Embedded Systems

Engr. Rashid Farid Chishti

e-mail: chishti@iiu.edu.pk

Chapter 01: The AVR Microcontroller:

History and Features

International Islamic University H-10, Islamabad, Pakistan

http://www.iiu.edu.pk
 General Purpose Microprocessors vs. Microcontrollers

 Microprocessor
 No RAM, ROM, I/O Ports on chip itself
 e.g. Pentium (Intel), PowerPC (Motorola), Spark (SUN)
 Applications: Desktop, Laptop, workstations, Servers

 Microcontroller
 Microprocessor, RAM, ROM, timers, I/O Ports on a single
chip.
 8051(Intel), 68HC08 (Motorola), AVR (Atmel), Z8 (Zilog),
PIC (Microchip), ARM (Advanced RISC Machine).
 Application: TV Remote Control, video games, robots,
General Purpose Microprocessors vs. Microcontrollers
Data BUS

General Serial
IO
Purpose RAM ROM Timer COM
Port
Micro Port
processor Address BUS

Control BUS

General Purpose Microprocessors

CPU RAM ROM

Serial
Timer I/O
Port

Microcontrollers
 ARM , Motorola 68K, PowerPC, PIC32
8-bit Microcontrollers are 32-bit µC

Table 1-6: Some of the Companies that Produce Widely Used 8-bit Microcontrollers
Company Web Site Architecture
Atmel http://www.atmel.com AVR and 8051
Microchip http://www.microchip.com PIC16xxx/18xxx
Intel http://www.intel.com/design/mcs51 8051
Philips/Signetics http://www.semiconductors.philips.com 8051
Zilog http://www.zilog.com Z8 and Z80
Dallas Semi/Maxim http://www.maxim-ic.com 8051
Freescale Semi http://freescale.com 68HC11/HCS08

Table 1-7: Comparison of 8051, PIC18 Family and AVR (40-pin package)
Feature 8052 PIC18F452 ATmega32
Program ROM 8K 32K 32K
Data RAM (maximum space) 256 bytes 2K 2K
EEPROM 0 bytes 256 bytes 1K
Timers 3 4 4
I/O Pins 32 35 32
Embedded Systems
 An embedded system is controlled by its own
internal microprocessor (or microcontroller)
as opposed to an external controller.
 A PC is connected to various embedded
products such as keyboard, printer, modem,
disk controller, sound card, CD-ROM driver,
mouse and so on.
 a printer gets data and prints it. A mouse
takes coordinates and sends to the PC.
Embedded Products
 Computing  Cars  Communications
 PC  Anti-lock breaks  Wire-line
 Air bags Phone
 Notebook
 Engine Control  Cellular
 Laptop Phones
 Storage  Transmission
Control  PDA
 Color printer  Climate control  Pager
 Laser printer  Collusion  Fax machine
 Modem avoidance  Intercom
 Cable modem  Navigation  Cards
 Copier  Trip Computer  Banking
 Scanner  Instrumentation  Electronic
 Keyless entry Purse
 Digital camera
 Social Security
 Tolls
Embedded Products
 Consumer  Consumer  Connectivity
 VCR, CD  Toys  Cable TV
 Video games  Answering  Cable Modem
machine  Router
 DVD Player  Camcorder  Switch
 Stereo  Musical  Hub
Smoke alarm Instruments
  Firewall
 Sewing
 Camera Machine
 Remote Control  Exercise
 Garage Door equipment
Opener
 Security System
Choosing a microcontroller
 Speed: What is the highest speed a microcontroller
supports?
 Packaging: Is it DIP (dual inline package) or a QFP
(quad flat package) or some other type?
 Power Consumption: Critical for battery powered
products.
 The amount of RAM and ROM on chip
 The number of timers and I/O pins on chip
 Cost per unite
 Availability of Compiler, Simulator, Debugger.
 Availability of chip in market
The AVR microcontroller Family
 The basic architecture of AVR was designed
by two students of Norwegian Institute of
Technology (NTH), Alf-Egil Bogen and
Vegard Wollan, and then was bought and
developed by Atmel in 1996.
 The AVR stands for Advanced Virtual RISC,
or Alf and Vegard RISC.
 The AVR is an 8-bit RISC single-chip
microcontroller with Harvard architecture.
RISC and CISC
 CISC(Complex Instruction Set Computer)
 A large number of instructions, typically from 100 to 250
instructions
 Some instructions that perform specialized task and are used
infrequently
 A large variety of addressing modes, typically from 5 to 20
different modes
 Variable-length instruction formats

 RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer)

 Relatively few instructions
 Relatively few addressing modes
 Fixed-length, easily decoded instruction format
Harvard and von Neumann Architecture
 von Neumann (Princeton) architecture.
 The same bus is used for accessing both the code and data
 Pentium Processor is based on von Neumann Architecture
 Harvard architecture
 Separate buses are used for accessing the code and data
memory.
 That means that we need four sets of buses:
1. A set of data buses for carrying data into and out of the CPU,
2. A set of address buses for accessing the data,
3. A set of data buses for carrying code into the CPU, and
4. An address bus for accessing the code
 This is easy to implement inside an IC chip such as a
microcontroller where both ROM code and data RAM are
internal (on-chip) and distances are on the micron and millimeter
scale
Harvard and von Neumann Architecture
Data bus Data bus
Code Data
Memory Address bus CPU Address bus Memory
Control bus Control bus

Harvard architecture

Code Data
Memory Memory

Data bus
CPU Address bus
Control bus

Von Neumann architecture

The AVR microcontroller Family
40 PIN DIP
(XCK/T0) PB0 1 40 PA0 (ADC0)
(T1) PB1 2 39 PA1 (ADC1)
(INT2/AIN0) PB2 3 38 PA2 (ADC2)
RAM EEPROM Timers (OC0/AIN1) PB3 4 MEGA32 37 PA3 (ADC3)
(SS) PB4 5 36 PA4 (ADC4)
PROGRAM (MOSI) PB5 6 35 PA5 (ADC5)
(MISO) PB6 7 34 PA6 (ADC6)
Flash ROM
(SCK) PB7 8 33 PA7 (ADC7)
RESET 9 32 AREF
Program Data VCC 10 31 AGND
Bus Bus GND 11 30 AVCC
CPU XTAL2 12 29 PC7 (TOSC2)
XTAL1 13 28 PC6 (TOSC1)
(RXD) PD0 14 27 PC5 (TDI)
(TXD) PD1 15 26 PC4 (TDO)
(INT0) PD2 16 25 PC3 (TMS)
(INT1) PD3 17 24 PC2 (TCK)
(OC1B) PD4 18 23 PC1 (SDA)
Interrupt Other (OC1A) PD5 19 22 PC0 (SCL)
OSC Ports
Unit Peripherals (ICP) PD6 20 21 PD7 (OC2)

I/O
PINS

The Simplified view of an AVR Microcontroller

The AVR Family
 The AVR can be classified into 4 groups: 32-Bit, XMega, Mega,
and Tiny AVR MCU.
 32-bit AVR (AT32xxxxxxx)
These are the world's most efficient 32-bit MCU.
 Program memory: 16K to 512K bytes

 Package: 48 to 144 pins

 Operating Frequency: Up to 66 MHz

 Performance: 1.5 MIPS/MHz

 XMega AVR (ATxmegaxxxx)

The Atmel AVR XMEGA A series is the most performance
oriented series within its family
 Program memory: 16K to 384K bytes

 Package: 32 to 100 pins

 Operating Frequency: Up to 32 MHz

 Performance: 1.0 MIPS/MHz

The AVR Family
 Mega AVR (ATmegaxxxx)
These are powerful microcontrollers with more than 120 instructions
and lots of different peripheral capabilities, which can be used in
different designs. Some of their characteristics are as follows:
 Program memory: 4K to 256K bytes

 Package: 28 to 100 pins

 Operating Frequency: Up to 20 MHz

 Performance: 1.0 MIPS/MHz

 Tiny AVR (ATtinyxxxx)

This group have less instructions and smaller packages in
comparison to mega family. You can design systems with low costs
and power consumptions using the Tiny AVRs. Some of their
characteristics are as follows:
 Program memory: 0.5K to 8K bytes

 Package: 6 to 32 pins

 Operating Frequency: Up to 20 MHz

 Performance: 1.0 MIPS/MHz

 The AVR Family
Table 1-3: Some Members of the ATmega Family
Part Number Code Data Data I/O pins ADC Timers
ROM RAM EEPROM
ATmega8 8K 1K 512 byte 23 8 3
ATmega16 16K 1K 512 bye 32 10 3
ATmega32 32K 2K 1K 32 10 3
ATmega64 64K 4K 2K 54 10 4
ATmega128 128K 8K 4K 86 10 6
All the above chips have USART for serial data transfer
The AVR Family
Table 1-4: Some Members of the Tiny Family
Part Number Code Data Data I/O ADC Timers
ROM RAM EEPROM Pins
ATtiny13 1K 64 64 6 4 1
ATtiny25 2K 128 128 6 4 2
ATtiny44 4K 256 256 12 8 2
ATtiny84 8K 512 512 12 8 2
Let’s get familiar with the AVR part numbers
ATxmega64A1 ATmega128

Atmel xmega Atmel group

Flash =64K Flash =128K
group

AT32UC3L0256
ATtiny44
Atmel 32-bit
Flash =256K
Atmel group
Tiny Flash =4K
group