AVR CPU Core

This section discusses the Atmel®AVR® core architecture in general. The main function of the CPU core is to ensure correct program execution. The CPU must therefore be able to access memories, perform calculations, control peripherals, and handle interrupts.

In order to maximize performance and parallelism, the AVR uses a Harvard architecture – with separate memories and buses for program and data. Instructions in the program memory are executed with a single level pipelining. While one instruction is being executed, the next instruction is pre-fetched from the program memory. This concept enables instructions to be executed in every clock cycle. The program memory is In-System Reprogrammable Flash memory.

The fast-access Register File contains 32 × 8-bit general purpose working registers with a single clock cycle access time. This allows single-cycle Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) operation. In a typical ALU operation, two operands are output from the Register File, the operation is executed, and the result is stored back in the Register File – in one clock cycle.

Six of the 32 registers can be used as three 16-bit indirect address register pointers for Data Space addressing – enabling efficient address calculations. One of the these address pointers can also be used as an address pointer for look up tables in Flash Program memory. These added function registers are the 16-bit X-, Y-, and Z-register, described later in this section.

The ALU supports arithmetic and logic operations between registers or between a constant and a register. Single register operations can also be executed in the ALU. After an arithmetic operation, the Status Register is updated to reflect information about the result of the operation.

AVR CPU core architecture

Program flow is provided by conditional and unconditional jump and call instructions, able to directly address the whole address space. Most AVR instructions have a single 16-bit word format. Every program memory address contains a 16- or 32-bit instruction.

Program Flash memory space is divided in two sections, the Boot program section and the Application Program section. Both sections have dedicated Lock bits for write and read/write protection. The SPM instruction that writes into the Application Flash memory section must reside in the Boot Program section.

During interrupts and subroutine calls, the return address Program Counter (PC) is stored on the Stack. The Stack is effectively allocated in the general data SRAM, and consequently the Stack size is only limited by the total SRAM size and the usage of the SRAM. All user programs must initialize the SP in the reset routine (before subroutines or interrupts are executed). The Stack Pointer SP is read/write accessible in the I/O space. The data SRAM can easily be accessed through the five different addressing modes supported in the AVR architecture.

The memory spaces in the AVR architecture are all linear and regular memory maps. A flexible interrupt module has its control registers in the I/O space with an additional global interrupt enable bit in the Status Register. All interrupts have a separate interrupt vector in the interrupt vector table. The interrupts have priority in accordance with their interrupt vector position. The lower the interrupt vector address, the higher the priority.

The I/O memory space contains 64 addresses for CPU peripheral functions as Control Registers, SPI, and other I/O functions. The I/O Memory can be accessed directly, or as the Data Space locations following those of the Register File, $20 - $5F.

Arithmetic Logic Unit

The high-performance Atmel®AVR® ALU operates in direct connection with all the 32 general purpose working registers. Within a single clock cycle, arithmetic operations between general purpose registers or between a register and an immediate are executed. The ALU operations are divided into three main categories – arithmetic, logical, and bit-functions. Some implementations of the architecture also provide a powerful multiplier supporting both signed/unsigned multiplication and fractional format. See the “Instruction Set” section for a detailed description.

Status register

The Status Register contains information about the result of the most recently executed arithmetic instruction. This information can be used for altering program flow in order to perform conditional operations. Note that the Status Register is updated after all ALU operations, as specified in the Instruction Set Reference. This will in many cases remove the need for using the dedicated compare instructions, resulting in faster and more compact code. The Status Register is not automatically stored when entering an interrupt routine and restored when returning from an interrupt. This must be handled by software. The AVR Status Register – SREG – is defined as:

bits	I	T	H	S	V	N	Z	C
Read/Write	R/W	R/W	R/W	R/W	R/W	R/W	R/W	R/W
Initial value	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

• Bit 7 – I: Global Interrupt Enable. The Global Interrupt Enable bit must be set for the interrupts to be enabled. The individual interrupt enable control is then performed in separate control registers. If the Global Interrupt Enable Register is cleared, none of the interrupts are enabled independent of the individual interrupt enable settings. The I-bit is cleared by hardware after an interrupt has occurred, and is set by the RETI instruction to enable subsequent interrupts. The I-bit can also be set and cleared by the application with the SEI and CLI instructions, as described in the instruction set reference.
 • Bit 6 – T: Bit Copy Storage. The Bit Copy instructions BLD (Bit LoaD) and BST (Bit STore) use the T-bit as source or destination for the operated bit. A bit from a register in the Register File can be copied into T by the BST instruction, and a bit in T can be copied into a bit in a register in the Register File by the BLD instruction.
 • Bit 5 – H: Half Carry Flag. The Half Carry Flag H indicates a half carry in some arithmetic operations. Half Carry is useful in BCD arithmetic. See the “Instruction Set Description” for detailed information.
 • Bit 4 – S: Sign Bit. S = N ⊕ V The S-bit is always an exclusive or between the Negative Flag N and the Two’s Complement Overflow Flag V. See the “Instruction Set Description” for detailed information.
 • Bit 3 – V: Two’s Complement Overflow Flag. The Two’s Complement Overflow Flag V supports two’s complement arithmetics. See the “Instruction Set Description” for detailed information.
 • Bit 2 – N: Negative Flag. The Negative Flag N indicates a negative result in an arithmetic or logic operation. See the “Instruction Set Description” for detailed information.
 • Bit 1 – Z: Zero Flag. The Zero Flag Z indicates a zero result in an arithmetic or logic operation. See the “Instruction Set Description” for detailed information.
 • Bit 0 – C: Carry Flag. The Carry Flag C indicates a carry in an arithmetic or logic operation. See the “Instruction Set Description” for detailed information.

General purpose register file

The Register File is optimized for the Atmel®AVR® Enhanced RISC instruction set. In order to achieve the required performance and flexibility, the following input/output schemes are sup￾ported by the Register File:
• One 8-bit output operand and one 8-bit result input
• Two 8-bit output operands and one 8-bit result input
• Two 8-bit output operands and one 16-bit result input
• One 16-bit output operand and one 16-bit result input
In the figure shown below is the structure of the 32 general purpose working registers in the CPU.

AVR working registers

Most of the instructions operating on the Register File have direct access to all registers, and most of them are single cycle instructions.

As shown in above figure, each register is also assigned a data memory address, mapping them directly into the first 32 locations of the user Data Space. Although not being physically implemented as SRAM locations, this memory organization provides great flexibility in access of the registers, as the X-, Y-, and Z-pointer Registers can be set to index any register in the file.