ATmega640/1280/1281/2560/2561
26.5.2
ADC Voltage Reference
The reference voltage for the ADC (VREF) indicates the conversion range for the ADC. Single
ended channels that exceed VREF will result in codes close to 0x3FF. VREF can be selected as
either AVCC, internal 1.1V reference, internal 2.56V reference or external AREF pin.
AVCC is connected to the ADC through a passive switch. The internal 1.1V reference is gener-
ated from the internal bandgap reference (VBG) through an internal amplifier. In either case, the
external AREF pin is directly connected to the ADC, and the reference voltage can be made
more immune to noise by connecting a capacitor between the AREF pin and ground. VREF can
also be measured at the AREF pin with a high impedant voltmeter. Note that VREF is a high
impedant source, and only a capacitive load should be connected in a system. The Internal
2.56V reference is generated from the 1.1V reference.
If the user has a fixed voltage source connected to the AREF pin, the user may not use the other
reference voltage options in the application, as they will be shorted to the external voltage. If no
external voltage is applied to the AREF pin, the user may switch between AVCC, 1.1V and
2.56V as reference selection. The first ADC conversion result after switching reference voltage
source may be inaccurate, and the user is advised to discard this result.
If differential channels are used, the selected reference should not be closer to AVCC than
indicated in “ADC Characteristics – Preliminary Data” on page 379.
26.6 ADC Noise Canceler
The ADC features a noise canceler that enables conversion during sleep mode to reduce noise
induced from the CPU core and other I/O peripherals. The noise canceler can be used with ADC
Noise Reduction and Idle mode. To make use of this feature, the following procedure should be
used:
1. Make sure that the ADC is enabled and is not busy converting. Single Conversion
mode must be selected and the ADC conversion complete interrupt must be
enabled.
2. Enter ADC Noise Reduction mode (or Idle mode). The ADC will start a conversion
once the CPU has been halted.
3. If no other interrupts occur before the ADC conversion completes, the ADC interrupt
will wake up the CPU and execute the ADC Conversion Complete interrupt routine. If
another interrupt wakes up the CPU before the ADC conversion is complete, that
interrupt will be executed, and an ADC Conversion Complete interrupt request will be
generated when the ADC conversion completes. The CPU will remain in active mode
until a new sleep command is executed.
Note that the ADC will not be automatically turned off when entering other sleep modes than Idle
mode and ADC Noise Reduction mode. The user is advised to write zero to ADEN before enter-
ing such sleep modes to avoid excessive power consumption.
If the ADC is enabled in such sleep modes and the user wants to perform differential conver-
sions, the user is advised to switch the ADC off and on after waking up from sleep to prompt an
extended conversion to get a valid result.
26.6.1
Analog Input Circuitry
The analog input circuitry for single ended channels is illustrated in Figure 26-8. An analog
source applied to ADCn is subjected to the pin capacitance and input leakage of that pin, regard-
less of whether that channel is selected as input for the ADC. When the channel is selected, the
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2549L–AVR–08/07
ATMEL [ ATMEL ]
