The Timer/Counter can be clocked internally, via the prescaler, or by an external clock source on
the T0 pin. The Clock Select logic block controls which clock source and edge the Timer/Counter
uses to increment (or decrement) its value. The Timer/Counter is inactive when no clock source
is selected. The output from the Clock Select logic is referred to as the timer clock (clkT0).
The double buffered Output Compare Registers (OCR0A and OCR0B) are compared with the
Timer/Counter value at all times. The result of the compare can be used by the Waveform Gen-
erator to generate a PWM or variable frequency output on the Output Compare pins (OC0A and
OC0B). See “Using the Output Compare Unit” on page 119. for details. The compare match
event will also set the Compare Flag (OCF0A or OCF0B) which can be used to generate an Out-
put Compare interrupt request.
14.3 Timer/Counter Clock Sources
The Timer/Counter can be clocked by an internal or an external clock source. The clock source
is selected by the Clock Select logic which is controlled by the Clock Select (CS02:0) bits
located in the Timer/Counter Control Register (TCCR0B). For details on clock sources and pres-
caler, see “Timer/Counter0 and Timer/Counter1 Prescalers” on page 138.
14.4 Counter Unit
The main part of the 8-bit Timer/Counter is the programmable bi-directional counter unit. Figure
14-2 shows a block diagram of the counter and its surroundings.
Figure 14-2. Counter Unit Block Diagram
TOVn
(Int.Req.)
DATA BUS
Clock Select
count
clear
Edge
Detector
Tn
clkTn
TCNTn
Control Logic
direction
( From Prescaler )
bottom
top
Signal description (internal signals):
count
direction
clear
Increment or decrement TCNT0 by 1.
Select between increment and decrement.
Clear TCNT0 (set all bits to zero).
clkTn
Timer/Counter clock, referred to as clkT0 in the following.
Signalize that TCNT0 has reached maximum value.
Signalize that TCNT0 has reached minimum value (zero).
top
bottom
Depending of the mode of operation used, the counter is cleared, incremented, or decremented
at each timer clock (clkT0). clkT0 can be generated from an external or internal clock source,
selected by the Clock Select bits (CS02:0). When no clock source is selected (CS02:0 = 0) the
timer is stopped. However, the TCNT0 value can be accessed by the CPU, regardless of
whether clkT0 is present or not. A CPU write overrides (has priority over) all counter clear or
count operations.
92
ATmega48/88/168
2545M–AVR–09/07
ATMEL [ ATMEL ]
