Datasheet

Table Of Contents
70
2486AA–AVR–02/2013
ATmega8(L)
Timer/Counter
Clock Sources
The Timer/Counter can be clocked by an internal or an external clock source. The clock source
is selected by the clock select logic which is controlled by the clock select (CS02:0) bits located
in the Timer/Counter Control Register (TCCR0). For details on clock sources and prescaler, see
“Timer/Counter0 and Timer/Counter1 Prescalers” on page 73.
Counter Unit The main part of the 8-bit Timer/Counter is the programmable counter unit. Figure 27 shows a
block diagram of the counter and its surroundings.
Figure 27. Counter Unit Block Diagram
Signal description (internal signals):
count Increment TCNT0 by 1
clk
Tn
Timer/Counter clock, referred to as clk
T0
in the following
max Signalize that TCNT0 has reached maximum value
The counter is incremented at each timer clock (clk
T0
). clk
T0
can be generated from an external
or internal clock source, selected by the clock select bits (CS02:0). When no clock source is
selected (CS02:0 = 0) the timer is stopped. However, the TCNT0 value can be accessed by the
CPU, regardless of whether clk
T0
is present or not. A CPU write overrides (has priority over) all
counter clear or count operations.
Operation The counting direction is always up (incrementing), and no counter clear is performed. The
counter simply overruns when it passes its maximum 8-bit value (MAX = 0xFF) and then restarts
from the bottom (0x00). In normal operation the Timer/Counter Overflow Flag (TOV0) will be set
in the same timer clock cycle as the TCNT0 becomes zero. The TOV0 Flag in this case behaves
like a ninth bit, except that it is only set, not cleared. However, combined with the timer overflow
interrupt that automatically clears the TOV0 Flag, the timer resolution can be increased by soft-
ware. A new counter value can be written anytime.
Timer/Counter
Timing Diagrams
The Timer/Counter is a synchronous design and the timer clock (clk
T0
) is therefore shown as a
clock enable signal in the following figures. The figures include information on when Interrupt
Flags are set. Figure 28 on page 71 contains timing data for basic Timer/Counter operation. The
figure shows the count sequence close to the MAX value.
DATA BU S
TCNTn Control Logic
count
TOVn
(Int. Req.)
Clock Select
max
Tn
Edge
Detector
( From Prescaler )
clk
Tn