ATmega169P
6.3.2
6.3.3
EEPROM Write During Power-down Sleep Mode
When entering Power-down sleep mode while an EEPROM write operation is active, the
EEPROM write operation will continue, and will complete before the Write Access time has
passed. However, when the write operation is completed, the clock continues running, and as a
consequence, the device does not enter Power-down entirely. It is therefore recommended to
verify that the EEPROM write operation is completed before entering Power-down.
Preventing EEPROM Corruption
During periods of low VCC, the EEPROM data can be corrupted because the supply voltage is
too low for the CPU and the EEPROM to operate properly. These issues are the same as for
board level systems using EEPROM, and the same design solutions should be applied.
An EEPROM data corruption can be caused by two situations when the voltage is too low. First,
a regular write sequence to the EEPROM requires a minimum voltage to operate correctly. Sec-
ondly, the CPU itself can execute instructions incorrectly, if the supply voltage is too low.
EEPROM data corruption can easily be avoided by following this design recommendation:
Keep the AVR RESET active (low) during periods of insufficient power supply voltage. This can
be done by enabling the internal Brown-out Detector (BOD). If the detection level of the internal
BOD does not match the needed detection level, an external low VCC reset Protection circuit can
be used. If a reset occurs while a write operation is in progress, the write operation will be com-
pleted provided that the power supply voltage is sufficient.
25
8018A–AVR–03/06
ATMEL [ ATMEL ]
