ATmega169P
14.2 Accessing 16-bit Registers
The TCNT1, OCR1A/B, and ICR1 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 operations.
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 tempo-
rary 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 OCR1A/B 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 OCR1A/B and ICR1 Registers. Note that when using “C”, the compiler handles the 16-bit
access.
Assembly Code Examples(1)
...
; Set TCNT1 to 0x01FF
ldir17,0x01
ldir16,0xFF
outTCNT1H,r17
outTCNT1L,r16
; Read TCNT1 into r17:r16
in r16,TCNT1L
in r17,TCNT1H
...
C Code Examples(1)
unsigned int i;
...
/* Set TCNT1 to 0x01FF */
TCNT1 = 0x1FF;
/* Read TCNT1 into i */
i = TCNT1;
...
Note:
1. See ”About Code Examples” on page 9.
The assembly code example returns the TCNT1 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
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8018A–AVR–03/06
ATMEL [ ATMEL ]
