Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 1

Module-3

Contents:

Interrupts - interrupt sources - interrupt handling – programming examples. Timers operation

different modes –waveform generation- programming examples - Serial communication different
modes - programming examples.

Interrupts

There are five interrupt sources for the 8051. Since the main RESET input can also be
considered as an interrupt, six interrupts can be listed as follows:

External Interrupts

Port P3 of 8051 is a multi-function port. Different lines of this port carry out functions which are
additional to data input-output on the port.

Lines P3.2 and P3.3 can be used as interrupt inputs. Interrupts will be caused by a ‘LOW’ level,
or a negative edge on these lines. Half of the special function register TCON is used for setting
the conditions for causing interrupts from external sources. This register is bit addressable.

IT1 and IT0 are the “Interrupt Type” flags for external sources 1 and 0 respectively. These
decide whether a negative going edge or a ‘LOW’ level will cause an interrupt. If the bit is set,
the corresponding interrupt is edge sensitive. If it is cleared, the interrupt is level sensitive. IE1

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Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 2

and IE0 are the status flags for the two external interrupt lines. If the flag is 1, the selected type
of event (edge or level) has occurred on the corresponding interrupt line.

Internal Interrupts

Internally generated interrupts can be from either timer, or from the serial interface. The
serial interface causes interrupts due to a receive event (RI) or due to a transmit event (TI). The
receive event occurs when the input buffer of the serial line (SBUF in) is full and a byte needs to
be read from it. The transmit event indicates that a byte has been sent a new byte can be written
to output buffer of the serial line (SBUF out).

8051 timers always count up. When their count rolls over from the maximum count to
0000, they set the corresponding timer flag TF1 or TF0 in TCON. Counters run only while their
run flag (TR1 or TR0) is set by the user program. When the run flag is cleared, the count stops
incrementing. The 8051 can be setup so that an interrupt occurs whenever TF1 or TF0 is set.

Interrupts Enabling

Interrupts are enabled in a manner which is quite similar to the 8085. There is an interrupt enable
special function register IE at byte address A8H. This register is bit addressable. (The assembler gives
special mnemonics to each bit address.)

The most significant bit of the register is a global interrupt enable flag. This bit must be set in
order to enable any interrupt. Bits 6 and 5 are undefined for 8051. Bit 4, when set, enables interrupts from
the serial port. Bit 3 should be set to enable interrupts from Timer 1 overflow. Bit 2 is set to enable
interrupts from external interrupt 1 (pin P3.3 on Port 3). Bit 1 enables interrupts from Timer 0 when it
overflows. Bit 0, when set, will enable interrupts from external interrupt 0 (pin P3.2 on Port 3).

Interrupt Priorities

8051 has two levels of interrupt priorities: high or low. By assigning priorities, we can control the
order in which multiple interrupts will be serviced. Priorities are set by bits in a special function register
called IP, which is at the byte address B8H. This register is also bit addressable.

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Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 3

Notice that the bits are in the polling order of interrupts. A 1 in a bit position assigns a high
priority to the corresponding source of interrupts – a 0 gives it a low priority. In case of multiple
interrupts, the following rules apply:

• While a low priority interrupt handler is running, if a high priority interrupt arrives, the handler
will be interrupted and the high priority handler will run. When the high priority handler does
‘RETI’, the low priority handler will resume. When this handler does ‘RETI’, control is passed
back to the main program.

• If a high priority interrupt is running, it cannot be interrupted by any other source – even if it is
a high priority interrupt which is higher in polling order.

• A low-priority interrupt handler will be invoked only if no other interrupt is already executing.
Again, the low priority interrupt cannot preempt another low priority interrupt, even if the later
one is higher in polling order.

• If two interrupts occur at the same time, the interrupt with higher priority will execute first. If
both interrupts are of the same priority, the interrupt which is higher in polling sequence will be
executed first. This is the only context in which the polling sequence matters.

Serial Interrupts

Serial interrupts are handled somewhat differently from the timers. There are independent
interrupt flags for reception and transmission of serial data, called RI and TI. RI indicates that a
byte has been received and is available for reading in the input buffer. TI indicates that the
previous byte has been sent serially and a new byte can be written to the serial port. A serial
interrupt occurs if either of these flags is set. (of course the serial interrupt must be enabled for
this to occur). The interrupt service routine should check which of these events caused the
interrupt. This can be done by examining the flags. Either or both of the flag might be set,
requiring a read from or write to the serial buffer SBUF (or both). Recall that the input and
output buffers are distinct but are located at the same address. A read from this address reads the
input buffer while a write to the same address writes to the output buffer. The RI and TI flags are
not automatically cleared when an interrupt is serviced. Therefore, the interrupt service routine
must clear them before returning.

Sources of Interrupts

Figure shows the set of 8051 interrupt sources. If we follow the external interrupt INT0,
for example, we see that this external interrupt connects to the processor at the P3.2 pin. Note
Port 3 can be used as a standard input/output port as shown earlier – but various Port 3 pins have
alternative functionality. When INT0 is activated (negative edge usually), internally within the
8051 the EX0 request is raised. This flags an interrupt request but the relevant interrupt bit
within the IE register must be set, along with the EA bit if this interrupt request is to raise an
interrupt flag. The interrupt flag IE0 is then raised and causes the program counter (PC) to vector

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Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 4

to vector location 0003h, as discussed earlier. Note, the Timer/Counter interrupt flags can be
software polled even if the ETx bits are not enabled. Interrupts can also be software generated by
setting the interrupt flags in software. The interrupt flags are accessible as flags on the TCON
and SCON registers as follows:

Fig: Interrupt sources

Interrupt Handling

Upon activation of an interrupt, the microcontroller goes through the following steps;

1. It finishes the instruction it is executing and saves the address of the next instruction (PC)
on the stack.

2. It also saves the current status of all the inrterrupts internally.

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Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 5

3. It jumps to a fixed location in the memory called the interrupt vector table that holds the
address of the interrupt service routine.

4. The microcontroller gets the address of the ISR from the interrupt vector table and jumps
to it. It starts to execute the interrupt service routine until it reaches the last instruction of
the subroutine, which is RETI (return from interrupt).

5. Upon executing the RETI instruction, the microcontroller returns to the place where it
was interrupted. First, it gets the program counter (PC) address from the stack by popping
the top two bytes of the stack in to the PC. Then it starts to execute from that address.

The following figure shows the flow of operation when a system is interrupted.

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Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 6

Fig: Interrupt Operation Example.

In this example it is assumed that some program, say the main program, is executing
when the external interrupt INT0 occurs. The 8051 hardware will automatically complete the
current machine level (assembler level) instruction and save the Program Counter to the stack.
The IE register is also saved to the stack. The IE0 flag is disabled (cleared) so that another INT0
interrupt will be inhibited while the current interrupt is being serviced. The Program Counter is
now loaded with the vector location 0003h. This vector address is a predefined address for

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Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 7

interrupt INT0 so that program execution will always trap to this address when an INT0 interrupt
occurs. Other interrupt sources have uniquely defined vector addresses for this purpose. The set
of these vector addresses is referred to as the interrupt vector table.

Program execution is now transferred to address location 0003h. In the example a LJMP
instruction is programmed at this address to cause the program to jump to a predefined start
address location for the relevant ISR (Interrupt Service Routine) routine. The ISR routine is a
user written routine, which defines what action is to occur following the interrupt event. It is
good practice to save (PUSH) to the stack any registers used during the ISR routine and to
restore (POP) these registers at the end of the ISR routine, thus preserving the registers’ contents,
just like a register is preserved within a subroutine program. The last instruction in the ISR
routine is a RETI (RETurn from Interrupt) instruction and this instruction causes the 8051 to
restore the IE register values, enable the INT0 flag, and restore the Program Counter contents
from the stack.

Since the Program Counter now contains the address of the next instruction which was to
be executed before the INT0 interrupt occurred, the main program continues as if it had never
being interrupted. Thus only the temporal behaviour of the interrupted program has been affected
by the interrupt; the logic of the program has not been otherwise affected.

Programming examples:

1. Assume that the INT1 pin is connected to a switch that is normally high. Whenever
it goes low, it should turn on an LED. The LED is connected to P1.3 and is normally
off. When it is turned on, it should stay on for a fraction of a second. As long as the
switch is pressed low, the LED should stay on.

Solution:

Pressing the switch will

cause the LED to be turned
on. If it is kept activated,the
LED stays on.
ORG 0000H
LJMP MAIN
;--ISR for hardware interrupt INT1 to turn on the LED
ORG 0013H
SETB P1.3
MOV R3,#255
BACK: DJNZ R3,BACK
CLR P1.3
RETI

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Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 8

;--main program for initialization

ORG 30H
MAIN: MOV IE,#10000100B ;enable INT1
HERE: SJMP HERE ;stay here until get interrupt

END

2. Assuming that pin 3.3 (INT1) is connected to a pulse generator, write a program in
which the falling edge of the pulse will send a high to P1.3 which is connected to an
LED (or buzzer). In other words, the LED is turned on and off at the same rate as
the pulses are applied to the INT1 pin.

In this example, to turn on the LED again, the INT1 pulse must be brought back high and then
forced low to create a falling edge to activate the interrupt.

ORG 0000H
LJMP MAIN
;--ISR for hardware interrupt INT1 to turn on the LED
ORG 0013H
SETB P1.3
MOV R3,#255
BACK: DJNZ R3,BACK ;keep the buzzer on for a while
CLR P1.3
RETI
;--MAIN program for initialization
ORG 30H
MAIN: SETB TCON 0.2 ;make INT1 edge-trigger interrupt
MOV IE,#10000100B ;enable External INT 1
HERE: SJMP HERE
END

Timers

Timer is a clock that controls the sequence of an event while counting in fixed intervals
of time. A Timer is used for producing precise time delay. Secondly, it can be used to repeat or
initiate an action after/at a known period of time. This feature is very commonly used in several

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Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 9

applications. An example could be setting up an alarm which triggers at a point of time or after a
period of time.

Most of the microcontrollers have inbuilt Timers. Timers in a controller not only generate
time delays but they can also be used as counters. They are used to count an action or event. The
value of counter increases by one, every time its corresponding action or event occurs. Timers in
a controller are inbuilt chips that are controlled by special function registers (SFRs) assigned for
Timer operations. These SFRs are used to configure Timers in different modes of operations.
While working with microcontrollers, it is more than often required to generate time delays.

There are two possible ways of generating time delays. First is by using the code, like
using for or while loops in a C program. However, the delays provided by the software are not
very precise. The other method is to use Timers. Timers provide time delays that are very
precise and accurate.

8051 microcontroller has two Timers designated as Timer0 and Timer1. Each of these
timers is assigned a 16-bit register. The value of a Timer register increases by one every time a
timer counts. Timer takes a time period of one machine cycle to count one. (Machine cycle is a
unit that refers to the time required by the microcontroller to execute instructions.) This means
that the maximum number of times a timer can count without repeating is 216, i.e.,65536. So
the maximum allowed counts in value of Timer registers can be from 0000H to FFFFH.

Since 8051 is an 8 bit controller, the registers of 8051 Timers are accessed as two
different registers; one for lower byte and other for higher byte. For example, register of Timer0
is accessed as TL0 for lower byte and TH0 for higher byte.Similarly TL1 and TH1 are registers
assigned to Timer 1.

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Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 10

Timer/counter control logic:

If we want to timer as a timer , it will count the on chip clock frequency of 8051 oscillator
divided by 12. e.g if the crystal frequency is 6.0 megahertz, then we will gate timer clock
frequency of 500 kilohertz. The resultant timer clock is gated to the timer by means of the
circuit shown in Figure. In order to oscillator clock pulses to reach the timer we have to clear the
C/T bit in the TMOD register. We must set Bit TRX in the TCON register to '1' to run the timer
run, and we should clear Gate bit in the TMOD register, or external pin (INTX) must be a 1 . In
short, the timer is configured as a timer, then the timer pulses are gated to the timer by the run bit
and the gate bit or the external input bits (INTX).

Timer operation

While using 8051 Timers certain factors need to be considered, like whether the Timer is
to be used for time keeping or for counting; whether the source for time generation is external
clock or the controller itself; how many bits of Timer register are to be used or left unused.

The registers of Timers are loaded with some initial value. The value of a Timer register
increases by one after every machine cycle. One machine cycle duration is the 1/12th of the
frequency of the crystal attached to the controller.

For example, if the frequency of the crystal is 12 MHz, then the frequency for Timer will
be 1MHz (1/12 of crystal frequency) and hence the time (T = 1/f) taken by the Timer to count by
one is 1μs (1/1MHz). Similarly if an 11.0592 MHz crystal is used, operating frequency of Timer
is 921.6 KHz and the time period is 1.085 μs.

If no value is loaded into the Timer, it starts counting from 0000H. When the Timer
reaches FFFFH, it reloads to 0000H. This roll over is communicated to the controller by
raising a flag corresponding to that Timer, i.e., a flag bit is raised (set high) when the timer starts

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Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 11

counting from 0000H again. TF0 and TF1 are the Timer flags corresponding to Timers 0 and 1.
These flags must be cleared (set low) by software every time they are raised. The Timer may
terminate updating register values after a roll over or continue with its operation.

Starting or stopping a Timer

For every Timer, there is a corresponding Timer control bit which can be set or cleared
by the program to start or stop the Timer. TR0 and TR1 are the control bits for Timers 0 and 1
respectively.

Setting the control bit would start the Timer.

TR0 = 1; starts Timer 0

TR1 = 1; starts Timer 1

Clearing the control bit would stop the Timer.

TR0 = 0; stops Timer 0

TR1 = 0; stops Timer1

Designing a delay program using 8051 timers.

Time Delay = No. of counts X one clock duration of timer

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Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 12

While designing delay programs in 8051, calculating the initial value that has to be loaded in to
TH and TL registers forms a very important thing. Let us see how it is done.
 Assume the processor is clocked by a 12MHz crystal.
 That means, the timer clock input will be 12MHz/12 = 1MHz
 That means, the time taken for the timer to make one increment = 1/1MHz = 1S
 Devide the desired time delay by 1 S.
 2^16 = 65536 is the maximim number of counts possible for a 16 bit timer. Perform
65,536-n, where ‘n’ is the no. of counts.
 Then, THTL = Hexadecimal equivalent of (65536-n) where (65536-n) is considered in
decimal.
Example.
Let the required delay be 1000S (ie; 1mS).
That means n = 1000 (1000S/1S)
65536 – n = 65536 – 1000 = 64536.
64536 is considered in decimal and converting it to hexadecimal gives FC18
That means THTL = FC18
Therefore TH=FC and TL=18

Program for generating 1mS delay using 8051 timer.

The program shown below can be used for generating 1mS delay and it is written as a subroutine
so that you can call it anywhere in the program. Also you can put this in a loop for creating
longer time delays (multiples of 1mS). Here Timer 0 of 8051 is used and it is operating in
MODE1 (16 bit timer).
DELAY: MOV TMOD,#00000001B // Sets Timer 0 to MODE1 (16 bit timer). Timer 1 is not
used
MOV TH0,#0FCH // Loads TH0 register with FCH
MOV TL0,#018H // Loads TL0 register with 18H
SETB TR0 // Starts the Timer 0
HERE: JNB TF0,HERE // Loops here until TF0 is set (ie;until roll over)
CLR TR0 // Stops Timer 0
CLR TF0 // Clears TF0 flag
RET

Different modes of a Timer

There are four Timer modes designated as Modes 0, 1, 2 and 3. A particular mode is
selected by configuring the M1 & M0 bits of TMOD register.

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Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 13

13-bit Time Mode (mode 0)

Mode 0 is a 13 bit Timer mode and uses 8 bits of high byte and 5 bit prescaler of low
byte. The value that the Timer can update in mode0 is from 0000H to 1FFFH. The 5 bits of
lower byte append with the bits of higher byte. The Timer rolls over from 1FFFH to 0000H to
raise the Timer flag.

When the timer is in 13-bit mode, TLx will count from 0 to 31. When TLx is incremented
from 31, it will "reset" to 0 and increment THx. Thus, effectively, only 13 bits of the two timer
bytes are being used: bits 0-4 of TLx and bits 0-7 of THx.

16-bit Time Mode (mode 1)

Mode1 is one of the most commonly used Timer modes. It allows all 16 bits to be used
for the Timer and so it allows values to vary from 0000H to FFFFH.

TLx is incremented from 0 to 255. When TLx is incremented from 255, it resets to 0 and
causes THx to be incremented by 1. Since this is a full 16-bit timer, the timer may contain up to
65536 distinct values. If you set a 16-bit timer to 0, it will overflow back to 0 after 65,536
machine cycles.

Mode 1 Programming:

The following are the characteristics and operations of mode 1:

1. It is a 16-bit timer; therefore, it allows value of 0000 to FFFFH to be loaded into the timer’s
register TL and TH.

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Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 14

2. After TH and TL are loaded with a 16-bit initial value, the timer must be started. This is done
by SETB TR0 for timer 0 and SETB TR1 for timer 1.
3. After the timer is started, it starts to count up. It counts up until it reaches its limit of FFFFH.
When it rolls over from FFFFH to 0000, it sets high a flag bit called TF (timer flag).
Each timer has its own timer flag: TF0 for timer 0 and TF1 for timer 1. This timer flag can be
monitored. When this timer flag is raised, one option would be to stop the timer with the
instructions CLR TR0 or CLR TR1, for timer 0 and timer 1, respectively.
4. After the timer reaches its limit and rolls over, in order to repeat the process. TH and TL must
be reloaded with the original value, and TF must be reloaded to 0.

Steps to program in mode 1:

To generate a time delay, using timer in mode 1, following are the steps:
1. Load the TMOD value register indicating which timer (timer 0 or timer 1) is to be used and
which timer mode (0 or 1) is selected.
2. Load registers TL and TH with initial count value.
3. Start the timer.
4. Keep monitoring the timer flag (TF) with the JNB TFx, target instruction to see if it is raised.
Get out of the loop when TF becomes high.
5. Stop the timer.
6. Clear the TF flag for the next round.
7. Go back to Step 2 to load TH and TL again.

Programming Examples :

1. Assume that XTAL = 11.0592 MHz. What value do we need to load the timer’s register if
we want to have a time delay of 5 ms ? Show the program for timer 0 to create a pulse
width of 5 ms on P2.3.

Solution:
Since XTAL = 11.0592 MHz, the counter counts up every 1.085 us. This means that out of many
1.085 us intervals we must make a 5 ms pulse. To get that, we divide one by the other. We need
5 ms / 1.085μs = 4608 clocks. To Achieve that we need to load into TL and TH the value 65536
– 4608 = EE00H. Therefore, we have TH = EE and TL = 00.

Program:

CLR P2.3 ;Clear P2.3

MOV TMOD,#01H ;Timer 0, 16-bitmode
HERE: MOV TL0,#00H ;TL0=0, the low byte
MOV TH0,#0EEH ;TH0=EE, the high byte
SETB P2.3 ;SET high P2.3

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Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 15

SETB TR0 ;Start timer 0

AGAIN: JNB TF0,AGAIN ;Monitor timer flag 0
CLR TR0 ;Stop the timer 0
CLR TF0 ;Clear timer 0 flag
3. Assume that XTAL = 11.0592 MHz, write a program to generate a square wave of 2 kHz
frequency on pin P1.5.

Solution:

Look at the following steps.

(a) T = 1 / f = 1 / 2 kHz = 500 us the period of square wave.
(b) 1 / 2 of it for the high and low portion of the pulse is 250 us.
(c) 250 us / 1.085 us = 230 and 65536 – 230 = 65306 which in hex is FF1AH.
(d) TL = 1A and TH = FF, all in hex.

Program

MOV TMOD,#01 ;Timer 0, 16-bitmode

AGAIN: MOV TL1,#1AH ;TL1=1A, low byte of timer
MOV TH1,#0FFH ;TH1=FF, the high byte
SETB TR0 ;Start timer 1
BACK: JNB TF0,BACK ;until timer rolls over
CLR TR0 ;Stop the timer 1
CPL P1.5 ; Comp. p1.5 to get high and low
CLR TF0 ;Clear timer 1 flag
SJMP AGAIN ;Reload timer

4. Write a sub routine to create a time delay of 20 ms by assuming an oscillator running at

12 MHZ controls an Intel 8051 micro controller.

Solution:

Look at the following steps.

(a) If C/T =0, then clock source to the timer 1 = osc freq/12 = 12 MHZ/12 = 1 MHZ
(b)For 20 ms delay the Timer register (TH1, TL1) value = 1/1us * 20 ms = 20,000
(c)Timer register (TH1 &TL1) value =65,536-20,000=45,536(d) =B1E0 (H)
(d)Configure timer 1 to operate in mode 1 and choose the oscillator /12 as clock i/p. C/T=0,
GATE =0, TF1=0
(e)Place value B1E0h into the timer 1 register and wait until the overflow flag is set to 1

Subroutine:

DELAY: MOV TMOD, #10H //MODE 1, 16BIT TIMER

CLR TF1 // CLEAR TIMER 1 OVERFLOW FLAG

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Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 16

CLR ET1 //CLEAR TIMER 1 INTERRUPT FLAG

LCALL DELAY: MOV TH1, #B1H // STORE UPPER BYTE OF COUNT
MOV TL1, #E0H // STORE LOWER BYTE OF COUNT
SETB TR1 // ENABLE TIMER 1
WAIT: JNB TF1, WAIT //

8-bit Time Mode (mode 2)

Timer mode "2" is an 8-bit auto-reload mode. What is that, you may ask? Simple. When
a timer is in mode 2, THx holds the "reload value" and TLx is the timer itself. Thus, TLx starts
counting up. When TLx reaches 255 and is subsequently incremented, instead of resetting to 0
(as in the case of modes 0 and 1), it will be reset to the value stored in THx.

For example, let us say TH0 holds the value FDh and TL0 holds the value FEh. If we were to
watch the values of TH0 and TL0 for a few machine cycles this is what we see:

As you can see, the value of TH0 never changed. In fact, when you use mode 2 you
almost always set THx to a known value and TLx is the SFR that is constantly incremented.

The following are the characteristics and operations of mode 2:

1. It is an 8-bit timer; therefore, it allows only values of 00 to FFH to be loaded into the timer’s
register TH
2. After TH is loaded with the 8-bit value, the 8051 gives a copy of it to TL
Then the timer must be started
This is done by the instruction SETB TR0 for timer 0 and SETB TR1 for timer 1
3. After the timer is started, it starts to count up by incrementing the TL register

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Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 17

It counts up until it reaches its limit of FFH

When it rolls over from FFH to 00, it sets high the TF (timer flag)
4. When the TL register rolls from FFH to 0 and TF is set to 1, TL is reloaded automatically
with the original value kept by the TH register
To repeat the process, we must simply clear TF and let it go without any need by the
programmer to reload the original value
This makes mode 2 an auto-reload, in contrast with mode 1 in which the programmer has to
reload TH and TL.

Steps to program in mode 2:

To generate a time delay
1. Load the TMOD value register indicating which timer (timer 0 or timer 1) is to be used, and
the timer mode (mode 2) is selected.
2. Load the TH registers with the initial count value.
3. Start timer.
4. Keep monitoring the timer flag (TF) with the JNB TFx, target instruction to see whether it is
raised. Get out of the loop when TF goes high.
5. Clear the TF flag and
6. Go back to Step 4, since mode 2 is auto reload.

Programming examples :

1. Assume XTAL = 11.0592 MHz, find the frequency of the square wave generated on
pin P1.0 in the following program.

Program:

MOV TMOD, #20H ; T1/8-bit/auto reload

MOV TH1, #5 ; TH1 = 5
SETB TR1 ; start the timer 1
BACK: JNB TF1, BACK ; till timer rolls over
CPL P1.0 ; P1.0 to high, low
CLR TF1 ; clear Timer 1 flag
SJMP BACK ; mode 2 is auto-reload

Solution:

First notice the target address of SJMP. In mode 2 we do not need to reload TH since it is auto-
reload. Now (256 - 05) × 1.085 us = 251 × 1.085 us = 272.33 us is the high portion of the pulse.
Since it is a 50% duty cycle square wave, the period T is twice that; as a result T = 2 × 272.33 us
= 544.67 us and the frequency = 1.83597 kHz.

2. Assuming that clock pulses are fed into pin T1, write a program for counter 1 in
mode 2 to count the pulses and display the state of TL1, count on P2, which connects
to 8 LEDs.

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Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 18

MOV TMOD,#60H ;counter1,mode2

MOV TH1,#00H
SETB P3.5 ;make T1 input
AGAIN: SETB TR1
BACK: MOV A, TL1
MOV P2,A
JNB TF1,BACK
CLR TR1
CLR TF1
SJMP AGAIN

3. Generate a square wave of 2 KHz on P1.2 using Timer 1 in mode 2.Assume

XTAL=12MHz.

Look at the following steps.

(a) T = 1 / f = 1 / 2 kHz = 500 us the period of square wave.
(b) 1 / 2 of it for the high and low portion of the pulse is 250 us.
(c) 250 us / 1 us = 250 and 256 – 250 = 6d which in hex is 06H.
(d) TH = 06H.

Program
MOVE TMOD,#20H
MOV TH1,#06H
SETB TR1
BACK: JNB TF1,BACK
CLR TR1
CLR TF1
SJMP BACK

4. Assuming that clock pulses are fed in to the pin T1,write a program for counter 1 in
mode 2 to count the pulses and display the state of TL1 count on P2 which connects to 8
LEDs.

Solution: Here we set a counter to count the pulses from T1

Program
MOV TMOD,#60H ;Counter 1 mode 2
MOV TH1,#00H
SETB P3.5 ;Make T1 as input pin
AGAIN: SETB TR1
BACK: MOV A,TL1
MOV P2,A
JNB TF1,BACK

Muhammed Riyas A.M,Assistant Professor,Dept. of ECE ,MCET Pathanamthitta

Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 19

CLR TR1
CLR TF1
SJMP AGAIN

Split Timer Mode (mode 3)

Timer mode "3" is a split-timer mode. When Timer 0 is placed in mode 3, it essentially
becomes two separate 8-bit timers. That is to say, Timer 0 is TL0 and Timer 1 is TH0. Both
timers count from 0 to 255 and overflow back to 0. All the bits that are related to Timer 1 will
now be tied to TH0.

Muhammed Riyas A.M,Assistant Professor,Dept. of ECE ,MCET Pathanamthitta

Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 20

Note: Timers of 8051 do starting and stopping by either software or hardware control. In using
software to start and stop the timer where GATE=0. The start and stop of the timer are controlled
by way of software by the TR (timer start) bits TR0 and TR1. The SETB instruction starts it, and
it is stopped by the CLR instruction. These instructions start and stop the timers as long as
GATE=0 in the TMOD register. The hardware way of starting and stopping the timer by an
external source is achieved by making GATE=1 in the TMOD register.

8051 Serial Communication

One of the 8051’s many powerful features is it’s integrated UART, otherwise known as a
serial port. The fact that the 8051 has an integrated serial port means that you may very easily
read and write values to the serial port. If it were not for the integrated serial port, writing a byte
to a serial line would be a rather tedious process requiring turning on and off one of the I/O lines
in rapid succession to properly "clock out" each individual bit, including start bits, stop bits, and
parity bits.

The 8051 includes a hardware UART to support serial asynchronous communications so

that, typically, the product can support RS-232 standard communication. The (Universal

Muhammed Riyas A.M,Assistant Professor,Dept. of ECE ,MCET Pathanamthitta

Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 21

Asynchronous Reveiver and Transmitter) block diagram is shown in figure. In our examples the
BAUD clocks are, in fact, a single clock source provided by Timer/Counter 1.

Fig: UART Block Diagram

The UART can be configured for 9-bit data transmission and reception. Here 8 bits
represent the data byte (or character) and the ninth bit is the parity bit. The Following figure
shows a block diagram for the UART transmitter, where the ninth bit is used as the parity bit.

Fig: block Diagram of UART Receiver using 9th bit

Muhammed Riyas A.M,Assistant Professor,Dept. of ECE ,MCET Pathanamthitta

 Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 22

SBUF is an SFR register which can be written to, so as to hold the next data byte to be
transmitted. Also it can be read from to get the latest data byte received by the serial port. SBUF
is thus effectively two registers: one for transmitting and one for receiving. The SCON (Serial
Control) register is an SFR register, used for configuring and monitoring the serial port status.

This lets us tell the 8051 how many data bits we want, the baud rate we will be using, and
how the baud rate will be determined. First, let’s present the "Serial Control" (SCON) SFR and
define what each bit of the SFR represents:

Bit
Bit Name Explanation of Function
Addres
7 SM0 9Fh Serial port mode bit 0
6 SM1 9Eh Serial port mode bit 1.
5 SM2 9Dh Mutliprocessor Communications Enable (explained later)
Receiver Enable. This bit must be set in order to receive
4 REN 9Ch
characters.
3 TB8 9Bh Transmit bit 8. The 9th bit to transmit in mode 2 and 3.
2 RB8 9Ah Receive bit 8. The 9th bit received in mode 2 and 3.
1 TI 99h Transmit Flag. Set when a byte has been completely transmitted.
0 RI 98h Receive Flag. Set when a byte has been completely received.

Additionally, it is necessary to define the function of SM0 and SM1 by an additional table:

SM0 SM1 Serial Mode Explanation Baud Rate

0 0 0 8-bit Shift Register Oscillator / 12
0 1 1 8-bit UART Set by Timer 1 (*)
1 0 2 9-bit UART Oscillator / 64 (*)
1 1 3 9-bit UART Set by Timer 1 (*)

(*) Note: The baud rate indicated in this table is doubled if PCON.7 (SMOD) is set.

 SM0 - Serial port mode bit 0 is used for serial port mode selection.
 SM1 - Serial port mode bit 1.
 SM2 - Serial port mode 2 bit, also known as multiprocessor communication enable bit. When
set, it enables multiprocessor communication in mode 2 and 3, and eventually mode 1. It should
be cleared in mode 0.

Muhammed Riyas A.M,Assistant Professor,Dept. of ECE ,MCET Pathanamthitta

 Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 23

 REN - Reception Enable bit enables serial reception when set. When cleared, serial reception is
disabled.
 TB8 - Transmitter bit 8. Since all registers are 8-bit wide, this bit solves the problem of
transmiting the 9th bit in modes 2 and 3. It is set to transmit a logic 1 in the 9th bit.
 RB8 - Receiver bit 8 or the 9th bit received in modes 2 and 3. Cleared by hardware if 9th bit
received is a logic 0. Set by hardware if 9th bit received is a logic 1.
 TI - Transmit Interrupt flag is automatically set at the moment the last bit of one byte is sent. It's
a signal to the processor that the line is available for a new byte transmite. It must be cleared
from within the software.
 RI - Receive Interrupt flag is automatically set upon one byte receive. It signals that byte is
received and should be read quickly prior to being replaced by a new data. This bit is also
cleared from within the software.

Serial Communication: Different modes

o Mode - 0 Shift register mode.

Serial data enters and exists through RXD. 8-bits are transmitted/recieved. Pin TXD is connected
to the internal shift frequency pulse source to supply shift pulses to external circuits. The shift
frequency or baud rate is fixed at 1/2 of the oscillator frequency.

o Mode - 1 Standard UART

10 bits are transmitted (through TXD) or recieved through (RXD), a start bit(0), 8 data bits (LSB
first), and a stop bit(1). Once recieved, the stop bits goes into RB8 in special function register
SCON.The baud rate is variable.

o Mode - 2 Multiprocessor Mode.

11 bits are transmitted through TXD or recieved through RXD, a start bit (0), 8 data bits (LSB
first), a programmable 9th bit and a stop bit(1). On transmission, the 9th data bit (TB8 in SCON)

Muhammed Riyas A.M,Assistant Professor,Dept. of ECE ,MCET Pathanamthitta

Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 24

can be assigned the value 0 or 1. Or, for example, the parity bit (P in the PSN) could be moved
into TB8. On receive, the 9th bit goes into RB8 in SFR SCON, which the stop bit is ignored. The
bandwidth is programmable to either 1/32 or 1/64 of oscillator frequency.

o Mode - 3

11 bits are transmitted through TXD or received through RXD: a start bit, 8 data bits (LSB first),
a programmable 9th bit, and a stop bit (1). In fact, Mode 3 is same as Mode 2 in all respects
except the baud rate. The baud rate in Mode 3 is variable.

The SCON SFR allows us to configure the Serial Port. Thus, well go through each bit and review
its function.

The first four bits (bits 4 through 7) are configuration bits.

Baud rate in the 8051

The 8051 transfers and receives data serially at many different baud rates. The baud rate in the
8051 is programmable. This is done with the help of Timer 1. Before we discuss how to do that,
we will look at the relationship between the crystal frequency and the baud rate in the 8051.
As discussed in earlier, the 8051 divides the crystal frequency by 12 to get the machine cycle
frequency. In the case of XTAL = 11.0592 MHz, the machine cycle frequency is 921.6 kHz
(11.0592 MHz / 12 = 921.6 kHz). The 8051 ‘s serial communication UART circuitry divides the
machine cycle frequency of 921.6 kHz by 32 once more before it is used by Timer 1 to set the
baud rate. Therefore, 921.6 kHz divided by 32 gives 28,800 Hz. When Timer 1 is used to set the
baud rate it must be programmed in mode 2,that is 8-bit, auto-reload.

The data rate is generated by timer-1 using the following formula.

Where,

SMOD is the 7th bit of PCON register

fosc is the crystal oscillator frequency of the microcontroller

It can be noted that fosc/ (12 X [256- (TH1)]) is the timer overflow frequency in timer mode-2, which is
the auto-reload mode.

If timer-1 is not run in mode-2, then the baud rate is,

Muhammed Riyas A.M,Assistant Professor,Dept. of ECE ,MCET Pathanamthitta

Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 25

Timer-1 can be run using the internal clock, fosc/12 (timer mode) or from any external source via
pin T1 (P3.5) (Counter mode).
Example: If standard baud rate is desired, then 11.0592 MHz crystal could be selected. To get a
standard 9600 baud rate, the setting of TH1 is calculated as follows.
Assuming SMOD to be ‘0'

or

or

In mode-1, if SM2 is set to 1, no receive interrupt (RI) is generated unless a valid stop bit is
received.

To get baud rates compatible with the PC, we must load TH1 with the values shown in Table.

SBUF register
SBUF is an 8-bit register used solely for serial communication in the 8051. For a byte of data to
be transferred via the TxD line, it must be placed in the SBUF register. Similarly, SBUF holds
the byte of data when it is received by the 8051 ‘s RxD line. SBUF can be accessed like any
other register in the 8051. Look at the following examples of how this register is accessed:

The moment a byte is written into SBUF, it is framed with the start and stop bits and transferred
serially via the TxD pin. Similarly, when the bits are received serially via RxD, the 8051
deframes it by eliminating the stop and start bits, making a byte out of the data received, and then
placing it in the SBUF.

Muhammed Riyas A.M,Assistant Professor,Dept. of ECE ,MCET Pathanamthitta

Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 26

Writing to the Serial Port

Once the Serial Port has been properly configured as explained above, the serial port is
ready to be used to send data and receive data. If you thought that configuring the serial port was
simple, using the serial port will be a breeze.

To write a byte to the serial port one must simply write the value to the SBUF (99h) SFR. For
example, if you wanted to send the letter "A" to the serial port, it could be accomplished as easily
as:

MOV SBUF,#A

Upon execution of the above instruction the 8051 will begin transmitting the character
via the serial port. Obviously transmission is not instantaneous--it takes a measureable amount of
time to transmit. And since the 8051 does not have a serial output buffer we need to be sure that
a character is completely transmitted before we try to transmit the next character.

The 8051 lets us know when it is done transmitting a character by setting the TI bit in
SCON. When this bit is set we know that the last character has been transmitted and that we may
send the next character, if any. Consider the following code segment:

CLR TI ; Be sure the bit is initially clear

MOV SBUF,#A ;Send the letter A to the serial port
JNB TI,$ ;Pause until the TI bit is set.
The above three instructions will successfully transmit a character and wait for the TI bit to be
set before continuing. The last instruction says "Jump if the TI bit is not set to $"--$, in most
assemblers, means "the same address of the current instruction." Thus the 8051 will pause on the
JNB instruction until the TI bit is set by the 8051 upon successful transmission of the character.

Reading the Serial Port

Reading data received by the serial port is equally easy. To read a byte from the serial
port one just needs to read the value stored in the SBUF (99h) SFR after the 8051 has
automatically set the RI flag in SCON.

For example, if your program wants to wait for a character to be received and subsequently read
it into the Accumulator, the following code segment may be used:

JNB RI,$ ;Wait for the 8051 to set the RI flag

MOV A,SBUF ;Read the character from the serial port
The first line of the above code segment waits for the 8051 to set the RI flag; again, the 8051 sets
the RI flag automatically when it receives a character via the serial port. So as long as the bit is
not set the program repeats the "JNB" instruction continuously.

Once the RI bit is set upon character reception the above condition automatically fails and
program flow falls through to the "MOV" instruction which reads the value.

Muhammed Riyas A.M,Assistant Professor,Dept. of ECE ,MCET Pathanamthitta

Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 27

Programming the 8051 to transfer data serially

In programming the 8051 to transfer character bytes serially, the following steps must be taken.
1. The TMOD register is loaded with the value 20H, indicating the use of Timer 1 in mode 2 (8-
bit auto-reload) to set the baud rate.
2. The TH1 is loaded with one of the values in Table to set the baud rate for
serial data transfer (assuming XTAL = 11.0592 MHz).
3. The SCON register is loaded with the value 50H, indicating serial mode 1,
where an 8-bit data is framed with start and stop bits.
1. TR1 is set to 1 to start Timer 1.
2. TI is cleared by the “CLR TI” instruction.
3. The character byte to be transferred serially is written into the SBUF register.
a. The TI flag bit is monitored with the use of the instruction ” JNB TI, xx” to see if the
character has been transferred completely.
4. To transfer the next character, go to Step 5.

Write a program to transfer the message “YES” serially at 9600 baud, 8-bit data, 1 stop
bit. Do this continuously.

Muhammed Riyas A.M,Assistant Professor,Dept. of ECE ,MCET Pathanamthitta

Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 28

 Write a program to continually transmit the character A out the serial port.

ORG 0H
MOV SCON, #40H ;serial port mode 1
;configure timer 1 in auto-reload mode for 9600 baud
MOV TMOD, #20H ;timer mode 2
MOV TH1, #0FDH ;reload value for 9600 baud
MOV TL1, #0FDH
SETB TR1 ;start timer
LOOP: MOV SBUF, #'A' ;transmit character
WAIT4TI: JNB TI, WAIT4TI ;wait for end of transmission
CLR TI
JMP LOOP ;re-transmit
END
Importance of the Tl flag

To understand the importance of the role of TI, look at the following sequence of steps that the
8051 goes through in transmitting a character via TxD.
1. The byte character to be transmitted is written into the SBUF register.
2. The start bit is transferred.
3. The 8-bit character is transferred one bit at a time.

Muhammed Riyas A.M,Assistant Professor,Dept. of ECE ,MCET Pathanamthitta

Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 29

a. The stop bit is transferred. It is during the transfer of the stop bit that the 8051
raises the TI flag (TI =1), indicating that the last character was transmitted
and it is ready to transfer the next character.
b. By monitoring the TI flag, we make sure that we are not overloading the SBUF
register.If we write another byte into the SBUF register before TI is raised, the
untransmitted portion of the previous byte will be lost. In other words, when the 8051
finishes transferring a byte, it raises the TI flag to indicate it is ready for the next
character.
4. After SBUF is loaded with a new byte, the TI flag bit must be forced to 0 by the “CLR
TI” instruction in order for this new byte to be transferred.

From the above discussion we conclude that by checking the TI flag bit, we know whether
or not the 8051 is ready to transfer another byte. More importantly, it must be noted that the
TI flag bit is raised by the 8051 itself when it finishes the transfer of data, whereas it must be
cleared by the programmer with an instruction such as “CLR TI”. It also must be noted that if
we write a byte into SBUF before the TI flag bit is raised, we risk the loss of a portion of the
byte being transferred. The TI flag bit can be checked by the instruction “JNB TI, . . .” or we
can use an interrupt.
Programming the 8051 to receive data serially
In the programming of the 8051 to receive character bytes serially, the following steps must
be taken.
1. The TMOD register is loaded with the value 20H, indicating the use of Timer
1 in mode 2 (8-bit auto-reload) to set the baud rate.
2. TH1 is loaded with one of the values in Table 10-4 to set the baud rate (assum
ing XTAL = 11.0592MHz).
3. The SCON register is loaded with the value 50H, indicating serial mode 1, where 8-bit
data is framed with start and stop bits and receive enable is turned on.
4. TR1 is set to 1 to start Timer 1.
5. RI is cleared with the “CLR RI” instruction.
a. The RI flag bit is monitored with the use of the instruction “JNB RI, xx” to
see if an entire character has been received yet.
6. When RI is raised, SBUF has the byte. Its contents are moved into a safe place.
7. To receive the next character, go to Step 5.

Program the 8051 to receive bytes of data serially, and put them in PI. Set the baud rate at
4800, 8-bit data, and 1 stop bit.

Muhammed Riyas A.M,Assistant Professor,Dept. of ECE ,MCET Pathanamthitta

Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 30

Importance of the Rl flag bit

In receiving bits via its RxD pin, the 8051 goes through the following steps.
1. It receives the start bit indicating that the next bit is the first bit of the character byte it is
about to receive.
2. The 8-bit character is received one bit at time. When the last bit is received, a
byte is formed and placed in SBUF.
3. The stop bit is received. When receiving the stop bit the 8051 makes RI = 1,
indicating that an entire character byte has been received and must be picked
up before it gets overwritten by an incoming character.
4. By checking the RI flag bit when it is raised, we know that a character has been
received and is sitting in the SBUF register. We copy the SBUF contents to a
safe place in some other register or memory before it is lost.
5. After the SBUF contents are copied into a safe place, the RI flag bit must be
forced to 0 by the “CLR RI” instruction in order to allow the next received
character byte to be placed in SBUF. Failure to do this causes loss of the
received character.
From the above discussion we conclude that by checking the RI flag bit we know whether or not
the 8051 has received a character byte. If we fail to copy SBUF into a safe place, we risk the loss
of the received byte. More importantly, it must be noted that the RI flag bit is raised by the 8051,
but it must be cleared by the programmer with an instruction such as “CLR RI”. It also must be
noted that if we copy SBUF into a safe place before the RI flag bit is raised, we risk copying
garbage. The RI flag bit can be checked by the instruction “JNB RI, xx” or by using an interrupt.

1. Write a program in which the 8051 reads data from P1 and writes it to P2 continuously
while giving a copy of it to the serial COM port to be transferred serially. Assume that
XTAL=11.0592. Set the baud rate at 9600.

Muhammed Riyas A.M,Assistant Professor,Dept. of ECE ,MCET Pathanamthitta

Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 31

Solution:
ORG 0
LJMP MAIN

; ------ main program, initialization ------

MAIN: MOV P1,#OFFH ;make P1 an input port

MOV TMOD,#20H ;timer 1,mode 2 (auto reload)
MOV TH1,#OFDH ;9600 baud rate
MOV SCON,#50H ;8-bit, 1 stop, REN enabled
SETB TR1 ;start timer 1

BACK: MOV A,P1

MOV P2,A
MOV SBUF,A ;A has a copy of data
HERE: JNB TI,HERE ;jump if TI is high
CLR TI
SJMP BACK
END

2. Write a program in which the 8051 gets data from P1 and sends it to P2 continuously
while incoming data from the serial port is sent to P0. Assume that XTAL = 11.0592. Set
the baud rate at 9600.

Solution
ORG 00H

; ------ main program, initialization ------

MAIN: MOV P1,#0FFH ;make P1 an input port

MOV TMOD,#20H ;timer 1, mode 2 (auto reload)
MOV TH1,#OFDH ;9600 baud rate
MOV SCON,#50H ;8-bit,1 stop, REN enabled
SETB TR1 ;start timer 1

BACK: MOV A,P1

MOV P2,A
HERE: JNB RI,HERE
MOV A,SBUF
MOV P0,A
CLR RI
SJMP BACK
END

Muhammed Riyas A.M,Assistant Professor,Dept. of ECE ,MCET Pathanamthitta

Mod-3: Interrupts,Timer operation,Serial communication 32

REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Explain the different serial communication modes in 8051.
2. Explain the function and operating modes of timer in 8051.
3. Explain the interrupt structure of 8051 microcontroller Explain how interrupts are
prioritized.

Muhammed Riyas A.M,Assistant Professor,Dept. of ECE ,MCET Pathanamthitta