Timer/counter

Sepehr Naimi

www.NicerLand.com
A counter register

UP Counter Register Load

COUT

2
A simple design (counting people)
First design

Sensor UP Counter Register Load

COUT 4

Comparator
=

3
A simple design (counting people)
Second design

Sensor UP Counter Register Load

COUT

$FC

4
A simple design (making delay)

UP Counter Register Load

COUT

$FC

5
 A generic timer/counter
 Delay generating
 Counting
 Wave-form generating
 Capturing

Oscillator 0
Counter register
COUT
External 1
source
Flag
Counter/Timer

6
 Timers in AVR
 1 to 6 timers
 3 timers in ATmega328
 8-bit and 16-bit timers
 two 8-bit timers and one 16-bit timer in
ATmega328

7
 Timer in AVR
Oscillator
 TCNTn (Timer/Counter register) External
Counter register

source

TOVn (Timer Overflow flag) Counter/Timer
Flag


TCCRn (Timer Counter control register)

OCRn (output compare register) TCCRn

OCFn (output compare match flag)
TCNTn OCRn

TOVn
=
Comment:
Comment:
All
Allofofthe
thetimer
timerregisters
registersare
are
byte-addressable OCFn
byte-addressableregisters
registers

8
Timer 0 (an 8-bit timer)
 Timer 0
TCCR0A TCCR0B

OCR0A TCNT0 OCR0B

TOV0

= =

OCF0A OCF0B

- - - - - OCF0B OCF0A TOV0 TIFR0

10
COM0A1 COM0A0 COM0B1 COM0B0 - - WGM01 WGM00 TCCR0A

FOC0A FOC0B - - WGM02 CS02 CS01 CS00 TCCR0B

PSR10
Timer Clock
Mode Selector
(WGM) (CS)
Clear
clkIO 10-bit T/C Prescaler
CS02
WGM02CS01 Comment
CS00 WGM00
WGM01 Comment

clk/8
clk/64
clk/256

clk/1024
00 0 0 0 No
0 clock Normal
source (Timer/Counter stopped)
00 0 0 1 clk
1 (No Prescaling)
Phase correct PWM T0
00 1 1 0 clk
0 / 8 CTC (Clear Timer on Compare Match)
0
00 1 1 1 clk
1 / 64 Fast PWM
11 0 0 0 clk
0 / 256 Reserved
11 0 0 1 clk
1 / 1024Phase CS00
correct PWM0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

11 1 1 0 External
0 clock CS01 on T0 pin. Clock on falling edge
source
Reserved
CS02
11 1 1 1 External
1 clock source
Fast PWM on T0 pin. Clock on rising edge

Timer/Counter0 clock
source

11
 Normal mode
TCNT0

0xFF
TOV TOV TOV
0 time

FF
FE TOV0: 0
1

2
1
0 TOV0 = 1
12
 Example 1: Write a program that waits 14
machine cycles in Normal mode.
14 = $0E
UP Counter Register Load
$100 COUT

-$0E 8
$F2
$F2
COM0A1 COM0A0 COM0B1 COM0B0 - - WGM01 WGM00 TCCR0A

0 0 TCCR0A
TCCR0A==0x00;
0x00;
TCCR0B TCCR0B
TCCR0B==0x03;
FOC0A FOC0B - - WGM02 CS02 CS01 CS00
0x03;
0 0 0 1
Timer Mode (WGM) PSR10

WGM02 WGM01 WGM00 Comment clk IO

Clear
10-bit T/C Prescaler

0 0 0 Normal

clk/8
clk/64
clk/256

clk/1024
0 0 1 Phase correct PWM T0

0 1 0 CTC 0

0 1 1 Fast PWM CS00 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 0 0 Reserved CS01
CS02
1 0 1 Phase correct PWM
1 1 0 Reserved Timer/Counter0 clock
source
1 1 1 Fast PWM
13
 Example 1: Write a program that waits 14
machine cycles in Normal mode.
$100
- - - - - OCF0B OCF0A TOV0 TIFR0
-$0E
$F2
LDI R16,(1<<5) ;R16=0x20
DDRB = 1<<5;
SBI DDRB,5 ;PB5 as an output
LDI R17,0 PORTB &= ~(1<<5); //PB5=0
OUT PORTB,R17
while (1)
BEGIN: LDI R20,0xF2
OUT Question:
Question:How
TCNT0,R20 to
;load
How tocalculate
calculatethe
timer0 the{delay
delaygenerated
generated
LDI R20,0x0
OUT
by
bythe
thetimer?
TCCR0A,R20 timer? TCNT0 = 0xF2;
LDI R20,0x01 TCCR0A = 0x00;
OUT Answer:
TCCR0B,R20
Answer:
;Normal mode, inter. clk
TCCR0B = 0x01;
AGAIN: SBIS TIFR0,TOV0 ;if TOV0 is set skip next
RJMP 1)
1)Calculate
AGAIN Calculatehowhowmuchmuchaamachine
machine clock
clocklasts.
lasts.
while((TIFR0&(1<<TOV0))==0)
LDI T=
T=1/f
R20,0x0
1/f {}
OUT TCCR0B,R20 ;stop Timer0
LDI 2)
2)Calculate
Calculatehow
R20,(1<<TOV0) howmany
;R20 0x01machine
=many machineclocks
clocksit=itwaits.
waits.
TCCR0B 0;
OUT 3)
3)Delay
Delay==TT*;clear
TIFR0,R20 *number of
TOV0
number machine
offlag
machine cycles
cycles
TIFR0 = (1<<TOV0);
EOR R17,R16 ;toggle D5 of R17 PORTB ^= (1<<5);
OUT PORTB,R17 ;toggle PB5
RJMP BEGIN }

14
 In example 1 calculate the delay.
XTAL = 10 MHz.

Solution 1 (inaccurate):
LDI R16,0x20
1) Calculating T: SBI DDRB,5 ;PB5 as an output
LDI R17,0
T = 1/f = 1/10M = 0.1µs OUT PORTB,R17
BEGIN: LDI R20,0xF2
2) Calculating num of OUT TCNT0,R20 ;load timer0
LDI R20,0x0
machine cycles: OUT TCCR0A,R20
LDI R20,0x01
$100 OUT TCCR0B,R20 ;Normal mode, inter. clk
AGAIN: SBIS TIFR0,TOV0 ;if TOV0 is set skip next
-$F2
RJMP AGAIN
$0E = 14 LDI R20,0x0
OUT TCCR0B,R20 ;stop Timer0
3) Calculating delay LDI R20,(1<<TOV0) ;R20 = 0x01
OUT TIFR0,R20 ;clear TOV0 flag
14 * 0.1µs = 1.4 0µs
EOR R17,R16 ;toggle D5 of R17
OUT PORTB,R17 ;toggle PB5
RJMP BEGIN
15
 Accurate calculating
Other than timer, executing the instructions consumes time; so if we
want to calculate the accurate delay a program causes we should add
the delay caused by instructions to the delay caused by the timer
LDI R16,0x20
SBI DDRB,5
LDI R17,0
OUT PORTB,R17
BEGIN: LDI R20,0xF2 1
OUT TCNT0,R20 1
LDI R20,0x00 1
OUT TCCR0A,R20 1
LDI R20,0x01 1
OUT TCCR0B,R20 1
AGAIN: SBIS TIFR0,TOV0 1/2
RJMP AGAIN 2
LDI R20,0x0 1
OUT TCCR0B,R20 1
LDI R20,0x01 1
OUT TIFR0,R20 1
EOR R17,R16 1
OUT PORTB,R17 1
RJMP BEGIN 2
18
Delay caused by timer = 14 * 0.1µs = 1.4 µs Delay caused by instructions = 18 * 0.1µs = 1.8
Total delay = 3.2 µs  wave period = 2*3.2 µs = 6.4 µs  wave frequency = 156.25 KHz
16
Finding values to be loaded into the
timer
1. Calculate the period of clock source.
 Period = 1 / Frequency

E.g. For XTAL = 16 MHz  T = 1/16MHz
2. Divide the desired time delay by
period of clock.
3. Perform 256 - n, where n is the
decimal value we got in Step 2.
4. Set TCNT0 = 256 - n

17
 Example 2: Assuming that XTAL = 10 MHz, write a program to
generate a square wave with a period of 10 ms on pin PORTB.3.
 For a square wave with T = 10 µs we must have a time delay of 5 µs.
Because XTAL = 10 MHz, the counter counts up every 0.1 µs. This means
that we need 5 µs / 0.1 µs = 50 clocks. 256 - 50 = 206.
LDI R16,(1<<5) ;R16=0x20 DDRB = 1<<3;
SBI DDRB,5 ;PB5 as an output
LDI R17,0 PORTB &= ~ (1<<3);
OUT PORTB,R17 while (1)
BEGIN: LDI R20,206
OUT TCNT0,R20 ;load timer0 {
TCNT0 = 206;
LDI R20,0x0
OUT TCCR0A,R20 TCCR0A = 0x00;
LDI R20,0x01 TCCR0B = 0x01;
OUT TCCR0B,R20 ;Normal mode, int. clk
AGAIN: SBIS TIFR0,TOV0 ;if TOV0 set skip next while((TIFR0&0x01) == 0)
RJMP AGAIN {}
LDI R20,0x0
OUT TCCR0B,R20 ;stop Timer0 TCCR0B = 0;
LDI R20,(1<<TOV0) ;R20 = 0x01 TIFR0 = 1<<TOV0;
OUT TIFR0,R20 ;clear TOV0 flag
PORTB = PORTB ^ (1<<3);
EOR R17,R16 ;toggle D5 of R17 }
OUT PORTB,R17 ;toggle PB5
RJMP BEGIN

18
Example 3: Modify TCNT0 in Example 2 to get the largest time delay possible with no
prescaler. Find the delay in µs. In your calculation, do not include the overhead due to
instructions.

 To get the largest delay we make TCNT0 zero. This will count
up from 00 to 0xFF and then roll over to zero.
LDI R16,(1<<5) ;R16=0x20
SBI DDRB,5 ;PB5 as an output
DDRB = 1 << 3;
LDI R17,0
OUT PORTB,R17 PORTB &= ~(1<<3);
BEGIN: LDI R20,0
OUT TCNT0,R20 ;load timer0 while (1)
LDI R20,0x0 {
OUT TCCR0A,R20
LDI R20,0x01 TCNT0 = 0x00;
OUT TCCR0B,R20 ;Normal mode, int. clk TCCR0A = 0x00;
AGAIN: SBIS TIFR0,TOV0 ;if TOV0 set skip next
RJMP AGAIN TCCR0B = 0x01;
LDI R20,0x0 Solution
OUT TCCR0B,R20 ;stop Timer0 while((TIFR0&(1<<TOV0))==0)
LDI 1)
R20,(1<<TOV0)Calculating T:
;R20 = 0x01 {}
OUT TIFR0,R20 ;clear TOV0 flag
T = 1/f = 1/10MHz = 0.1µs TCCR0B = 0;
EOR R17,R16 ;toggle D5 of R17 TIFR0 = 0x01;
OUT 2) Calculating
PORTB,R17 ;toggle PB5 delay
RJMP BEGIN PORTB = PORTB^(1<<3);
256 * 0.1µs = 25.6µs
}

19
 Generating Large Delays
 Using loop
 Prescaler
 Bigger counters

20
Prescaler and generating a large time
delay

PSR10

Clear
clkIO 10-bit T/C Prescaler

clk/8
clk/64
clk/256

clk/1024
T0
0

CS00 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
CS01
CS02

Timer/Counter0 clock
source

21
CTC (Clear Timer on Compare match) mode
TCNT0
0xFF
OCR0

OCF0 OCF0 OCF0

0 time

OCR0 0
xx TOV0:

2 0
1
OCF0:
1
TOV0 = no change
0
OCF0 = 1
22
 CTC mode (Cont.)
COM0A1 COM0A0 COM0B1 COM0B0 - - WGM01 WGM00 TCCR0A
1 0
FOC0A FOC0B - - WGM02 CS02 CS01 CS00 TCCR0B

0
Timer Mode (WGM)
WGM02 WGM01 WGM00 Comment
0 0 0 Normal
0 0 1 Phase correct PWM
0 1 0 CTC
0 1 1 Fast PWM
1 0 0 Reserved
1 0 1 Phase correct PWM
1 1 0 Reserved
1 1 1 Fast PWM

23
 Rewrite example 2 using CTC
(Assuming XTAL = 10MHz, write a program to generate a square wave with a period of
Example 4: Rewrite example 2 using CTC
10 ms.)

- - - - - OCF0B OCF0A TOV0 TIFR0

 For a square wave with T = 10 µs we must have a time delay of 5 µs.

Because XTAL = 10 MHz, the counter counts up every 0.1 µs. This means
that we need 5 µs / 0.1 µs = 50 clocks. Therefore, we have OCR0A= 49.

LDI R16,(1<<3) ;R16 = 0x08 DDRB |= 1<<3;

SBI DDRB,3 ;PB3 as an output
while (1)
LDI R17,0
OUT PORTB,R17 {
LDI R20,49
OCR0A = 49;
OUT OCR0A,R20 ;load OCR0A
BEGIN: LDI R20,(1<<WGM01) ;TCCR0A=0x02 TCCR0A = (1<<WGM01); //CTC
OUT TCCR0A,R20 ;CTC mode, int. clk
LDI R20,1 ; TCCR0B = 1 TCCR0B = 1; //N = 1
OUT TCCR0B,R20 ; N = 1 while((TIFR0&(1<<OCF0A))==0)
AGAIN: SBIS TIFR0,OCF0A ;if OCF0 is set skip next
RJMP AGAIN { }
LDI R20,0x0 TCCR0B = 0; //stop timer0
OUT TCCR0B,R20 ;stop Timer0
LDI R20,1<<OCF0A TIFR0 = 1<<OCF0A;
OUT TIFR0,R20 ;clear OCF0A flag PORTB ^= 1<<3; //toggle PB3
EOR R17,R16 ;toggle D3 of R17
OUT PORTB,R17 ;toggle PB3 }
RJMP BEGIN
24
 Timer2 vs. Timer0
 Timer0  Timer2
TCCR0A TCCR0B TCCR2A TCCR2B

OCR0A TCNT0 OCR0B OCR2A TCNT2 OCR2B

TOV0 TOV2

= = = =

OCF0A OCF0B OCF2A OCF2B

- - - - - OCF0B OCF0A TOV0 TIFR0

- - - - - OCF2B OCF2A TOV2 TIFR2

25
 The difference between Timer0 and
Timer2
 Timer0  Timer2

CS02 CS01 CS00 Comment CS22 CS21 CS20 Comment

0 0 0 Timer/Counter stopped 0 0 0 Timer/Counter stopped
0 0 1 clk (No Prescaling) 0 0 1 clk (No Prescaling)
0 1 0 clk / 8 0 1 0 clk / 8
0 1 1 clk / 64 0 1 1 clk / 32
1 0 0 clk / 256 1 0 0 clk / 64
1 0 1 clk / 1024 1 0 1 clk / 128
1 1 0 External clock (falling edge) 1 1 0 clk / 256
1 1 1 External clock (rising edge) 1 1 1 clk / 1024

26
 Timer 1
TCCR1A TCCR1B TCCR1C

OCR1AH OCR1AL TCNT1H TCNT1L OCR1BH OCR1BL

TOV1

= =

OCF1A OCF1B

- - ICF1 - - OCF1B OCF1A TOV1 TIFR1

27
 COM1A1 COM1A0 COM1B1 COM1B0 - - WGM11 WGM10 TCCR1A

ICNC1 ICES1 - WGM13 WGM12 CS12 CS11 CS10 TCCR1B

Clock Selector (CS)

CS12 CS11 CS10 Comment

0 0 0 No clock source (Timer/Counter stopped)
PSR10
0 0 1 clk (No Prescaling)
0 1 0 clk / 8 clkIO
Clear
10-bit T/C Prescaler
0 1 1 clk / 64
1 0 0 clk / 256

clk/8

clk/64
clk/256

clk/1024
1 0 1 clk / 1024 T1
1 1 0 External clock source on T0 pin. Clock on falling edge
1 1 1 External clock source on0T0 pin. Clock on rising edge

CS10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
CS11
CS12

Timer/Counter1 clock
source

28
toggles PB5 once per millisecond, using Normal
mode.
XTALOUT = 10
LDI
MHz  1/10
R16,HIGH(RAMEND)
SPH,R16 MHz = 0.1 µs
;init stack pointer

Num.LDI
OUT of machine cycles = 1 ms / 0.1 µs = 10,000
R16,LOW(RAMEND)
SPL,R16
TCNT1
SBI
BEGIN:SBI = 65,536
DDRB,5
PORTB,5 – 10,000
;PB5 = 1 = 55,536 = $D8F0
;PB5 as an output

RCALL DELAY_1ms
CBI PORTB,5 ;PB5 = 0
RCALL DELAY_1ms
RJMP BEGIN TCNT1H TCNT1L
DELAY_1ms:
LDI R20,HIGH(-10000)
R20,0xD8
STS TCNT1H,R20
TCNT1H,R20 ;TEMP = 0xD8
LDI R20,R20,0xF0
,LOW(-10000)
STS TCNT1L,R20
TCNT1L,R20 ;Timer1 overflows
;TCNT1L after
= 0xF0, 10000
TCNT1H machine cycles
= TEMP
LDI R20,0x0
STS TCCR1A,R20 ;WGM11:10=00
LDI R20,0x1
STS TCCR1B,R20 ;WGM13:12=00,CS=CLK
AGAIN:SBIS TIFR1,TOV1 ;if TOV1 is set skip next instruction
RJMP AGAIN
LDI R20,1<<TOV1
OUT TIFR1,R20 ;clear TOV1 flag
LDI R19,0
STS TCCR1B,R19 ;stop timer
STS TCCR1A,R19 ;
RET

29
 TEMP register
Data bus (8-bit)

TEMP (8-bit)

OCR1xH (8-bit) OCR1xL (8-bit) TCNT1H (8-bit) TCNT1L (8-bit)

OCR1x (16-bit Register) TCNT1 (16-bit Counter)

OCR1xH buf. OCR1xL buf.

Note: OCR1x is OCR1A or OCR1B
OCR1x buffer (16-bit Register)

LDI
LDS R20,0xF3
R20,TCNT1L
TCNT1H
a = TCNT1L;
= 0xF3;
STS
LDS TCNT1H,R20
R21,TCNT1H
TCNT1L
b = TCNT1H;
= 0x53;
LDI R20,0x53
STS TCNT1L,R20
30
 toggles PB5 once per millisecond, using CTC
mode.
LDI R16,HIGH(RAMEND)
#include <avr/io.h>
OUT SPH,R16
LDI R16,LOW(RAMEND) void delay1ms();
OUT SPL,R16
int main(){
SBI DDRB,5 ;PB5 as an output
BEGIN:SBI PORTB,5 ;PB5 = 1 DDRB |= 1<<5;
RCALL DELAY_1ms
CBI PORTB,5 ;PB5 = 0 while (1) {
RCALL DELAY_1ms
RJMP BEGIN
delay1ms();
PORTB ^= (1<<5); //toggle PB5
DELAY_1ms:
LDI R20,0x00 }
STS TCNT1H,R20 ;TEMP = 0
STS TCNT1L,R20 ;TCNT1L = 0, TCNT1H = TEMP }

LDI R20,0x27 void delay1ms()

STS OCR1AH,R20 ;TEMP = 0x27
LDI R20,0x0F {
STS OCR1AL,R20 ;OCR1AL = 0x0F, OCR1AH = TEMP
TCNT1 = 0;
LDI R20,0x00 OCR1A = 10000-1;
STS TCCR1A,R20 ;WGM11:10=00
LDI R20,0x09 TCCR1A = 0; //WGM=0100 (CTC)
STS TCCR1B,R20 ;WGM13:12=01,CS=CLK
AGAIN: TCCR1B = 0x09; //N = 1
SBIS TIFR1,OCF1A ;if OCF1A is set skip next
instruction while((TIFR1&(1<<OCF1A))==0)
RJMP AGAIN
LDI R19,0 { } //wait until OCF1A is set
STS TCCR1B,R19 ;stop timer
STS TCCR1A,R19 ;
TCCR1B = 0; //stop timer1
LDI R20,1<<OCF1A TIFR1 = 1<<OCF1A;//clear flag
OUT TIFR1,R20 ;clear OCF1A flag
RET }
31
Counting
 Counting
PSR10

Clear
clkIO 10-bit T/C Prescaler

clk/8

clk/64
clk/256

clk/1024
T0
0

CS00 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
CS01
CS02 28 pin
(PCINT14/RESET) PC6 1 28 PC5 (ADC5/SCL/PCINT13)
(PCINT16/RXD) PD0 2 27 PC4 (ADC4/SDA/PCINT12)
Timer/Counter0 clock
(PCINT17/TXD) PD1 3 26 PC3 (ADC3/PCINT11)
source
(PCINT18/INT0) PD2 4 MEGA328 25 PC2 (ADC2/PCINT10)
(PCINT19/OC2B/INT1) PD3 5 24 PC1 (ADC1/PCINT9)
T0 PD4
(PCINT20/XCK/T0) 6 23 PC0 (ADC0/PCINT8)
VCC 7 22 GND
GND 8 21 AREF
(PCINT6/XTAL1/TOSC1) PB6 9 20 AVCC
6 (PCINT7/XTAL2/TOSC2) PB7 10 19 PB5 (SCK/PCINT5)
(PCINT21/OC0B) PD5 11 18 PB4 (MISO/PCINT4)
(PCINT22/OC0A/AIN0) PD6 12 17 PB3 (MOSI/OC2A/PCINT3)
(PCINT23/AIN1) PD7 13 16 PB2 (SS/OC1B/PCINT2)
7 (PCINT0/CLKO/ICP1) PB0 14 15 PB1 (OC1A/PCINT1)

33
Assuming that clock pulses are fed into pin T0, write a program for counter 0
in normal mode to count the pulses on falling edge and display the state of
the TCNT0 count on PORTC.
#include <avr/io.h>
CBI DDRD,4 ;make T0 (PD4) input int main()
LDI R20,0xFF
{
OUT DDRC,R20 ;make PORTC output
LDI R20,0x00 DDRC = 0xFF;
OUT TCCR0A,R20 TCCR0A = 0; //WGM=0000 (Normal)
LDI R20,0x06
TCCR0B = 0x06; //CS=6 (Count on
OUT TCCR0B,R20 ;counter, falling fall)
edge
AGAIN: while (1)
IN R20,TCNT0 {
OUT PORTC,R20 ;PORTC = TCNT0
PORTC = TCNT0; //read TCNT0
RJMP AGAIN ;keep doing it
}
PSR10
}
Clear
clkIO 10-bit T/C Prescaler
clk/256

clk/1024
clk/8

clk/64

COM0A1 COM0A0 COM0B1 COM0B0 - - WGM01 WGM00 TCCR0A

T0
0 FOC0A FOC0B - - WGM02 CS02 CS01 CS00 TCCR0B

CS00 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
CS01
CS02

Timer/Counter0 clock
source
34
Assuming that clock pulses are fed into pin T1. Write a program for Counter1
in CTC mode to make PORTC.0 high every 100 pulses.
CBI DDRD,5 ;make T1 (PD5) input #include <avr/io.h>
SBI DDRC,0 ;PC0 as an output
int main()
LDI R20,0x00 {
OUT TCCR1A,R20 DDRD &= ~(1<<5);
LDI R20,0x0E ;CS=6 (falling edge
counter) DDRC |= 1<<0;
OUT TCCR1B,R20 ;CTC TCCR1A = 0; //WGM=0100 (CTC)
AGAIN:
LDI R20,0 TCCR1B = 0x0E; //CS=6 (Count on
fall)
OUT OCR1AH,R20 ;TEMP = 0
LDI R20,99 OCR1A = 99;
OUT OCR1AL,R20 ;ORC1L = R20, OCR1H = while (1)
TEMP
L1: {
SBRS TIFR1,OCF1A while((TIFR1&(1<<OCF1A)) == 0);
RJMP L1 ;keep doing it
LDI R20,1<<OCF1A ;clear OCF1A flag TIFR1 = (1<<OCF1A);
OUT TIFR1, R20 PORTC |= (1<<0); //PC0 = 1
PORTC &= ~(1<<0); //PC0 = 0
SBI PORTC,0 ;PC0 = 1
CBI PORTC,0 ;PC0 = 0 }
RJMP AGAIN ;keep doing it }

35