Datasheet

ATmega48PA/88PA/168PA [DATASHEET]
9223F–AVR–04/14
242
27.8 Self-Programming the Flash
The program memory is updated in a page by page fashion. Before programming a page with the data stored in the
temporary page buffer, the page must be erased. The temporary page buffer is filled one word at a time using SPM and the
buffer can be filled either before the page erase command or between a page erase and a page write operation:
Alternative 1, fill the buffer before a page erase
● Fill temporary page buffer
● Perform a page erase
● Perform a page write
Alternative 2, fill the buffer after page erase
● Perform a page erase
● Fill temporary page buffer
● Perform a page write
If only a part of the page needs to be changed, the rest of the page must be stored (for example in the temporary page
buffer) before the erase, and then be rewritten. When using alternative 1, the boot loader provides an effective read-modify-
write feature which allows the user software to first read the page, do the necessary changes, and then write back the
modified data. If alternative 2 is used, it is not possible to read the old data while loading since the page is already erased.
The temporary page buffer can be accessed in a random sequence.
It is essential that the page address used in both the page erase and page write operation is addressing the same page. See
Section 27.8.13 “Simple Assembly Code Example for a Boot Loader” on page 245 for an assembly code example.
27.8.1 Performing Page Erase by SPM
To execute page erase, set up the address in the Z-pointer, write “X0000011” to SPMCSR and execute SPM within four
clock cycles after writing SPMCSR. The data in R1 and R0 is ignored. The page address must be written to PCPAGE in the
Z-register. Other bits in the Z-pointer will be ignored during this operation.
● Page erase to the RWW section: The NRWW section can be read during the page erase.
● Page erase to the NRWW section: The CPU is halted during the operation.
27.8.2 Filling the Temporary Buffer (Page Loading)
To write an instruction word, set up the address in the Z-pointer and data in R1:R0, write “00000001” to SPMCSR and
execute SPM within four clock cycles after writing SPMCSR. The content of PCWORD in the Z-register is used to address
the data in the temporary buffer. The temporary buffer will auto-erase after a Page Write operation or by writing the
RWWSRE bit in SPMCSR. It is also erased after a system reset. Note that it is not possible to write more than one time to
each address without erasing the temporary buffer.
If the EEPROM is written in the middle of an SPM page load operation, all data loaded will be lost.
27.8.3 Performing a Page Write
To execute page write, set up the address in the Z-pointer, write “X0000101” to SPMCSR and execute SPM within four clock
cycles after writing SPMCSR. The data in R1 and R0 is ignored. The page address must be written to PCPAGE. Other bits
in the Z-pointer must be written to zero during this operation.
● Page write to the RWW section: The NRWW section can be read during the page write.
● Page write to the NRWW section: The CPU is halted during the operation.
27.8.4 Using the SPM Interrupt
If the SPM interrupt is enabled, the SPM interrupt will generate a constant interrupt when the SELFPRGEN bit in SPMCSR is
cleared. This means that the interrupt can be used instead of polling the SPMCSR register in software. When using the SPM
interrupt, the interrupt vectors should be moved to the BLS section to avoid that an interrupt is accessing the RWW section
when it is blocked for reading. How to move the interrupts is described in Section 12. “Interrupts” on page 50.