PIC18FXX20
23.0
SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE
CPU
23.1
Configuration Bits
There are several features intended to maximize sys-
tem reliability, minimize cost through elimination of
external components, provide power saving operating
modes and offer code protection. These are:
• Osc Selection
• RESET
- Power-on Reset (POR)
- Power-up Timer (PWRT)
- Oscillator Start-up Timer (OST)
- Brown-out Reset (BOR)
• Interrupts
• Watchdog Timer (WDT)
• SLEEP
• Code Protection
• ID Locations
• In-Circuit Serial Programming
All PIC18FXX20 devices have a Watchdog Timer,
which is permanently enabled via the configuration bits,
or software controlled. It runs off its own RC oscillator
for added reliability. There are two timers that offer nec-
essary delays on power-up. One is the Oscillator
Start-up Timer (OST), intended to keep the chip in
RESET until the crystal oscillator is stable. The other is
the Power-up Timer (PWRT), which provides a fixed
delay on power-up only, designed to keep the part in
RESET while the power supply stabilizes. With these
two timers on-chip, most applications need no external
RESET circuitry.
SLEEP mode is designed to offer a very low current
power-down mode. The user can wake-up from SLEEP
through external RESET, Watchdog Timer Wake-up, or
through an interrupt. Several oscillator options are also
made available to allow the part to fit the application.
The RC oscillator option saves system cost, while the
LP crystal option saves power. A set of configuration
bits are used to select various options.
The configuration bits can be programmed (read as '0'),
or left unprogrammed (read as '1'), to select various
device configurations. These bits are mapped, starting
at program memory location 300000h.
The user will note that address 300000h is beyond the
user program memory space. In fact, it belongs to the
configuration memory space (300000h through
3FFFFFh), which can only be accessed using Table
Reads and Table Writes.
Programming the configuration registers is done in a
manner similar to programming the FLASH memory.
The EECON1 register WR bit starts a self-timed write
to the configuration register. In normal Operation mode,
a
TBLWT
instruction with the TBLPTR pointed to the
configuration register sets up the address and the data
for the configuration register write. Setting the WR bit
starts a long write to the configuration register. The con-
figuration registers are written a byte at a time. To write
or erase a configuration cell, a
TBLWT
instruction can
write a ‘1’ or a ‘0’ into the cell.
2003 Microchip Technology Inc.
Advance Information
DS39609A-page 239
MICROCHIP [ MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY ]
