(Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter)
Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter(UART)
Used for serial data transfer using RS-232 protocol
RS-232protocol:
Serial asynchronous Full duplex protocol
Physical Specification of RS -232
Logic Voltage level
High Mark
Low(space) Undefined Simplest in terms of programming Available in most microcontrollers (in built UART)
-12V to -3V
+12V to +3V +3V to -3V
RS-232 Voltage Level :
Mark (-12 to -3) Space (+12 to +3)
Time
TTL voltage level (Hardware board):
High (+5V) Low (0V)
Time
Serial communication Block Diagram
Timing Diagram
Below is a timing diagram for the transmission of a single byte Uses a single wire for transmission Each block represents a bit that can be a mark(logic 1) or space(logic 0)
mark
space
Time
The start bit marks the beginning of a new word When detected, the receiver synchronizes with the new data stream
Start
Next follows the data bits(5,6,7,8 or 9) The least significant bit (LSB) is sent first 8 Data bits LSB MSB
The parity bit is added to make the number of 1s even (even parity) or odd (odd parity) This bit can be used by the receiver to check for transmission errors Use of parity bits is optional Parity Bit
The stop bit marks the end of transmission Receiver checks to make sure it is 1 Separates one word from the start bit of the next word You can send 2 stop bits also Stop Bit
In the configuration shown, it takes 11 bits to send 8 bits of data
8 Data bits Start LSB
Parity MSB bit
Stop Bit
START & STOP BIT :
The start bit is low and the stop bit is high. This ensures that between two bytes there's always a high-to-low transition the receiver can synchronize on.
Stop bit defines the number of stop bits implemented in the transmitter
This parameter can be set to 1(default) or 2data bits
Word is given to the UART for asynchronous transmission Start Bit is added to the beginning of the word START BIT is added to alert the receiver about sending of the word
It also forces the clock in the receiver into synchronization with the clock in the transmitter
These clocks must be accurate enough to not have the frequency drift by more than 10% Once after sending start Bit , the individual bits of the word of data are send, with LSB first When receiver has received all of the bit in the data word, it may check for the Parity Bits Then receiver looks for a Stop Bit
For example, at 9600 bps a bit time is 104 s
Then it would sample the start bit at T0 + 52 s, the first data bit at T0 + 52 s + 104 s, the second data bit at T0 + 52 s + 2 104 s, and so on.
T0 is the falling edge of the start bit.
When both receiver and transmitter clock is synchronized
If the Stop Bit does not appear then the UART considers the entire word to be garbled and will report a Framing Error to the host processor when the data word is read. The usual cause of a Framing Error is that the sender and receiver clocks were not running at the same speed, or that the signal is interrupted.
When both receiver and transmitter clock is not synchronized
Transmission Requirement
Before transmission begins, transmitter and receiver must agree on: Baud rate (300,600,etc)
1,1.5 or 2 stop bits
5,6,7 or 8 data bits Even, odd or no parity
Approaches
Approaches
Polling
Interrupt driven approaches
Polling Flowchart :
Start
Initialize
Ready Service Device 1
Check Device 1 Busy
Service Device N
Check Device 2 Busy
CPU keeps on checking periodically if an event which is desired has occurred Occurrence of event is generally signaled by setting a flag
Advantages:
Simple Knowledge of interrupt priorities not required
Predictable behavior
Disadvantages:
Eats up CPU time
If there are too many services/devices to be polled ,responsiveness will decrease
Interrupt Driven Approach:
Start ISR
Initialize
Save current state and disable interrupt
Execute Main Loop
Service Interrupt
Restore State and Enable interrupt
Advantages:
CPU is free for majority of the time
Responsiveness is better as compared to polling based approach
Disadvantages:
Software implementation is complex Nested interrupts can lead to stack over flow(RTOS)
Difference Between UART & USART
Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter Universal Synchronous Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter
Device requires only data
we can send a clock along with data
Data need not to be continuous or may be burst data but is transmitted at fixed rate Data is send byte by byte
Data is continuous at fixed rate
Data is send in the form of blocks
Maximum speed is 100 kbps
Speed can reach upto 115 kbps
Example: NS 16450, NS16C550
Example: Intel 82C51
