The 8086 microprocessor is a 16-bit microprocessor introduced by Intel in 1978. It is the first member of the x86 family of processors, which has become the most widely used architecture in the personal computer industry. The 8086 microprocessor is a complex integrated circuit that performs various operations and executes instructions to carry out tasks in a computer system.

Architecture of 8086 microprocessor:

The architecture of the 8086 microprocessor can be divided into several components:

1. Bus Interface Unit (BIU):
- The BIU is responsible for fetching and decoding instructions from memory.
- It contains the Instruction Pointer (IP) register that stores the address of the next instruction to be executed.
- It also includes the Segment Register (CS) that holds the base address of the code segment.

2. Execution Unit (EU):
- The EU executes instructions fetched by the BIU.
- It contains the General Purpose Registers (AX, BX, CX, DX) used for arithmetic and data manipulation.
- It also includes the Index Registers (SI, DI, BP) and the Stack Pointer (SP) for addressing data in memory.

3. Memory:
- The 8086 microprocessor can access a maximum of 1 MB of memory.
- It uses a segmented memory model, where data and instructions are stored in separate segments.
- The segment registers (CS, DS, SS, ES) hold the base addresses of the code, data, stack, and extra segments, respectively.

4. Instruction Set:
- The 8086 microprocessor supports a wide range of instructions for data manipulation, arithmetic and logical operations, control flow, and I/O operations.
- Instructions are encoded as binary codes and executed by the EU.

5. Interrupts and Interrupt Vector Table:
- The 8086 microprocessor supports interrupts, which are signals that temporarily halt the execution of a program to handle external events or requests.
- Interrupts are handled by the Interrupt Vector Table, which contains the addresses of interrupt service routines.

6. Control Unit:
- The Control Unit coordinates the operation of the BIU and EU.
- It controls the flow of instructions, data transfers, and interrupts within the microprocessor.

7. System Bus:
- The 8086 microprocessor is connected to the system bus, which allows it to communicate with other devices such as memory, peripherals, and input/output devices.

Conclusion:
The 8086 microprocessor architecture consists of the Bus Interface Unit, Execution Unit, memory, instruction set, interrupts, control unit, and system bus. It provides the foundation for executing instructions and performing various tasks in a computer system.