ATmega128(L)
Accessing 16-bit
Registers
The TCNTn, OCRnA/B/C, and ICRn are 16-bit registers that can be accessed by the AVR CPU
via the 8-bit data bus. The 16-bit register must be byte accessed using two read or write opera-
tions. Each 16-bit timer has a single 8-bit register for temporary storing of the high byte of the 16-
bit access. The same Temporary Register is shared between all 16-bit registers within each 16-
bit timer. Accessing the low byte triggers the 16-bit read or write operation. When the low byte of
a 16-bit register is written by the CPU, the high byte stored in the Temporary Register, and the
low byte written are both copied into the 16-bit register in the same clock cycle. When the low
byte of a 16-bit register is read by the CPU, the high byte of the 16-bit register is copied into the
Temporary Register in the same clock cycle as the low byte is read.
Not all 16-bit accesses uses the Temporary Register for the high byte. Reading the OCRnA/B/C
16-bit registers does not involve using the Temporary Register.
To do a 16-bit write, the high byte must be written before the low byte. For a 16-bit read, the low
byte must be read before the high byte.
The following code examples show how to access the 16-bit timer registers assuming that no
interrupts updates the temporary register. The same principle can be used directly for accessing
the OCRnA/B/C and ICRn Registers. Note that when using “C”, the compiler handles the 16-bit
access.
Assembly Code Examples(1)
...
; Set TCNTn to 0x01FF
ldir17,0x01
ldir16,0xFF
outTCNTnH,r17
outTCNTnL,r16
; Read TCNTn into r17:r16
in r16,TCNTnL
in r17,TCNTnH
...
C Code Examples(1)
unsigned int i;
...
/* Set TCNTn to 0x01FF */
TCNTn = 0x1FF;
/* Read TCNTn into i */
i = TCNTn;
...
Note:
1. See “About Code Examples” on page 9.
The assembly code example returns the TCNTn value in the r17:r16 register pair.
It is important to notice that accessing 16-bit registers are atomic operations. If an interrupt
occurs between the two instructions accessing the 16-bit register, and the interrupt code
updates the temporary register by accessing the same or any other of the 16-bit Timer Regis-
ters, then the result of the access outside the interrupt will be corrupted. Therefore, when both
the main code and the interrupt code update the temporary register, the main code must disable
the interrupts during the 16-bit access.
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2467P–AVR–08/07
ATMEL [ ATMEL ]
