Unit I

Microcontroller Basics
 Contents
8-Bit and 16-bit Microcontroller Internal Block Diagram
CPU, ALU
Address bus, data bus, control signals
Working Registers, SFRs
Clock and Reset circuits
Stack and use of Stack Pointer, Program Counter
I/O Ports
Memory structure, Data Memory, Program Memory, and
Execution of Program
Power saving modes and its operation
Timing Diagram: Timing diagram for execution cycle
Different Addressing Modes
Interrupts priority, interrupt handling
Housekeeping during power on and power situations
Self check and recoveries
 Reference
AVR ATmega32 Datasheet
The AVR Microcontroller and embedded
system, M. A. Mazidi, S. Naimi
 Introduction to Atmel AVR
The AVR architecture was conceived by two students Alf-Egil Bogen
and Vegard Wollan at the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH).

The AVR is a modified Harvard architecture 8-bit RISC single chip

microcontroller which was developed by Atmel in 1996.

The AVR was one of the first microcontroller families to use on-chip
flash memory for program storage, as opposed to one-time
programmable ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM used by other
microcontrollers at the time.
 The AVR is a modified Harvard architecture machine where
program and data is stored in separate physical memory systems
that appear in different address spaces, but having the ability to
read data items from program memory using special instructions.

The creators of the AVR give no definitive answer as to what the

term "AVR" stands for. However, it is commonly accepted that AVR
stands for Alf (Egil Bogen) and Vegard (Wollan)'s Risc processor.
AVR Architecture
 Harvard Vs. Von Neumann Architecture

Harvard Architecture Von Neumann Architecture

Separate memories for data Same memory holds data, instructions.
and instructions. A single set of address/data buses
Two sets of address/data buses between between CPU and memory
CPU and memory
 Modified Harvard Architecture

There is an addition pathway between CPU and the Instruction memory.

It allows words in instruction memory be treated as read-only data, so

that const data (e.g. text string) can be read into Instruction memory
instead of Data memory.

This method preserves more data memory for read/write variables.

Modified Harvard Architecture allows the contents of the Instruction

memory to be treated as if it were data
 CISC and RISC Comparison
CISC RISC
Complex Instruction Set Computing Reduced Instruction Set Computing
Emphasis on hardware Emphasis on software
Include multi-clock complex Include single-clock reduce instruction
instructions only
Memory-to-memory: Load and Register-to-register: Load and
Store incorporated in instructions Store are independent instructions
Small code sizes Large code sizes
Transistors used for storing complex Spends more transistors on memory
instructions registers
 RISC Microcontroller
Till 1980 Trend was to build increasingly complex CPUs with complex set
of instructions like (CISC).

(RISC) : Instruction execute in single cycle

Architecture which reduces the chip complexity by simpler

processing instructions.

RISC architecture CPUs capable of executing only a very limited

(simple) set of instructions.
 CISC Approach
Complete the task in few assembly line code

TASK multiply 2:3, 5:2 locations numbers

and put output in 5:2 location

Command: MULT 2:3, 5:2

MULT is what is known as a "complex instruction.

Instruction doesn`t complete in one cycle execution.

Processor hardware that is capable of

understanding and executing a series of operations.
 RISC Approach
RISC processors only use simple instructions
that can be executed within one clock cycle.

"MULT" command divided into three separate

commands:
LOAD A, 2:3
LOAD B, 5:2
PROD A, B
STORE 2:3, A

Single Cycle Execution

Reduced Instruction Set Computers Advantages
Fast Execution of Instructions due to simple instructions for CPU.

RISC chips require fewer transistors, which makes them cheaper to

design and produce.

Emphasis on software

Single-clock, reduced instruction only

Register to register: LOAD" and "STORE are independent instructions

Spends more transistors on memory registers

 AVR Microcontroller
The Atmel AVR core combines a rich instruction
set with 32 general purpose working registers.

All the 32 registers are directly connected to the

Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), allowing two
independent registers to be accessed in one
single instruction executed in one clock cycle.

The resulting architecture is more code efficient

while achieving throughputs up to ten times
faster than conventional CISC microcontrollers.
 AVR is a family of 8-bit microntrollers with a large range
of variants differing in:
- Size of program-memory (flash)
- Size of EEPROM memory
- Number of I/O pins
- Number of on-chip features such as UART and ADC

Smallest microconroller is the ATTiny11 with 1k flash

ROM, no RAM and 6 I/O pins.

Large such as the ATMEGA128 with 128k flash, 4KB

RAM, 53 I/O pins and lots of on-chip features.
 Basic families
AVRs are generally classified into following:
tinyAVR
0.516 KB program memory
632-pin package
Limited peripheral set

megaAVR the ATmega series

4256 KB program memory
28100-pin package
Extended instruction set (multiply instructions and
instructions for handling larger program memories)
Extensive peripheral set
 XMEGA the ATxmega series
16384 KB program memory
4464100-pin package (A4, A3, A1)
32-pin package: XMEGA-E (XMEGA8E5)
Extended performance features, such as DMA, "Event System",
and cryptography support
Extensive peripheral set with ADCs

Application-specific AVR
megaAVRs with special features not found on the other
members of the AVR family, such as LCD
controller, USB controller, advanced PWM, CAN, etc.

FPSLIC (AVR with FPGA)

FPGA 5k to 40k gates
SRAM for the AVR program code, unlike all other AVRs
AVR core can run at up to 50 MHz
Lets get familiar with the AVR part numbers

ATmega128

Atmel group
Flash
=128K

ATtiny44 AT90S4433

Atmel
Tiny Flash =4K Atmel Classi
Flash =4K
group c
group

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The ATmega32 provides the following features:
32Kbytes of In-System Programmable Flash Program memory with
Read-While-Write capabilities
1024bytes EEPROM
2Kbyte SRAM
32 general purpose I/O lines
32 general purpose working registers
a JTAG interface for Boundary scan
On-chip Debugging support and programming
three flexible Timer/Counters with compare modes
Internal and External Interrupts
a serial programmable USART
a byte oriented Two-wire Serial Interface
an 8-channel, 10-bit ADC with optional differential input stage with
programmable gain (TQFP package only)
a programmable Watchdog Timer with Internal Oscillator
an SPI serial port
six software selectable power saving modes.
 The device is manufactured using Atmels high
density nonvolatile memory technology.

The On chip ISP Flash allows the program

memory to be reprogrammed in-system through
an SPI serial interface, by a conventional
nonvolatile memory programmer, or by an On-
chip Boot program running on the AVR core.

The boot program can use any interface to

download the application program in the
Application Flash memory.
 Software in the Boot Flash section will continue to run
while the Application Flash section is updated,
providing true Read-While-Write operation.

By combining an 8-bit RISC CPU with In-System Self-

Programmable Flash on a monolithic chip, the Atmel
ATmega32 is a powerful microcontroller that provides
a highly-flexible and cost-effective solution to many
embedded control applications.

The Atmel AVR ATmega32 is supported with a full

suite of program and system development tools
including: C compilers, macro assemblers, program
debugger/simulators, in-circuit emulators, and
evaluation kits.
 Pin Configurations

Thin Profile Plastic Quad Flat Package /

Plastic Dual Inline Package Micro Lead Frame Package
ATMega32 Pin out & Descriptions

Port B Port A

Port C
Port D
 Digital IO is the most fundamental mode of connecting a MCU to
external world. The interface is done using a PORT.
A port is the point where internal data from MCU chip comes out
or external data goes in.
They are present is form of PINs of the IC. Most of the PINs are
dedicated to this function and other pins are used for power supply,
clock source etc .
ATMega32 ports are named PORTA, PORTB, PORTC, and PORTD.
 General Purpose IO Ports
Four 8 Bit IO Ports
Port A, B, Port C & Port D
Pins identified as PAx, PBx, PCx or PDx (x=0..7)

Each pin can be configured as:

Input with internal pull-up
Input with no pull-up
Output low
Output high
Register Address of ATmega32 ports
Relations between the Registers and the pins
of AVR
 DDR : Data Direction Register
Value 0 : Port will act as Input
Value 1 : Port will act as Output

PIN : Port INput

The I/O Port in AVR

Case 1 : To make a pin go high or low ( if it is an output pin)- Data Register PORTx
 Pull-up resistors
Pull-up resistors are used in electronic logic circuits to ensure
that inputs to logic systems settle at expected logic levels if
external devices are disconnected or high-impedance.

vcc
1 = Close
PORTx.n 0 = Open

pin n of
port x PINx.n

Outside the Inside the

AVR chip AVR chip

The Pull-up Resistor

Case 2 : To activate / Deactivate pull up resistors-Data Register PORTx

DDRx

0 1
PORTx

0 high impedance Out 0

1 pull-up Out 1
The PINx register gets the reading from the input pins of the
MCU
 Programming
Assign value 0x55 and 0xAA (alternatively after
specific delay) to the pin no. 33 to 40 of
Atmega32 (PDIP).

Exchange the contents of Port A and Port C.

Make the pull up resistor of port D active.

 I/O Bit Manipulation Programming
Single bit (bit-oriented) Instructions for AVR
The Lower 32 I/O Register
 SBI ioReg, bit_num
e.g. : SBI PORTB, 2

SBI Instruction Format

 SBIC ioReg, bit_num

Instruction Format
 e. g: Buzzer System
ATMega32 Architecture
Block Diagram of the AVR MCU Architecture
 In order to maximize performance and parallelism, the
AVR uses a Harvard architecture with separate
memories and buses for program and data.

Instructions in the program memory are executed with

a single level pipelining.

While one instruction is being executed, the next

instruction is pre-fetched from the program memory.
This concept enables instructions to be executed in
every clock cycle.

The program memory is In-System Reprogrammable

Flash memory.
The Pipeline Vs. Non-pipeline Execution
Pipeline activity for both Fetch and Execute
 General Purpose Register File
The fast-access Register File contains 32 8-bit
general purpose working registers with a single clock
cycle access time.

This allows single-cycle Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

operation.

In a typical ALU operation, two operands are output

from the Register File, the operation is executed, and
the result is stored back in the Register File in one
clock cycle.
 Six of the 32 registers can be used as three 16-bit indirect
address register pointers for Data Space addressing.

The Register File is optimized for the AtmelAVR Enhanced

RISC instruction set.

The following input/output schemes are supported by the

Register File:
One 8-bit output operand and one 8-bit result input
Two 8-bit output operands and one 8-bit result input
Two 8-bit output operands and one 16-bit result input
One 16-bit output operand and one 16-bit result input
AVR CPU General Purpose Working Registers
 The X-register, Y-register and Z-register
The registers R26..R31 have some added functions to
their general purpose usage.

These registers are 16-bit address pointers for indirect

addressing of the Data Space.

The three indirect address registers X, Y, and Z are

defined.

In the different addressing modes these address registers

have functions as fixed displacement, automatic
increment, and automatic decrement
The X-, Y-, and Z-registers
 The Arithmetic Logic Unit
The ALU supports arithmetic and logic operations between registers
or between a constant and a register.

Single register operations can also be executed in the ALU.

After an arithmetic operation, the Status Register is updated to

reflect information about the result of the operation.

Program flow is provided by conditional and unconditional jump and

call instructions, able to directly address the whole address space.

Most AVR instructions have a single 16-bit word format.

Every program memory address contains a 16- or 32-bit instruction.

AVR General Purpose Register and ALU
 Status Register
The Status Register contains information about the result of
the most recently executed arithmetic instruction.

This information can be used for altering program flow in

order to perform conditional operations.

Status Register will in many cases remove the need for

using the dedicated compare instructions, resulting in
faster and more compact code.

The Status Register is not automatically stored when

entering an interrupt routine and restored when returning
from an interrupt. This must be handled by software.
 The AVR Status Register SREG

Bit 7 I: Global Interrupt Enable

The Global Interrupt Enable bit must be set for the interrupts to be
enabled.
The individual interrupt enable control is then performed in separate
control registers.
If the Global Interrupt Enable Register is cleared, none of the
interrupts are enabled independent of the individual interrupt enable
settings.
The I-bit is cleared by hardware after an interrupt has occurred, and is
set by the RETI instruction to enable subsequent interrupts.
The I-bit can also be set and cleared by the application with the SEI
and CLI instructions.
 Bit 6 T: Bit Copy Storage
The Bit Copy instructions BLD (Bit LoaD) and BST (Bit STore) use the
T-bit as source or destination for the operated bit.
A bit from a register in the Register File can be copied into T by the
BST instruction, and a bit in T can be copied into a bit in a register in
the Register File by the BLD instruction.

Bit 5 H: Half Carry Flag

The Half Carry Flag H indicates a half carry in some arithmetic
operations.
Half Carry is useful in BCD arithmetic.

Bit 4 S: Sign Bit, S = N V

The S-bit is always an Exclusive-Or between the Negative Flag N and
the Twos Complement Overflow Flag V.
 Bit 3 V: Twos Complement Overflow Flag
The Twos Complement Overflow Flag V supports twos complement
arithmetic.

Bit 2 N: Negative Flag

The Negative Flag N indicates a negative result in an arithmetic or logic
operation.

Bit 1 Z: Zero Flag

The Zero Flag Z indicates a zero result in an arithmetic or logic
operation.

Bit 0 C: Carry Flag

The Carry Flag C indicates a carry in an arithmetic or logic operation.
 Program Flash memory & SRAM

Program Flash memory space is divided in two

sections,
The Boot program section
The Application Program section

Both sections have dedicated Lock bits for write and

read/write protection.

During interrupts and subroutine calls, the return

address Program Counter (PC) is stored on the Stack.
 The Stack is effectively allocated in the general data
SRAM, and consequently the Stack size is only limited
by the total SRAM size and the usage of the SRAM.

All user programs must initialize the SP in the reset

routine (before subroutines or interrupts are
executed).

The Stack Pointer SP is read/write accessible in the

I/O space.

The data SRAM can easily be accessed through the

five different addressing modes supported in the AVR
architecture.
 I/O Memory Space
A flexible interrupt module has its control registers in the I/O space
with an additional global interrupt enable bit in the Status Register.

All interrupts have a separate interrupt vector in the interrupt vector

table.

The interrupts have priority in accordance with their interrupt vector

position. The lower the interrupt vector address, the higher the
priority.

The I/O memory space contains 64 addresses for CPU peripheral

functions as Control Registers, SPI, and other I/O functions.

The I/O Memory can be accessed directly, or as the Data Space

locations following those of the Register File, $20 - $5F.
 Stack Pointer
The Stack is mainly used for storing temporary data, for
storing local variables and for storing return addresses
after interrupts and subroutine calls.

The Stack Pointer Register always points to the top of

the Stack.

Note that the Stack is implemented as growing from

higher memory locations to lower memory locations.

This implies that a Stack PUSH command decreases the

Stack Pointer.
 The Stack Pointer points to the data SRAM Stack area
where the Subroutine and Interrupt Stacks are located.

This Stack space in the data SRAM must be defined by the

program before any subroutine calls are executed or
interrupts are enabled.

The Stack Pointer must be set to point above $60.

 The Stack Pointer is decremented by one when data is pushed onto
the Stack with the PUSH instruction, and it is decremented by two
when the return address is pushed onto the Stack with subroutine
call or interrupt.

The Stack Pointer is incremented by one when data is popped from

the Stack with the POP instruction, and it is incremented by two
when data is popped from the Stack with return from subroutine RET
or return from interrupt RETI.

The AVR Stack Pointer is implemented as two 8-bit registers in the I/O
space.The number of bits actually used is implementation dependent.

Note that the data space in some implementations of the AVR

architecture is so small that only SPL is needed. In this case, the SPH
Register will not be present.
ATMega32 Programmer Model: Registers

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 ATmega32 Memories
The AVR architecture has two main memory
spaces :
The Data Memory space
The Program Memory space

In addition, the ATmega32 features an

EEPROM Memory for data storage.
In-System Reprogrammable Flash Program Memory
The ATmega32 contains 32 Kbytes On-chip In-System
Reprogrammable Flash memory for program storage.

Since all AVR instructions are 16 or 32 bits wide, the Flash

is organized as 16K 16.

For software security, the Flash Program memory space is

divided into two sections,
Boot Program section
Application Program section.

The Flash memory has an endurance of at least 10,000

write/erase cycles.

The ATmega32 Program Counter (PC) is 14 bits wide, thus

addressing the 16K program memory locations.
Flash Program Memory Map
SRAM Data Memory

Data Memory Map

 For Atmega32, the 2144 Data Memory locations address
The Register File
The I/O Memory
The internal data SRAM.

The first 96 locations address the Register File and I/O Memory,
and the next 2048 locations address the internal data SRAM.
 EEPROM Data Memory
The ATmega32 contains 1024 bytes of data EEPROM memory.

It is organized as a separate data space, in which single bytes

can be read and written.

The EEPROM has an endurance of at least 100,000 write/erase

cycles.

EEPROM does not lose its data when power is OFF, whereas
SRAM does.

So, the EEPROM is used for storing data that should rarely be
changed and should not be lost when the power is OFF ;
whereas the SRAM is used for storing data and parameters
that are changed frequently.
 Programming (Instructions)
LDI Rd, K ; (LDI : Load Data Immediate)
Rd represents any general purpose register between R16 to
R31.
K represents immediate 8 bit value.
LDI instruction is not valid for R0 to R15.

ADD Rd, Rr ;

IN Rd, A ; (IN from I/O location)

Rd represents general purpose register
A represents I/O register

OUT A, Rd ; (OUT to I/O location)

Rd represents general purpose register
A represents I/O register
 LDS Rd, K ; (LoaD data from Data space)
K is the data memory address between 0x0000 to
0xFFFF
0 d 31
The location in data memory can be any space can be
any part of the data space; it can be one of the I/O
registers, a location in the internal SRAM, or a GPR.
eg : LDS R20, 0x1; (valid instruction)
R20 <= R1
 STS K, Rr ; (STore direct to data Space)
K is an address between 0x0000 to 0xFFFF;
The location can be in any part of the data
memory space; it can be one of the I/O registers,
a location in the SRAM, or a GPR.
eg : STS 0x1, R10;
R1 <= R10

WAP to assign a value 0x55 on PORTA register.

WAP to perform the addition between the

contents available on port A and port C and
display the result on pin no. 01-08 (ATmega32)
(DIP packaging).
The Lower 32 I/O Register
eg :

Answer :
IN Vs. LDS
Advantages

Disadvantage
 AVR Status Register

eg.1
;
;

eg.2
;
;
 Stack and Stack Pointer
The CPU needs Stack storage area because there are only
limited no. of registers.

Two registers from I/O memory space are used to initialize

stack pointer.

Stack Pointer

Initializing Stack Pointer :

When AVR is powered up , the SP register contains the value 0,
which is the address of R0.
Therefore, we must initialize the SP at the beginning of program.
 Pushing onto the stack
The Stack Pointer (SP) points towards the top of the
stack.

As we push data onto the stack, the data are saved

where SP points to, and the SP is decremented by one.

PUSH Rr;
Rr can be any general purpose registers (R0 - R31)

PUSH R10;
Store R10 onto the stack and decrement SP.
 Popping from the Stack
Popping the contents of the stack back into the given
register is the opposite process of pushing.

When the POP instruction is executed, the SP is

incremented and the top location of the stack is copied
back to the register.

That means the stack is LIFO memory.

POP Rr;
Rr can be any general purpose registers (R0 - R31)

eg : POP R16;
Increment SP, and then load top of the stack to R16
 eg : 0x 08 ; After Execution :
;
0x 5F ;
;

;
;
;

;
;

;
;

;
;
CALL instruction and the role of Stack
When the subroutine is called, the processor first
saves the address of the instruction just below the
CALL instruction on the stack (contains of PC), and
then transfers control to that subroutine.

This is how the CPU knows where to resume when it

returns from the called subroutine.

The higher byte of PC is pushed onto the stack first,

and then the lower byte is pushed.
 RET instruction and the role of Sack
RET instruction is executed at the end of
subroutine.

CALL instruction PUSH the address of next

instruction to be executed (contains of PC) onto
the stack whereas RET instruction POP it after
the execution of subroutine.

After execution of RET instruction, the top

location of the is copied back to the PC and the
SP is incremented.
 Analyze the stack for CALL instruction.
0x 08 ;
;
0x 5F ;
;

;
;
;
;
;
;
;

;
;
;
Ans:
;
;
 AVR Time Delay
Instruction cycle Time for the AVR
CPU takes certain amount of time to execute instruction, this
time is referred to as Machine cycle.

Because all the instructions in the AVR are either 2-byte or

4-byte, most instruction takes no more than one or two
machine cycle to execute.

In the AVR family, the length of machine cycle depends on

the frequency of the oscillator connected to the AVR system.

In the AVR, one machine cycle consists of one oscillator

period, which means that with each oscillator clock, one
machine cycle passes.

Therefore, to calculate the machine cycle for the AVR, we

take the inverse of the crystal frequency.
 Timers & Counters in AVR
Many application need to count an event or to generate time
delays. So, there are counter registers for this purpose in
microcontroller.

Counter is used to count how many times an event has

occurred.

Timer is used to calculate time delay or to introduce time

delay.

A general view of timers and counters in Microcontroller

 Every timer needs a clock pulse to tick. The clock pulse
may be internal or external.

If we use internal clock source, then the frequency of the

crystal oscillator is fed into the timer. Therefore, it is used
for time delay generation and consequently is called a
timer.

By choosing the external clock option, we feed pulses

through one of the AVRs pins. This is called a counter.

In AVR Atmega32, 3 timers are available:

Timer0 (8 bit timer)
Timer1 (16 bit timer)
Timer2 (8 bit timer)
 Basic registers of timers
In AVR, for each timer , there are registers such
as :
TCNTn (Timer/Counter register)
TOVn (Timer Overflow flag)
TCCRn (Timer/Counter Control Register)
OCRn (Output Compare Register)
 TCNTn (Timer/Counter register)
The TCNT register is a counter. Upon reset, the
TCNTn contains 0.
It counts up with each pulse.
The contents of the timers / counters can be
accessed using the TCNTn.
We can load a value into the TCNTn register or read
its value.

eg. : LDI R20, 0x 15; R20 = 0x 15

OUT TCNT0 , R20; TCNT0 = R20

OR IN R19, TCNT0 ; R19 = TCNT0

 TOVn (Timer Overflow flag)
When a timer overflows, its TOVn flag will be set.

TCCRn (Timer/Counter Control Register)

For setting mode of operation

OCRn (Output Compare Register)

The content of the OCRn is compared with the
content of the TCNTn register.
When they are equal the OCFn (Output Compare
Flag) flag will be set.
 Timer0 Programming
Timer0 is a 8-bit counter so TCNT0 is 8 bit
register.

TCCR0 Register
The internal structure of ATmega32 Timer
TIFR (Timer/ Counter Interrupt Flag Register)
 TOV0 (Timer0 Overflow)
The flag is set when the counter overflows, going from
0xFF to 0x00.

When the timer rolls over from 0xFF to 0x00, the TOV0
flag is set to 1 and remains set until the software clears
it.

In order to clear the flag we need to write 1 to it.

eg. : LDI R20, 0x01;

OUT TIFR, R20; TIFR = 0b00000001;
(It will clear the TOV0 bit.)
Microcontrollers
Embedded Systems

An embedded system is a special-purpose computer

system designed to perform one or a few dedicated
functions often with real-time
An integrated device which consists of multiple devices
Microprocessor (MPU)
Memory
I/O (Input/Output) ports
Often has its own dedicated software