A Six week training and project report on

8051 Microcontroller and Embedded Systems

Submitted in the partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of the
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
In
ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING
By
YOUR NAME

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION

ENGINEERING
PLACE
COLLEGE
LOGO

PTU JALANDHAR
PUNJAB
INDIA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It was highly educative and interactive to take training at SOFCON India. Pvt. Ltd.,delhi.
A person technically lacks without having practical knowledge but here it was a good chance for
learning and practicing new things to update our self. In a fully equipped environment and well
experienced trainers, it was a qualitative program for being known with engineering
requirements. Trainers guided me very well and updated me with all the valuable information
regarding my course and latest technology.
I am highly thankful to the respected Training and Placement Officer and respected Head of
Department of Electronics and Communication Department Ms. Nancy Kaur for allowing me to
join YOUR TRAINING INST. and motivating me to do the right things. I also take the
opportunity to thanks to Mr.Akshay and Mr. Preetfor his precious guidance in field of
microcontrollers and interfacing circuits and devices and also sorting out our problems.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Topic 1-Company Profile

Topic 2-Introduction to embedded systems

Topic 3-Characteristics of Embedded Systems

Topic 4-Processors in Embedded System

8-9

4.1 Microcontroller vs. Microprocessor

4.2 Microcontroller Families

Topic 5-8051 microcontroller

10-12

5.1 AT 89C51
5.2 Pin Diagram of AT89C51
5.3 Pin Description of 8051

Topic 6- Architecture of 8051 microcontroller

13-15

6.1 Block Diagram of 8051

6.2 Memory and Registers
6.2.1 SFRs
6.2.2 DPTR

Topic 7- 8051 Assembly Language Programming

16-28

7.1 How to Program an 8051 microcontroller

7.2 Instruction Set of 8051
7.2.1 Addressing Modes
7.2.2 Instruction Types
7.3 I/O PROGRAMMING
7.4 TIMERS AND COUNTERS

7.5 Serial Port Communication in 8051 microcontroller

7.6 INTERUPTS

Topic 8-Interfacing Devices

29-34

8.1 LED INTERFACING

8.2 SEVEN SEGMENT INTERFACING
8.3 LCD INTERFACING
8.4 INTERFACING MOTOR WITH 8051

Topic 9 Bibliography

Topic 1
Company Profile (SOFCON India Pvt. Ltd.)

Labs N Racks is the first and only professional CISCO training institute around Haryana, Punjab,
Uttaranchal, HP, J & K,and Rajasthan which is providing CCIE training, led by a team of highly
qualified CISCO trainers. Labs N Racks was born when experts from the field of
internetworking who had significant experience both in industry as well as educational training
came together to start their own institute.
Labs N Racks is providing CISCO training from the basic level to the advanced level, so the
students who want to enter into the field of IT do not find any difficulty in acquiring and
developing the required expertise.
The leadership of Labs N Racks possesses sound technical knowledge to ensure that Labs N
Racks trainers are masters in the internetworking technologies in general and are SMEs (Subject
Matter Experts) for the courses they deliver. It is the only institute in the region which has CCIE
trainers having a past experience of more than 8 years in the training industry.
Labs N Racks aims to strategize relations with global IT majors which set the trends and raise
our bar to internationally acclaimed IT power house. Association with the standard setters will
facilitate the students getting hands on experience and ready resources for complete all round IT
training to excel in any of the large list of fields the ITindustry has.
Apart from the networking, Labs N Racks is also an Embedded And Robotic Training Institute
certified from Vibe Tech Solutions Limited.

Topic 2
Introduction to Embedded Systems
An embedded system is a special-purpose system in which the computer is completely
encapsulated by the device it controls. Unlike a general-purpose computer, such as a personal
computer, an embedded system performs pre-defined tasks, usually with very specific
requirements. Since the system is dedicated to a specific task, design engineers can optimize it,
reducing the size and cost of the product. Embedded systems are often mass-produced, so the
cost savings may be multiplied by millions of items.
Handheld computers or PDAs are generally considered embedded devices because of the nature
of their hardware design, even though they are more expandable in software terms. This line of
definition continues to blur as devices expand.
Physically, embedded systems range from portable devices such as digital watches and MP3
players, to large stationary installations like traffic lights, factory controllers. Complexity varies
from low, with a single microcontroller chip, to very high with multiple units, peripheralsand
networks mounted inside a large chassis or enclosure.
Embedded systems contain processing cores that are either microcontrollers or digital signal
processors (DSP). The key characteristic, however, is being dedicated to handle a particular task.
Since the embedded system is dedicated to specific tasks, design engineers can optimize it to
reduce the size and cost of the product and increase the reliability and performance. Some
embedded systems are mass-produced, benefiting from economies of scale.
Robotics and automation are a part of embedded systems itself. Robot development and
automation needs study of embedded systems.

Examples of Embedded System are

I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.

automatic teller machines (ATMs)

avionics, such as inertial guidance systems, flight control hardware/software and
other integrated systems in aircraft and missiles
cellular telephones and telephone switches
computer equipment such as routers and printers
engine controllers and antilock brake controllers for automobiles
home automation products, like thermostats, air conditioners, sprinklers, and security
monitoring systems
handheld calculators
household appliances, including microwave ovens, washing machines, television sets
medical equipment
handheld computers

XI.

videogame consoles

Topic 3
Characteristics of Embedded Systems
1. Embedded systems are designed to do some specific task, rather than be a generalpurpose computer for multiple tasks. Some also have real-timeperformance constraints
that must be met, for reasons such as safety and usability; others may have low or no
performance requirements, allowing the system hardware to be simplified to reduce costs.
2. The program instructions written for embedded systems are referred to as firmware, and
are stored in read-only memory or Flash memory chips. They run with limited computer
hardware resources: little memory, small or non-existent keyboard or screen.
3. Many embedded systems consist of small, computerized parts within a larger device that
serves a more general purpose. For example- a line follower autonomous robot which
follows a specific path and moves accordingly to the path.
4. The embedded systems are special purpose computer systems designed to perform only
the specific purposes. For Example- a system designed to display numbers cannot be used
to operate motors.
5. Embedded systems range from no user interface at all dedicated only to one task to
complex graphical user interfaces that resemble modern computer desktop operating
systems. Simple embedded devices use buttons, LEDs, graphic or character LCDs (for
example popular HD44780 LCD) with a simple menu system.

Topic 4
Processors in Embedded Systems
Embedded processors can be broken into two broad categories. Ordinary microprocessors (P)
use separate integrated circuits for memory and peripherals. Microcontrollers (C) have many
more peripherals on chip, reducing power consumption, size and cost. In contrast to the personal
computer market, many different basic CPU architectures are used, since software is customdeveloped for an application and is not a commodity product installed by the end user. RISC as
well as non-RISC processors are found. Word lengths vary from 4-bit to 64-bits and beyond,
although the most typical remain 8/16-bit.

3.1 Microcontrollers and Microprocessors

Microcontrollers

Microprocessors

1. A Microcontroller (sometimes
abbreviated C, uC or MCU) is a small computer
on a single integrated circuit containing a
processor core, memory, and
programmable input/output peripherals.
2. Microcontrollers are designed to perform
specific tasks. Specific means applications where
the relationship of input and output is defined.
Depending on the input, some processing needs to
be done and output is delivered. For example,
keyboards, mouse, washing machine, digicam,
pen drive, remote, microwave, cars, bikes,
telephone, mobiles, watches, etc.
3. Since the applications are very specific, they
need small resources like RAM, ROM, I/O ports
etc. and hence can be embedded on a single chip.

1. A Microprocessor is an IC which has only

the CPU inside them i.e. only the processing
powers such as Intels Pentium 1,2,3,4, core 2
duo, i3, i5 etc.

4. The microcontrollers operate from a few MHz

to 30 to 50 MHz
5.The microcontroller is designed for embedded
applications. Microcontrollers are used in
automatically controlled products and devices,
such as automobile engine control systems,
implantable medical devices, remote controls,

2. Microprocessor find applications where

tasks are unspecific like developing software,
games, websites, photo editing, creating
documents etc.

3. In such cases the relationship between

input and output is not defined. They need
high amount of resources like RAM, ROM,
I/O ports etc. So needs external RAM, ROM
and Memory.
4. Themicroprocessor operates above 1GHz
as they perform complex tasks.
5.The microprocessors are used in personal
computers or other general purpose
applications such as for laptops and heavy
applications where complexity is more and
memory requirements are high.

office machines, appliances, power tools, toys and

other embedded systems.
Tablel4.1

4.2 Microcontroller Families

8051- These microcontrollers are old but still trendy and most of the companies fabricate these
microcontrollers. The older types of 8051 have 12 clocks per instruction that make it sluggish
whereas the recent 8051 have 6 clocks per instruction. The 8051 microcontroller does not have
an in built memory bus and A/D converters. In 1980, Intel fabricated the single chip
microcontroller 8051 with Harvard architecture.

PIC- Programmable Interface Controller is usually referred as PIC. They are slightly older than
8051 microcontrollers but excel cause of their small low pin count devices. They perform well
and are affordable. The Microchip technology fabricated the single chip microcontroller PIC
with Harvard architecture. The programming part is very tedious and hence it is not
recommended for beginners.

AVR(Advanced Version RISC) - In 1996, Atmel fabricated this single chip microcontroller with
a modified Harvard Architecture. This chip is loaded with C- compiler, Free IDE and many more
features. This microcontroller is a bit difficult for the starters to handle.

Topic 5
8051 Microcontroller
The most commonly used microcontroller is 8051 families AT89C51 microcontroller which is
produced by Atmel. It is widely used in most of the application for having an advantage of
simple programming and low cost.

5.1 AT89C51

AT89C51 is an 8-bit, 40 pin microcontroller that belongs to Atmel's 8051 family. ATMEL
89C51 has 4KB of Flash programmable and erasable read only memory (PEROM) and 128 bytes
of RAM. It can be erased and program to a maximum of 1000 times.
In 40 pin AT89C51, there are four ports designated as P1, P2, P3 and P0. All these ports are 8-bit
bi-directional ports, i.e., they can be used as both input and output ports. Except P0 which needs
external pull-ups, rest of the ports have internal pull-ups. When 1s are written to these port pins,
they are pulled high by the internal pull-ups and can be used as inputs. These ports are also bit
addressable and so their bits can also be accessed individually.
5.1.1 Salient Features of AT89C51-

4K Bytes of In-System Reprogrammable Flash Memory

Fully Static Operation: 0 Hz to 24 MHz

Three-level Program Memory Lock

28 x 8-bit Internal RAM

32 Programmable I/O Lines

Two 16-bit Timer/Counters

Six Interrupt Sources

Programmable Serial Channel

Low-power Idle and Power-down Modes

40-pin DIP

5.1.2 Pin Diagram of AT89C51

10

Figure 5.1

5.1.3 Pin Description of AT89C51

Pins 1-8 (Port 1) - Each of these pins can be configured as an input or an output.
Pin 9 (Reset) - A logic one on this pin disables the microcontroller and clears the contents of
most registers. In other words, the positive voltage on this pin resets the microcontroller. By
applying logic zero to this pin, the program starts execution from the beginning.
Pins 10- 17 (Port 3) -Similar to port 1, each of these pins can serve as general input or output.
Besides, all of them have alternative functions:
Pin 10 (RXD) - Serial asynchronous communication input or Serial synchronous communication
output.

11

Pin 11(TXD) - Serial asynchronous communication output or Serial synchronous

communication clock output.
Pin 12 (INT 0) - Interrupt 0 input.
Pin 13(INT 1) - Interrupt 1 input.
Pin 14(T0) - Counter 0 clock input.
Pin 15(T1) - Counter 1 clock input.
Pin 16(WR) -Write to external (additional) RAM.
Pin 17 (RD) -Read from external RAM.
Pin 18 and 19(X1, X2) - Internal oscillator input and output. A quartz crystal which specifies
operating frequency is usually connected to these pins. Instead of it, miniature ceramics
resonators can also be used for frequency stability. Later versions of microcontrollers operate at a
frequency of 0 Hz up to over 50 Hz.
Pin 20 (GND) - Ground.
Pin 21-28 (Port 2) - If there is no intention to use external memory then these port pins are
configured as general inputs/outputs. In case external memory is used, the higher address byte,
i.e. addresses A8-A15 will appear on this port. Even though memory with capacity of 64Kb is
not used, which means that not all eight port bits are used for its addressing, the rest of them are
not available as inputs/outputs.
Pin 29 (PSEN) - If external ROM is used for storing program then a logic zero (0) appears on it
every time the microcontroller reads a byte from memory.
Pin 30 (ALE) - Prior to reading from external memory, the microcontroller puts the lower
address byte (A0-A7) on P0 and activates the ALE output. After receiving signal from the ALE
pin, the external register memorizes the state of P0 and uses it as a memory chip address.
Immediately after that, the ALU pin is returned its previous logic state and P0 is now used as a
Data Bus. As seen, port data multiplexing is performed by means of only one additional (and
cheap) integrated circuit. In other words, this port is used for both data and address transmission.
Pin 31 (EA) - By applying logic zero to this pin, P2 and P3 are used for data and address
transmission with no regard to whether there is internal memory or not. It means that even there
is a program written to the microcontroller, it will not be executed. Instead, the program written
to external ROM will be executed. By applying logic one to the EA pin, the microcontroller will
use both memories, first internal then external (if exists).
Pin 32-39 (Port 0) - Similar to P2, if external memory is not used, these pins can be used as
general inputs/outputs. Otherwise, P0 is configured as address output (A0-A7) when the ALE pin
is driven high (1) or as data output (Data Bus) when the ALE pin is driven low (0).
Pin 40 (Vcc) - +5V power supply.

12

Topic6
Architecture of 8051 Microcontroller
6.1 Block Diagram of 8051 Microcontroller

Figure 6.1
Address bus-For a device (memory or I/O) to be recognized by the CPU, it must beassigned an
address. The address assigned to a given device must be unique. The CPU puts the address on the
address bus, and the decoding circuitry finds the device.
Data bus-The CPU either gets data from the deviceor sends data to it.
Control bus-Provides read or write signals to the device to indicate if the CPU is asking for
information or sending it information.

13

6.2 Memory and Registers

The 8051 microcontroller has a total of 256 bytes of RAM in which 128 is visible or
useraccessible and extra 128 is for special function registers.
The useraccessible RAM is used for temporary data storage. The user accessible RAM is from
the address range 00 to 7Fh.
From the user accessible RAM, 32 bytes of RAM is used for registers and rest for Stack
operations. The 32 Bytes of RAM is divided into four register Banks i.e. Bank0, Bank 1, Bank 2,
Bank3. Each of these banks have 8 Registers i.e. R0 to R7 each.
RAMlocations from 0 to 7 are set aside for bank 0 of R0 R7 where R0 is RAM location 0, Rl is
RAM location 1, and R2 is location 2, and so on, until memory location 7, which belongs to R7
of bank 0. The second bank of registers R0 R7 starts at RAM location 08 and goes to location
0FH. The third bank of R0 R7 starts at memory location 10H and goes to location 17H. Finally,
RAM locations 18H to 1FH are set aside for the fourth bank of R0 R7.

Figure 6.2
Generally for normal operations, Register bank Bank0 is set by default. But we can switch to
other banks by using PSW Commands.

Figure 6.3

14

6.2.1 SFRs (Special Function Register) - These Registers are in extra 128 bytes of the memory.
This part of memory is not user accessible and these registers are used for special purposes.
These
registers range from 80h to FFh. There are a total of only 21 SFRs in this range and all other
addresses from 80h to FFh are invalid and there use can cause errors and not valuable results.
Some of the SFRs are TCON, SBUF, ACC, B, SCON, TMOD SP, P0, PSW, TL0, and TL1.
These all the registers have some specific function that has to be performed after they are
programmed.
(i) Byte Addressable SFR with byte address
SP Stack printer 81H
DPTR Data pointer 2 bytes
DPL Low byte 82H
DPH High byte 83H
TMOD Timer mode control 89H
TH0 Timer 0 Higher order bytes 8CH
TL0 Timer 0 Low order bytes 8AH
TH1 Timer 1 High bytes = 80H
TL1 Timer 1 Low order byte = 86H
SBUF Serial data buffer = 99H
PCON Power control 87H.
6.2.2 DPTR - Data Pointer in 8051
16 bit register; it is divided into two parts DPH and DPL.
DPH for Higher order 8 bits, DPL for lower order 8 bits.
DPTR, DPH, DPL these all are SFRs in 8051.

15

Topic7
8051 Assembly Language Programming
7.1 How to Program an 8051 microcontroller
[Label:] mnemonic [operands] [; comment]
Mnemonics -Assembly level instructions are called mnemonic like MOV R5
Operands -On which the operation is performed.
Example:
Loop: MOVR1, #25H; transfer 25H into R1

Label mnemonics operand comments

The Two instructions which are used to start and terminate program are
ORG -This instruction indicate the origin of program,
Example- ORG 3000H
means program starts from 3000H location.
this instruction hasnt take any memory space. It is used to show the starting address of
program.
END - This instruction show the END of program or it is used to terminate the program.
Example:
ORG 0H; start compiler from 0h address
Again: MOV R5, # 25H; transfer 25H to R5
ADD A, R5; Add the R5 with Accumulator
SJMP Again; - jump to the location again
END; end the program.

7.2 Instruction Set of 8051

7.2.1 Addressing Modes
Addressing modes
Register
Direct
Indirect
Immediate
Relative
Absolute
Long
Indexed

Instructions
MOV A, B
MOV 30H,A
MOV A,@R0
MOV A,#80H
SJMP +127/-128 of PC
AJMP within 2K
LJMP FAR
MOVC A,@A+PC
Table 7.1
16

Register Addressing Mode-The register addressing instruction involves information transfer

between registers
Example:
MOV R0, A
The instruction transfers the accumulator content into the R0register. The register bank (Bank 0,
1, 2 or 3) must be specified prior to this instruction.
In the Register Addressing mode, the instruction involves transfer of information between
registers. The accumulator is referred to as the A register.
Direct Addressing Mode- This mode allows you to specify the operand by giving its actual
memory address (typically specified in hexadecimal format) or by giving its abbreviated name
(e.g. P3).Used for SFR accesses
Example:
MOV A, P3; Transfer the contents of Port 3 to the accumulator
MOV A, 020H; Transfer the contents of RAM location 20H to the accumulator.
Indirect Addressing Mode-In the Indirect Addressing mode, a register is used to hold the
effective address of the operand. This register, which holds the address, is called the pointer
register and is said to point to the operand.
Only registers R0, R1 and DPTR can be used as pointer registers.
R0 and R1 registers can hold an 8-bit address whereas DPTR can hold a 16-bit address.
DPTR is useful in accessing operands which are in the external memory.
Examples:
MOV @R0, A; Store the content of accumulator into the memory location pointed to by the
contents of register R0. R0 could have an 8-bit address, such as 60H.
MOVX A, @DPTR; Transfer the contents from the memory location pointed to by DPTR into
the accumulator. DPTR could have a 16-bit address, such as 1234H.
Immediate Addressing Mode-In the Immediate Constant Addressing mode, the source operand
is an 8- or 16-bit constant value. This constant is specified in the instruction itself (rather than in
a register or a memory location).
The destination register should hold the same data size which is specified by the source operand.
Examples:
ADD A, #030H; Add 8-bit value of 30H to the accumulator register (which is an 8-bit register).
MOV DPTR, #0FE00H; Move 16-bit data constant FE00H into the 16-bit Data Pointer Register.
Relative Addressing Mode- The Relative Addressing mode is used with some type of jump
instructions like SJMP (short jump) and conditional jumps like JNZ. This instruction transfers
control from one part of a program to another.
Example:
Go Back: DEC A;Decrement A
JNZ Go Back;if A is not zero, loop back

17

Absolute Addressing Mode-In Absolute Addressing mode, the absolute address, to which the
control is transferred, is specified by a label. Two instructions associated with this mode of
addressing are ACALL and AJMP instructions. These are 2-byte instructions.
Example:
ACALL
PORT_INIT;
PORT_INIT should be located within 2k bytes.
PORT_INIT:

MOV P0, #0FH;

PORT_INIT subroutine

Long Addressing Mode-This mode of addressing is used with the LCALL and LJMP
instructions. It is a 3-byte instruction and the last 2 bytes specify a 16-bit destination location
where the program branches to. It allows use of the full 64K code space.
Example:
LCALL TIMER_INIT;
TIMER_INIT address (16-bits long) is specified as the operand; In
C, this will be a function call: Timer_Init ().
TIMER_INIT: ORL TMOD, #01H;

TIMER_INIT subroutine

Indexed Addressing Mode-The Indexed addressing is useful when there is a need to retrieve data
from a look-up table (LUT). A 16-bit register (data pointer) holds the base address and the
accumulator holds an 8-bit displacement or index value. The sum of these two registers forms the
effective address for a JMP or MOVC instruction.
Example:
MOV A, #08H; Offset from table start
MOV DPTR, #01F00H; Table start address
MOVC A, @A+DPTR; Gets target value from the table starts address + offset and puts it in A.

7.2.2 Instruction Types

The 8051 instructions are divided into five functionalgroups:
Arithmetic operations
Logical operations
Data transfer operations
Boolean variable operations
Program branching operations
Arithmetic Instructions-This group of operators perform arithmetic operations. Arithmetic
operations affect the flags, such as Carry Flag (CY), Overflow Flag (OV) etc., in the PSW
register.
The appropriate status bits in the PSW are set when specific conditions are met, which allows the
user software to manage the different data formats (carry, overflow etc)

18

Arithmetic Instructions of 8051 are shown as follows [@ RI] implies contents of memory location pointed to by R0 or R1.
Rn refers to registers R0-R7 of the currently selected register bank.
Logical Instructions-Logical instructions perform standard Boolean operations such as AND,
OR, XOR, NOT (compliment). Other logical operations are clear accumulator, rotate
accumulator left and right, and swap nibbles in accumulator.
Examples:
ANL A, #02H;Mask bit 1
ORL TCON, A;
TCON=TCON OR A

Data Transfer Instructions- Data transfer instructions can be used to transfer data between an
internal RAM location and an SFR location without going through the accumulator.
It is also possible to transfer databetween the internal and externalRAM by using indirect
addressing. The upper 128 bytes of data RAMare accessed only by indirectaddressing and the
SFRs areaccessed only by direct addressing.

Figure 7.1

Boolean Variable Instructions-The Boolean Variable operations include set, clear, as well as
and, or and complement instructions. Also included are bitlevel moves or conditional jump
instructions. All bit accesses use direct addressing.
Examples:
SETB TR0; Start Timer0.
POLL: JNB TR0, POLL; Wait until timer overflows.
The following table contains all the Boolean Variable Instructions of 8051 microcontroller.

19

Table 7.2

Program Branching Instructions- Program branching instructions are used to control the flow
of program execution. Some instructions provide decision making capabilities before
transferring control to other parts of the program e.g. conditional and unconditional branches.
the following table contains all the branching instructions

20

Table 7.3

7.3 I/O PROGRAMMING

The four 8-bit I/O ports P0, P1, P2 and P3 each use 8 pins.
All the ports upon RESET are configured as input, ready to be used as input ports.
When the first 0 is written to a port, it becomes an output.
To reconfigure it as an input, a 1 must be sent to the port.
To use any of these ports as an input port, it must be programmed.
7.3.1 Port 0
It can be used for input or output; each pin must be connected externally to a 10K ohm
pull-up resistor.
This is due to the fact that P0 is an open drain, unlike P1, P2, and P3.
Open drain is a term used for MOS chips in the same way that open collector is used for

TTL chips.

Figure 7.2
21

7.3.2 Port 1
Port 1 can be used as input or output.
In contrast to port 0, this port does not need any pull-up resistors since it already has pullup resistors internally.
Upon reset, port 1 is configured as an input port.
To make port 1 an input port, it must be programmed as such by writing 1 to all its bits.
7.3.3 Port 2
Port 2 can be used as input or output.
Just like P1, port 2 does not need any pull-up resistors since it already has pull-up
resistors internally.
Upon reset, port 2 is configured as an input portP0.4.
Port 2 is also designated as A8 A15,indicating its dual function.Port 0 provides the
lower 8 bits via A0 A7.
7.3.4 Port 3
Port 3 can be used as input or output.
Port 3 does not need any pull-up resistors.
Port 3 is configured as an input port upon reset; this is not the way it is most commonly
used.
Port 3 has the additional function of providing some extremely important signals
P3
Functio
Pin
n
P3.0
Rxd
10
P3.1

Txd

P3.2

11

Serial Communication

12
Int0

P3.3

13

P3.4

Int1
T0

14

P3.5

T1

15

P3.6

External Interrupts

Timers

16
Wr

P3.7

Read/ Write Signals

17

Rd

Table 7.4

22

7.4 TIMERS AND COUNTERS

7.4.1 Timers
The 8051 comes equipped with two timers, both of which may be controlled, set, read, and
configured individually. The 8051 timers have three general functions:
1) Keeping time and/or calculating the amount of time between events,
2) Counting the events themselves,
3) Generating baud rates for the serial port.
Both Timer 0 and Timer 1 are 16 bits wide.
Since 8051 has an 8-bit architecture, each 16-bits timer is accessed as two separate registers of
low byte and high byte.
One timer is TIMER0 and the other is TIMER1. The two timers share two SFRs (TMOD and
TCON) which control the timers, and each timer also has two SFRs dedicated to itself (TH0/TL0
and TH1/TL1).
The upper higher bits are TH0 and TH1 and the lower bits are TL0 AND TL1
The TMOD and TCON are two control registers for the two timers.

Figure 7.3

(i) TMOD Register

It is used to set the various timer operation mode.
TMOD is an 8-bit register where the lower 4 bits are set aside for timer 0 and the upper 4 bits
are set aside for timer 1.

23

MSB

Gate

LSB

C/T

M0

M1

GATE

Timer 1

C/T

M0

MI

Timer 0
Figure 7.4

GATE: To start and stop the timer

GATE=1 _HW control: is enabled only while INTx pin is 1and TRx control pin (in
TCON) is set.
GATE=0 _SW control (used frequently)
C/T: Timer or counter selection
C/T = 0 _Timer (input from internal system clock) the crystal (1/12) is used to trigger the
timer.
C/T = 1 _Counter (input from Tx input pin)
M1 and M0: Mode selection for timer and counter
Mode M1 M0
0 0 0
13-bit timer/counter mode
101
16-bit timer/counter mode
210
8-bit auto reload timer/counter mode
31 1
split timer/counter mode
(ii) TCON Register
MSB

TF1
TIMER 1

LSB

TF0

TR1

TR0

IE1

TIMER 0

IE0
TIMER1

IT1

IT0
TIMER0

Figure 7.5
TF1: Timer 1 overflows flag
TF1=1: Timer/counter 1 overflows.
TF1=0: processor vectors to the interrupt services.
TR1: Timer 1 run control bit
TR1=1: turn Timer 1 ON
TR1=0: turn Timer 1 OFF
IE1: External interrupt 1 edge flag
IE1=1: external interrupt is detected.
IE1=0: when interrupt is processed.
IT1: Interrupt 1 type control bit
IT1=1: falling edge.
IT1=0: low level triggered external interrupt.
Gate=0, SETB TR1 _Run Timer 1
SETB TR0 _Run Timer 0

24

Gate=0, CLR TR1 _OFF Timer 1

CLR TR0 _OFF Timer 0

Timer Mode 0

Mode 0: 13-bit Timer/counter mode

0000 ~ 1FFFH

Timer Mode 2
Mode 2: 8-bit auto reload Timer/counter mode (00 ~ FFH).
In auto reload, TH is loaded with the initial count and a copy of it is given to TL.
This reloading leaves TH unchanged still holding a copy of original values.
This mode has many applications, including setting the baud rate in serial communication.
Mode 2 Programming
8 bit - 00 ~FFH
TH copy to TL
Start SETB TR0, or TR1
TL increased FFH (OV monitoring)
TH reloads to TL.

7.4.2 Counters
Counter is used to count input pulses.
C/T=0: As Time, using 8051s crystal as the source ofthe frequency.
C/T=1: As counter, a pulse outside of the 8051 that increments the TH and TL register.
When the C/T=1, the counter counts up as pulses are fed from Pins P3.4 (for counter 0) or P3.5
(for counter 1).

7.5Serial Port Communication in 8051 microcontroller

The 8051 microcontroller transmits data serially as well as parallel communication is also done.
For serial communication, the microcontroller comes with serial communication pin TXD and
RXD. Normally TXD is used for transmitting serial data which is in SBUF register, RXD is used
for receiving the serial data. SCON register is used for controlling the operation.
The two registers used for controlling the communication are SCON and SBUF.
Serial Communication

Parallel Communication

Figure 7.6

25

Serial data communication uses two methods

Synchronous method transfers a block of data at a time

Asynchronous method transfers a single byte at a time

It is possible to write software to useeither of these methods, but the programs can be tedious and
long
There are special IC chips made by manymanufacturers for serial communications
UART (universal asynchronous Receiver transmitter)
USART (universal synchronous-asynchronous Receiver-transmitter)
The rate of data transfer in serial data communication is stated in bps (bits per second).
Another widely used terminology for bps is baud rate.

7.5.1 SCON

Figure 7.7
RI(Receive Interrupt Flag)-Set by hardware on receiving. Must be cleared by software
TI (Transmit Interrupt Flag) -Set by hardware on transmitted, must clear by hardware
RB8 (Receive bit 8)
Mode 2,3 : copy of bit 8
Mode 1 & SM2 clear : copy of stop bit
TB8 Transmit bit 8- The 9th data bit of mode 2, 3. Set or clear by software
REN Receive Enable- Set by software to enable reception, if is cleared reception will be
blocked.
SM2 Serial Mode (bit 2) -Use in mode 2,3 for multiprocessor communications.
SM1 & SM0 Serial Mode (bit 6 & 7)
Operating modes
Mode 0- 8-bit shift register, f/12
1Mbit with 12 MHz Oscillator Frequency
Mode 1- 8-bit UART, variable baud rate
Mode 2 -9-bit UART, f/64 or f/32
187.5K and 375K with 12MHz Oscillator Frequency

26

Mode 3- 9-bit UART, variable baud rate.

7.5.2 SBUF
These are two separate data buffers for transmit and receive.
The register SBUF is used to hold both the transmitter and receiver serial port data.
To transmit the data, load SBUF register with data.
MOV SBUF, source
When transmission is complete the TI bit will be set in the SCONregister.
When a data frame is received the RI bit in SCON is set high.
The received data may then be loaded from SBUF
MOV destination, SBUF
Data reception is double buffered.

7.5.3 SMOD

Addition bit to double baud speed.

7.6 INTERUPTS
An interrupt is an external or internal event that interrupts the microcontroller to inform it that a
device needs its service.
The advantage of interrupts is that the microcontroller can serve many devices.
Each device can get the attention of the microcontroller based on the assigned priority.
The microcontroller can also ignore (mask) a device request for service.
7.6.1 Hardware and Software interrupt
The interrupts in a controller can be either hardware or software. If the interrupts are generated
by the controllers inbuilt devices, like timer interrupts; or by the interfaced devices, they are
called the hardware interrupts. If the interrupts are generated by a piece of code, they are termed
as software interrupts.
The 8051 controller has six hardware interrupts of which five are available to the programmer.
1. RESET Interrupt - This is also known as Power on Reset (POR). When the RESET interrupt
is received, the controller restarts executing code from 0000H location. This is an interrupt which
is not available to or, better to say, need not be available to the programmer.
2. Timer interrupts - Each Timer is associated with a Timer interrupt. A timer interrupt notifies
the microcontroller that the corresponding Timer has finished counting. Therefore these are two
interrupts for the timers.

27

3. External interrupts - There are two external interrupts EX0 and EX1 to serve external
devices. Both these interrupts are active low. In AT89C51, P3.2 (INT0) and P3.3 (INT1) pins are
available for external interrupts 0 and 1 respectively. An external interrupt notifies the
microcontroller that an external device needs its service.
4. Serial interrupt - This interrupt is used for serial communication. When enabled, it notifies
the controller whether a byte has been received or transmitted.

Figure 7.8

The interrupts must be enabled by software in order for the microcontroller to respond to them.
Interrupt Enable Register- There is a register called IE (interrupt enable) that is responsible for
enabling(unmasking) and disabling (masking) theinterrupts.
EA

--------

ET2

ES

ET1

EX1

ET0

EX0

Figure 7.9

To enable any of the interrupts, first the EA bit must be set to 1. After that the bits

corresponding to the desired interrupts are enabled.

ET0, ET1 and ET2 bits are used to enable the Timer Interrupts 0, 1 and 2, respectively. In

AT89C51, there are only two timers, so ET2 is not used.

EX0 and EX1 are used to enable the external interrupts 0 and 1. ES is used for serial
interrupt.

EA bit acts as a lock bit. If any of the interrupt bits are enabled but EA bit is not set, the interrupt
will not function. By default all the interrupts are in disabled mode.

28

TOPIC 8
INTERFACING DEVICES WITH 8051 MICROCONTROLLER
8.1 LED INTERFACING
Interfacing an LED with 8051 is easy. The I/O pins are used as output pins. When any of the bit
is set to 1, the LED glows if LED n side is connected to ground and p side with bit. And if p side
is connected to power and n side to bit, then on bit low, the LED glows.
CodeORG 0000h
loop:
CLR P2.0
CALL DELAY
SETB P2.0
CALL DELAY
JMP loop
delay:
mov R7,#100
L1_delay: djnz r7, L1_delay
Ret

29

Figure 8.1

8.2 SEVEN SEGMENT INTERFACING

A seven segment consists of eight LEDs which are aligned in a manner so as to display digits
from 0 to 9 when proper combination of LED is switched on. Seven segment uses seven LEDs
to display digits from 0 to 9 and the eighth LED is used for the dot. A typical seven segment
looks like as shown in the figure below.

Figure 8.2

30

CodeORG 000H
START: MOV A, #00001001B
MOV B, A
MOV R0, #0AH
LABEL: MOV A, B
INC A
MOV B,A
MOVC A,@A+PC
MOV P1, A
ACALL DELAY
DEC R0
MOV A, R0
JZ START
SJMP LABEL
DB 3FH
DB 06H
DB 5BH
DB 4FH
DB 66H
DB 6DH
DB 7DH
DB 07H
DB 7FH
DB 6FH
DELAY: MOV R4,#05H
WAIT1: MOV R3,#00H
WAIT2: MOV R2,#00H
WAIT3: DJNZ R2,WAIT3
DJNZ R3,WAIT2
DJNZ R4,WAIT1
RET
END

31

Figure 8.3

8.3 LCD INTERFACING

A 16x2 LCD means it can display 16 characters per line and there are 2 such lines. In this LCD
each character is displayed in 5x7 pixel matrix. This LCD has two registers.
1. Command/Instruction Register - stores the command instructions given to the LCD. A
command is an instruction given to LCD to do a predefined task like initializing, clearing the
screen, setting the cursor position, controlling display etc.
2.Data Register - stores the data to be displayed on the LCD. The data is the ASCII value of the
character to be displayed on the LCD.

32

Code-

Figure 8.4

33

Figure 8.5

8.4 INTERFACING MOTOR WITH 8051

Interfacing DC motor to 8051 forms an essential part in designing embedded robotic projects. A
well designed 8051-DC motor system has essentially two parts. Firstly an 8051 with the
required software to control the motor and secondly a suitable driver circuit.
L293D-L293 is a dedicated quadruple half H bridge motor driver IC available in 16 pin package.
The L293 is designed to provide bidirectional drive currents of up to 1 A at voltages
from 4.5 V to 36 V.

Figure 8.6
CodeORG 00H // initial starting address
MAIN: MOV P1,#00000001B // motor runs clockwise
ACALL DELAY // calls the 1S DELAY
MOV P1,#00000010B // motor runs anti clockwise
ACALL DELAY // calls the 1S DELAY
SJMP MAIN // jumps to label MAIN for repaeting the cycle
DELAY: MOV R4,#0FH
WAIT1: MOV R3,#00H
WAIT2: MOV R2,#00H
WAIT3: DJNZ R2,WAIT3
DJNZ R3,WAIT2
DJNZ R4,WAIT1

34

RET
END

BIBILOGRAPHY
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.

ENGINEERSGARAGE.COM
WIKIPEDIA.ORG
ATMEL.COM
DATASHEETS.COM
CIRCUITSTODAY.COM
PDFs FROM VARIOUS SITES
GOOGLE.COM

35