ATMEGA8A-AUR Atmel, ATMEGA8A-AUR Datasheet - Page 84

• Manufacturer Part Number: ATMEGA8A-AUR
• Description: MCU AVR 8KB FLASH 16MHZ 32TQFP
• Manufacturer: Atmel
• Series: AVR® ATmegar

Specifications of ATMEGA8A-AUR

• Core Processor: AVR
• Core Size: 8-Bit
• Speed: 16MHz
• Connectivity: I²C, SPI, UART/USART
• Peripherals: Brown-out Detect/Reset, POR, PWM, WDT
• Number Of I /o: 23
• Program Memory Size: 8KB (4K x 16)
• Program Memory Type: FLASH
• Eeprom Size: 512 x 8
• Ram Size: 1K x 8
• Voltage - Supply (vcc/vdd): 2.7 V ~ 5.5 V
• Data Converters: A/D 8x10b
• Oscillator Type: Internal
• Operating Temperature: -40°C ~ 85°C
• Package / Case: *
• Lead Free Status / RoHS Status: Lead free / RoHS Compliant

16.5
8159D–AVR–02/11
Counter Unit
The main part of the 16-bit Timer/Counter is the programmable 16-bit bi-directional counter unit.
Figure 16-2
Figure 16-2. Counter Unit Block Diagram
Signal description (internal signals):
The 16-bit counter is mapped into two 8-bit I/O memory locations: counter high (TCNT1H) con-
taining the upper eight bits of the counter, and Counter Low (TCNT1L) containing the lower eight
bits. The TCNT1H Register can only be indirectly accessed by the CPU. When the CPU does an
access to the TCNT1H I/O location, the CPU accesses the High byte temporary register
(TEMP). The temporary register is updated with the TCNT1H value when the TCNT1L is read,
and TCNT1H is updated with the temporary register value when TCNT1L is written. This allows
the CPU to read or write the entire 16-bit counter value within one clock cycle via the 8-bit data
bus. It is important to notice that there are special cases of writing to the TCNT1 Register when
the counter is counting that will give unpredictable results. The special cases are described in
the sections where they are of importance.
Depending on the mode of operation used, the counter is cleared, incremented, or decremented
at each timer clock (clk
selected by the clock select bits (CS12:0). When no clock source is selected (CS12:0 = 0) the
timer is stopped. However, the TCNT1 value can be accessed by the CPU, independent of
whether clk
count operations.
The counting sequence is determined by the setting of the Waveform Generation mode bits
(WGM13:0) located in the Timer/Counter Control Registers A and B (TCCR1A and TCCR1B).
There are close connections between how the counter behaves (counts) and how waveforms
are generated on the Output Compare Outputs OC1x. For more details about advanced count-
ing sequences and waveform generation, see
count
direction
clear
clk
TOP
BOTTOM
TCNTnH (8-bit) TCNTnL (8-bit)
T
TEMP (8-bit)
1
T
shows a block diagram of the counter and its surroundings.
DATA BUS
1
is present or not. A CPU write overrides (has priority over) all counter clear or
TCNTn (16-bit Counter)
T
1
). The clk
(8-bit)
Increment or decrement TCNT1 by 1.
Select between increment and decrement.
Clear TCNT1 (set all bits to zero).
Timer/Counter clock.
Signalize that TCNT1 has reached maximum value.
Signalize that TCNT1 has reached minimum value (zero).
T
1
direction
can be generated from an external or internal clock source,
count
clear
Control Logic
“Modes of Operation” on page
TOP
BOTTOM
TOVn
(Int. Req.)
clk
Tn
( From Prescaler )
Clock Select
Detector
Edge
ATmega8A
90.
Tn
84