Embedded Systems

Chapter 4

I/O Ports in AVR

 Topics
■ AVR pin out (ATmega 8)
■ The structure of I/O pins
■ AVR interfacing
■ Output interfacing
■ Input interfacing

2
I/O unit in AVR

3
I/O ports in AVR family

4
 ATmega8 pinout
+5 V

1. Vital Pins:
1. Power
■ VCC
■ Ground
2. Crystal +5 V
■ XTAL1 +5 V

■ XTAL2
3. Reset
2. I/O pins
• PORTB, PORTC, and
PORTD
4. Internal ADC pins
• AREF, AVCC, ADCn

5
 Crystal Oscillator

https://www.watelectronics.com/crystal-oscillator-circuit-working-applications/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3b0ZNKvgqo 6
The structure of I/O pins

7
 Time delay

1
TMachine cycle =
FXTAL

1
TMachine cycle = = 62.5 ns
16MHz

8
I/O bit manipulation programming

9
AVR Output Interfacing

10
 AVR Fan-out
■ Each I/O port can sink 20
mA at VCC = 5V and 10
mA at VCC = 3V

11
 Interfacing Light Emitting Diodes (LED)
■ LED is a diode that is lit
■ When the voltage across it is
above some threshold. 0 🡪 ON
1 🡪 OFF
■ The LED does not lit
■ When the voltage is below that or the
diode is reverse biased.
■ To limit the current
■ Important to include a resistor in series
with the LED, Otherwise, the LED will burn
■ a lit LED display that the output is on or off
■ Depending on how it is connected 0 🡪 OFF
■ The configuration on top (LED0) is 1 🡪 ON
preferred
■ Software design with knowledge on how
hardware is connected
12
 LED Resistor
■ Series LED must be well chosen
■ Too low a resistor
■ leads to excessive current and the LED 0 🡪 ON
burn out 1 🡪 OFF
■ Too high resistor
■ limit the current more than necessary
and thus reduce the LED’s brightness
■ The LED resistor is calculated
■ Voltage drop is about 2 V
■ Maximum allowed current about 20
mA .
■ For 5 V power supply, Rmin = 150 Ω 0 🡪 OFF
1 🡪 ON
■ Real designs: select the next higher
standard value for safety margins

13
 High Current Output
■ Many devices like small lamps, servo and stepper motors can
operate at relatively low voltages. However, they require
much more current than can be supplied by a typical
microcontroller.
■ Drivers are usually needed as an interface between the digital
world and the analog world.
VCC

■ We can use transistors. Load

■ Transistor amplifies signals.
AVR

14
 Darlington Transistor
■ Darlington Configuration c
b
■ Higher current gain c
e b
■ Single integrated unit or e
constructed using a pair of
NPN transistors

15
 ULN2003
■ There are 7 Darlington
transistors in a
ULN2003.

16
 Relay
■ Relay is an electronic
controlled switch.
■ It isolates two parts
of a circuit from each
other.
■ A small amount of
current and voltage
causes to switch a
large amount of
voltage and current.
Relay DPDT
Maximum output: 250V 8A ~AC
Input: 24V DC

17
 Relay
■ Relay has the following parts:
■ Coil
■ Contacts
■ Spring

+
- 12V ~ 220V

18
 AVR connection to relay

Darlingto Lamp
Micro Relay
n

19
 Opto-isolator
■ Opto-isolator isolates two parts
of a circuit from each other.
■ There is an LED in the input,
and a photo-transistor in the TLP521
output. When the LED lights
up, the photo-transistor,
senses the light and becomes
conductor, and passes the
current.
■ can be used in input or output
circuits.

20
 Opto-isolator

16mA 10mA

TLP521

21
Opto-isolator

22
AVR Input Interfacing

23
 Switches
■ Switches are used as inputs
■ Simple circuits are designed to make the switches produce TTL
or CMOS levels.
■ Hardware and software must be compatible to interpret what
a closed switch indicate

■ A closed switch may be read by a microcontroller as 1 or 0

depending on the used circuit
■ In this circuit, a closed switch is read by a microcontroller as 1
and an open switch is read as 0

output to microcontroller

Closed 🡪 1
Open 🡪 0

24
 Switches
■ This circuit is read as 0 when the switch is closed and as 1
when it is open.

Closed 🡪 0
Rup Open 🡪 1

■ It is important to not keep an input port floating, especially for

CMOS (use pull-up resistor as in Figure).
■ When the switch is open, it pulls the output to high.
■ Typically, 4.7K-10K to reduce current drawn when the switch is closed.
■ For lower resistors, then more current drawn unnecessarily
■ For higher resistors, increased voltage drop over Rup and the logic 1
may will not be guaranteed

25