ATmega32A datasheet(124/352 Pages) ATMEL

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8155B–AVR–07/09

ATmega32A

A change of the COM21:0 bits state will have effect at the first compare match after the bits are

written. For non-PWM modes, the action can be forced to have immediate effect by using the

FOC2 strobe bits.

17.7

Modes of Operation

The mode of operation, i.e., the behavior of the Timer/Counter and the output compare pins, is

defined by the combination of the Waveform Generation mode (WGM2[1:0]) and Compare Out-

put mode (COM2[1:0]) bits. The Compare Output mode bits do not affect the counting

sequence, while the Waveform Generation mode bits do. The COM2[1:0] bits control whether

the PWM output generated should be inverted or not (inverted or non-inverted PWM). For non-

PWM modes the COM2[1:0] bits control whether the output should be set, cleared, or toggled at

a compare match (See “Compare Match Output Unit” on page 123.).

For detailed timing information refer to “Timer/Counter Timing Diagrams” on page 128.

17.7.1

Normal Mode

The simplest mode of operation is the Normal mode (WGM2[1:0] = 0). In this mode 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 (TOP = 0xFF) and then restarts from the bot-

tom (0x00). In normal operation the Timer/Counter Overflow Flag (TOV2) will be set in the same

timer clock cycle as the TCNT2 becomes zero. The TOV2 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 TOV2 Flag, the timer resolution can be increased by software. There

are no special cases to consider in the normal mode, a new counter value can be written

anytime.

The Output Compare unit can be used to generate interrupts at some given time. Using the out-

put compare to generate waveforms in normal mode is not recommended, since this will occupy

too much of the CPU time.

17.7.2

Clear Timer on Compare Match (CTC) Mode

In Clear Timer on Compare or CTC mode (WGM2[1:0] = 2), the OCR2 Register is used to

manipulate the counter resolution. In CTC mode the counter is cleared to zero when the counter

value (TCNT2) matches the OCR2. The OCR2 defines the top value for the counter, hence also

its resolution. This mode allows greater control of the compare match output frequency. It also

simplifies the operation of counting external events.

The timing diagram for the CTC mode is shown in Figure 17-5. The counter value (TCNT2)

increases until a compare match occurs between TCNT2 and OCR2, and then counter (TCNT2)

is cleared.

ATmega32A Datasheet(PDF) 124 Page - ATMEL Corporation