable power saving modes. The device operates between 2.7 to 5.5V. By executing powerful instructions in a single clock cycle, the device achieves throughputs approaching 1 MIPS per MHz, balancing power consumption and processing speed.