AVR304HalfDuplexInterruptDrivenSoftwareUART.PDFVIP

AVR304: Half Duplex Interrupt Driven Software UART 8-bit Features Microcontrollers • Runs asynchronously (interrupt driven) • Capable of handling baud rates of up to 38.4 kbaud @8MHz clock frequency • Runs on any AVR device with 8-bit timer/counter and external interrupt Application Note 1 Introduction Lots of control applications communicate serially in one direction at a time only (half duplex). This application note describes how to make a half duplex UART on any AVR device using the 8-bit Timer/Counter0 and an external interrupt. This software can be used to implement a serial port on a device with no hardware UART, or it can be used to implement a second serial-port on AVR devices already equipped with a UART. Idle line is signaled by holding the line at logical one. The start bit is always a zero, and the UART receiver will detect the start of a frame by the first falling edge. Following the start bit come the data bits, followed by a stop bit which is always a logical one. This stop bit is held stable at one until the next start bit is sent. Figure 1-1. UART Communication Frame Format Figure 1-2. Serial frame of ASCII “A” ($41) Rev. 0941C-AVR-04/08 2 Theory of Operation Asynchronous serial data communication follows some simple rules on data transfer. Data is transmitted sequentially, one bit at a time. To inform the receiver that a new