Microprocessor Based System

CPU
External RAM, ROM, I/O
(No internal RAM, ROM, I/O ports in the CPU)

8051
 Microcontroller
• A smaller computer on a CHIP
• On-chip RAM, ROM, I/O Ports, Timer, Serial Controller…
• Example: Motorola’s 6811, Intel’s 8051, Atmel 32

8051
 Microprocessor vs. Microcontroller
Microprocessor Microcontroller
• CPU is stand-alone, RAM, • CPU, RAM, ROM, I/O and
ROM, I/O, timer are separate timer are all on a single chip

• Designer can decide on the • Fixed amount of on-chip ROM,

amount of ROM, RAM and I/O RAM, I/O ports df
ports. dfdfdfdfdfdfdf

• Expansive • Not Expansive

• Versatility • Single-purpose

• General-purpose • Special Purpose.

 C based Embedded Systems
• Special purpose computer system usually inside the device it
controls
• Has specific requirements and performs pre-defined tasks
• Cost reduction compared to general purpose processor
• Different design criteria
– Performance
– Reliability
– Availability
– Safety

8051
 Embedded Systems Examples

8051
 Examples

8051
8051
8051
8051
8051
 Harvard Architecture

In Harvard Architecture the data and instructions are

stored in separate memory units each with their own
bus.
Advantages:
 Speeding up the data transfer rate,
 Permits the designer to implement different bus widths
and word sizes for program and data memory space.

8051
 8051 CPU Operation
1.Features
2.Pin Diagram
3.Block Diagram

8051
 8051 Microcontroller
• Intel introduced 8051, referred as MCS- 51, in
1981.
• The 8051 is an 8-bit processor
– The CPU can work on only 8 bits of data at a time

• The 8051 became widely popular after allowing

other manufactures to make and market any flavor
of the 8051.

8051
 Features of 8051
8 bit Processor
4KB Internal ROM
128 Bytes Internal RAM
Four 8 BIT I/O PORTS (32 I/O LINES)
Two 16 Bit Timers/Counters
On Chip Full Duplex UART for Serial Communication
5 Vector Interrupts ( 2 External, 3 Internal - Timer0,Timer1,Serial)
On Chip Clock Oscillator
16 bit Address bus
64k External Code Memory
64k External Data Memory
16-bit program counter to access external Code Memory and
16 bit Data Pointer to access external Data Memory
128 user defined flags
32 General Purpose Registers each of 8 bits

8051
 8051 Family
• The 8051 is a subset of the 8052
• The 8031 is a ROM-less 8051
– Add external ROM to it
– You lose two ports, and leave only 2 ports for I/O operations

8051
 Pin Diagram

8051
 Block Diagram of 8051

8051
Separate read instructions for external data and code memory.
Internal code
External data memory
Memory
RAM
ROM or EPROM
64k
4k or up

0xFF

SFR(direct access)
128 bytes External code memory
ROM or EPROMext
64k
0x80

0x7F

General purpose RAM

(variable data) 80 bytes

0x30
0x2F

Bit addressible RAM 16 bytes

16x8 bits

0x20
0x1F Register bank 0(R0-R7)

Register bank 1(R0-R7) 4x8=

32 bytes
Register bank 2(R0-R7)

0x00 Register bank 3(R0-R7)

Internal data memory

RAM
 Pin Description of the 8051
• 8051 family members (e.g., 8751, 89C51, 89C52,
DS89C4x0)
– Have 40 pins dedicated for various functions such as I/O, RD,
WR, address, data, and interrupts.
– Come in different packages, such as
• DIP(dual in-line package),
• QFP(quad flat package), and
• LLC(leadless chip carrier)

• Some companies provide a 20-pin version of the 8051

with a reduced number of I/O ports for less demanding
applications
8051
 XTAL1 and XTAL2
• The 8051 has an on-chip oscillator but requires an
external crystal to run it
– A quartz crystal oscillator is connected to inputs XTAL1 (pin19)
and XTAL2 (pin18)
– The quartz crystal oscillator also needs two capacitors of 30 pF
value
– The original 8051 operates at 12 MHZ

8051
 XTAL1 and XTAL2 …..
• If you use a frequency source other than a crystal
oscillator, such as a TTL oscillator:
– It will be connected to XTAL1
– XTAL2 is left unconnected

8051
 RST
• RESET pin is an input and is active high (normally low)
• Upon applying a high pulse to this pin, the microcontroller will
reset and terminate all activities
• This is often referred to as a power-on reset
• Activating a power-on reset will cause all values in the registers to
be lost

8051
 EA’
• EA’, “external access’’, is an input pin and must be
connected to Vcc or GND

• The 8051 family members all come with on-chip ROM

to store programs and also have an external code and
data memory.

• Normally EA pin is connected to Vcc (Internal Access)

• EA pin must be connected to GND to indicate that the

code or data is stored externally.

8051
 PSEN’ and ALE
• PSEN, “program store enable’’, is an output pin

• This pin is connected to the OE pin of the external

memory.
• For External Code Memory, PSEN’ = 0

• For External Data Memory, PSEN’ = 1

• ALE pin is used for demultiplexing the address and data.

8051
 I/O Port Pins
• The four 8-bit I/O ports P0, P1, P2
and P3 each uses 8 pins.
• All the ports upon RESET are
configured as output, ready to be
used as input ports by the external
device.

8051
 Port 0
• Port 0 is also designated as AD0-AD7.

• When connecting an 8051 to an external

memory, port 0 provides both address and
data.
• The 8051 multiplexes address and data
through port 0 to save pins.

• ALE indicates if P0 has address or data.

– When ALE=0, it provides data D0-D7
– When ALE=1, it has address A0-A7

8051
 Port 1 and Port 2
• In 8051-based systems with no external
memory connection:
– Both P1 and P2 are used as simple I/O.
• In 8051-based systems with external
memory connections:
– Port 2 must be used along with P0 to provide
the 16-bit address for the external memory.
– P0 provides the lower 8 bits via A0 – A7.
– P2 is used for the upper 8 bits of the 16-bit
address, designated as A8 – A15, and it cannot
be used for I/O.

8051
 Port 3
• Port 3 can be used as input or output.

• Port 3 has the additional function of

providing some extremely important
signals

8051
 Pin Description Summary
PIN TYPE NAME AND FUNCTION
Vss I Ground: 0 V reference.
Vcc I Power Supply: This is the power supply voltage for normal,
idle, and power-down operation.
P0.0 - P0.7 I/O Port 0: Port 0 is an open-drain, bi-directional I/O port. Port
0 is also the multiplexed low-order address and data bus
during accesses to external program and data memory.
P1.0 - P1.7 I/O Port 1: Port I is an 8-bit bi-directional I/O port.

P2.0 - P2.7 I/O Port 2: Port 2 is an 8-bit bidirectional I/O. Port 2 emits the
high order address byte during fetches from external
program memory and during accesses to external data
memory that use 16 bit addresses.
P3.0 - P3.7 I/O Port 3: Port 3 is an 8 bit bidirectional I/O port. Port 3 also
serves special features as explained.

8051
 Pin Description Summary
PIN TYPE NAME AND FUNCTION
RST I Reset: A high on this pin for two machine cycles while the
oscillator is running, resets the device.
ALE O Address Latch Enable: Output pulse for latching the low byte
of the address during an access to external memory.
PSEN* O Program Store Enable: The read strobe to external program
memory. When executing code from the external program
memory, PSEN* is activated twice each machine cycle,
except that two PSEN* activations are skipped during
each access to external data memory.
EA*/VPP I External Access Enable/Programming Supply Voltage: EA*
must be externally held low to enable the device to fetch
code from external program memory locations. If EA* Is
held high, the device executes from internal program
memory. This pin also receives the programming supply
voltage Vpp during Flash programming. (applies for 89c5x
MCU's)

8051
General Block Diagram of 8051

Interrupt 4K 128 B Timer 0

Control ROM RAM Timer 1

CPU

Bus Serial
OSC 4 I/O Ports
Control Port

TXD RXD
P0 P1 P2 P3
 Detailed Block Diagram

8051
 8051
Memory
Space
8051
 8051 Memory Structure

External

External
60K

64K 64K

SFR
EXT INT 4K
128
EA = 0 EA = 1 Internal
Program Memory Data Memory
8051
 Internal RAM Structure

Direct
Addressing
Only
SFR [ Special Function
Direct & Registers]
Indirect
Addressing
128 Byte Internal RAM

8051
 Special Function Registers [SFR]

8051
 Program Status Word [PSW]

C AC F0 RS1 RS0 OV F1 P
Carry Parity
Auxiliary Carry User Flag 1
User Flag 0 Register Bank Select Overflow

8051
 8051 instructions that affects flag

8051
 128 Byte RAM
• There are 128 bytes of RAM in the 8051.
– Assigned addresses 00 to 7FH General Purpose
• The 128 bytes are divided into 3 different Area

groups as follows:
1. A total of 32 bytes from locations 00 to 1F BIT Addressable
Area
hex are set aside for register banks and the 128 BYTE
stack. INTERNAL RAM
Reg Bank 3
2. A total of 16 bytes from locations 20H to 2FH
are set aside for bit-addressable read/write Reg Bank 2
Register Banks
memory. Reg Bank 1
3. A total of 80 bytes from locations 30H to 7FH
Reg Bank 0
are used for read and write storage, called
scratch pad.
8051
 8051 RAM with addresses

8051
 8051 Register Bank Structure

Bank 3 R0 R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7
Bank 2 R0 R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7
Bank 1 R0 R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7
Bank 0 R0 R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7

8051
 8051 Register Banks with address

8051
 8051 Programming Model

8051
 8051 Stack
• The stack is a section of RAM used by the CPU to store
information temporarily.
– This information could be data or an address

• The register used to access the stack is called the SP

(stack pointer) register
– The stack pointer in the 8051 is only 8 bit wide, which means
that it can take value of 00 to FFH
– When the 8051 is powered up, the SP register contains value
07
– RAM location 08 is the first location begin used for the stack by
the 8051
8051
 8051 Stack
• The storing of a CPU register in the stack is called a PUSH
– SP is pointing to the last used location of the stack
– As we push data onto the stack, the SP is incremented by one
– This is different from many microprocessors

• Loading the contents of the stack back into a CPU

register is called a POP
– With every pop, the top byte of the stack is copied to the
register specified by the instruction and the stack pointer is
decremented once

8051
 Bit Addressable & Byte Addressable

8051
 Bit Addressable Programming
• Example: Find out to which by each of the following bits
belongs. Give the address of the RAM byte in hex
(a) SETB 42H, (b) CLR 67H, (c) CLR 0FH (d) SETB 28H, (e) CLR 12, (f) SETB 05

8051
 8051 Software
Overview
1.Addressing
Modes
2.Instruction Set
3.Programming
8051
 SFR Registers & their Addresses
MOV 0E0H,#55H ;is the same as
MOV A,#55H ;which means load 55H into A (A=55H)

MOV 0F0H,#25H ;is the same as

MOV B,#25H ;which means load 25H into B (B=25H)

MOV 0E0H,R2 ;is the same as

MOV A,R2 ;which means copy R2 into A

MOV 0F0H,R0 ;is the same as

MOV B,R0 ;which means copy R0 into B

Mr. P. Suresh
 SFR Addresses ( 1 of 2 )

Mr. P. Suresh
 SFR Addresses ( 2 of 2 )

Mr. P. Suresh
Example
 Stack and Direct Addressing Mode
• Only direct addressing mode is allowed for pushing or
popping the stack.

• PUSH A is invalid.

• Pushing the accumulator onto the stack must be coded

as PUSH 0E0H.

8051
Separate read instructions for external data and code memory.

Internal code
External data memory
Memory
RAM
ROM or EPROM
64k
4k or up

0xFF

SFR(direct access)
128 bytes External code memory
ROM or EPROMext
64k
0x80

0x7F

General purpose RAM

(variable data) 80 bytes

0x30
0x2F

Bit addressible RAM 16 bytes

16x8 bits

0x20
0x1F Register bank 0(R0-R7)

Register bank 1(R0-R7) 4x8=

32 bytes
Register bank 2(R0-R7)

0x00 Register bank 3(R0-R7)

Internal data memory

RAM
Return
 8051 Peripheral
Overview
1.Timers
2.Serial
Port
3.Interrupts
8051
 8051
TIMERS
8051
 8051 Timer/Counter

OSC ÷12
C / T 0 TLx THx TFx
(8 Bit) (8 Bit) (1 Bit)
C / T 1

T PIN
INTERRUPT
TR

Gate

INT PIN

8051
 TMOD Register

GATE:
When set, timer/counter x is enabled, if INTx pin is high
and TRx is set.
When cleared, timer/counter x is enabled, if TRx bit set.

C/T*:
When set, counter operation (input from Tx input pin).
When cleared, timer operation (input from internal clock).

8051
 TMOD Register

The TMOD byte is not bit addressable.

8051
 TCON Register

8051
 8051 Timer Modes
8051 TIMERS

Timer 0 Timer 1

Mode 0 Mode 0

Mode 1 Mode 1

Mode 2 Mode 2

Mode 3

8051
 TIMER 0
OSC ÷12
C / T 0
TL0 TH0 TF0
C / T 1

T 0 PIN
TR 0 INTERRUPT

Gate

INT 0 PIN
 TIMER 0 – Mode 0
13 Bit Timer / Counter

OSC ÷12
C / T 0 TL0 TH0 INTERRUPT
TF0
(5 Bit) (8 Bit)
C / T 1

T 0 PIN
TR 0

Gate

INT 0 PIN

Maximum Count = 1FFFh (0001111111111111)

 TIMER 0 – Mode 1
16 Bit Timer / Counter

OSC ÷12
C / T 0 TL0 TH0 INTERRUPT
TF0
(8 Bit) (8 Bit)
C / T 1

T 0 PIN
TR 0

Gate

INT 0 PIN

Maximum Count = FFFFh (1111111111111111)

 TIMER 0 – Mode 2
8 Bit Timer / Counter with AUTORELOAD

OSC ÷12
C / T 0 TL0 TH0 INTERRUPT
TF0
(8 Bit) (8 Bit)
C / T 1

T 0 PIN
TR 0

Gate Reload
INT 0 PIN

TH0
(8 Bit)

Maximum Count = FFh (11111111)

 TIMER 0 – Mode 3
Two - 8 Bit Timer / Counter

OSC ÷12
C / T 0 TL0 INTERRUPT
TF0
(8 Bit)
C / T 1

T 0 PIN
TR 0

Gate

INT 0 PIN

OSC ÷12 TH0 INTERRUPT

TF1
(8 Bit)

TR1
 TIMER 1
OSC ÷12
C / T 0
TL1 TH1 TF1
C / T 1

T 1PIN
INTERRUPT
TR1

Gate

INT 1 PIN
 TIMER 1 – Mode 0
13 Bit Timer / Counter

OSC ÷12
C / T 0 TL1 TH1 INTERRUPT
TF1
(5 Bit) (8 Bit)
C / T 1

T 1PIN
TR1

Gate

INT 1 PIN

Maximum Count = 1FFFh (0001111111111111)

 TIMER 1 – Mode 1
16 Bit Timer / Counter

OSC ÷12
C / T 0 TL1 TH1 INTERRUPT
TF1
(8 Bit) (8 Bit)
C / T 1

T 1PIN
TR1

Gate

INT 1 PIN

Maximum Count = FFFFh (1111111111111111)

 TIMER 1 – Mode 2
8 Bit Timer / Counter with AUTORELOAD

OSC ÷12
C / T 0 TL1 TH1 INTERRUPT
TF1
(8 Bit) (8 Bit)
C / T 1

T 1PIN
TR1

Gate Reload
INT 1 PIN

TH1
(8 Bit)

Maximum Count = FFh (11111111)

 Programming Timers
• Example: Indicate which mode and which timer are
selected for each of the following.
(a) MOV TMOD, #01H (b) MOV TMOD, #20H (c) MOV
TMOD, #12H

• Solution: We convert the value from hex to binary.

(a) TMOD = 00000001, mode 1 of timer 0 is selected.
(b) TMOD = 00100000, mode 2 of timer 1 is selected.
(c) TMOD = 00010010, mode 2 of timer 0, and mode 1 of timer 1

are selected.

8051
 Programming Timers
• Find the timer’s clock frequency and its period for
various 8051-based system, with the crystal frequency
11.0592 MHz when C/T bit of TMOD is 0.

• Solution:

1/12 × 11.0529 MHz = 921.6 MHz;

T = 1/921.6 kHz = 1.085 us

8051
 8051
Serial
8051
Port
 Basics of Serial Communication
• Computers transfer data in two ways:
– Parallel: Often 8 or more lines (wire conductors) are used to
transfer data to a device that is only a few feet away.

– Serial: To transfer to a device located many meters away, the

serial method is used. The data is sent one bit at a time.

8051
 Basics of Serial Communication
• 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

• There are special IC’s made by many manufacturers for

serial communications.
– UART (universal asynchronous Receiver transmitter)

– USART (universal synchronous-asynchronous Receiver-

transmitter)

8051
 Asynchronous – Start & Stop Bit
• Asynchronous serial data communication is widely used
for character-oriented transmissions
– Each character is placed in between start and stop bits, this is
called framing.
– Block-oriented data transfers use the synchronous method.

• The start bit is always one bit, but the stop bit can be
one or two bits

• The start bit is always a 0 (low) and the stop bit(s) is 1

(high)

8051
 Asynchronous – Start & Stop Bit

8051
 Data Transfer Rate
• 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.

– It is modem terminology and is defined as the number of
signal changes per second
– In modems, there are occasions when a single change of signal
transfers several bits of data

• As far as the conductor wire is concerned, the baud rate

and bps are the same.

8051
 8051 Serial Port
• Synchronous and Asynchronous
• SCON Register is used to Control
• Data Transfer through TXd & RXd pins
• Some time - Clock through TXd Pin
• Four Modes of Operation:

Mode 0 :Synchronous Serial Communication

Mode 1 :8-Bit UART with Timer Data Rate
Mode 2 :9-Bit UART with Set Data Rate
Mode 3 :9-Bit UART with Timer Data Rate

8051
 Registers related to Serial
Communication

1. SBUF Register

2. SCON Register

3. PCON Register

8051
 SBUF Register
• SBUF is an 8-bit register used solely for serial communication.
• For a byte data to be transferred via the TxD line, it must be
placed in the SBUF register.
• The moment a byte is written into SBUF, it is framed with the
start and stop bits and transferred serially via the TxD line.
• SBUF holds the byte of data when it is received by 8051 RxD
line.
• When the bits are received serially via RxD, the 8051 deframes
it by eliminating the stop and start bits, making a byte out of
the data received, and then placing it in SBUF.

8051
 SBUF Register
• Sample Program:

8051
 SCON Register

SM0 SM1 SM2 REN TB8 RB8 TI RI

Set when a Cha-

Set to Enable ractor received
Serial Data
reception Set when Stop bit Txed

Enable Multiprocessor 9th Data Bit 9th Data Bit

Communication Mode Sent in Mode 2,3 Received in Mode 2,3

8051
 8051 Serial Port – Mode 0
The Serial Port in Mode-0 has the following features:

1. Serial data enters and exits through RXD

2. TXD outputs the clock

3. 8 bits are transmitted / received

4. The baud rate is fixed at (1/12) of the oscillator frequency

8051
 8051 Serial Port – Mode 1
The Serial Port in Mode-1 has the following features:

1. Serial data enters through RXD

2. Serial data exits through TXD
3. On receive, the stop bit goes into RB8 in SCON
4. 10 bits are transmitted / received
1. Start bit (0)
2. Data bits (8)
3. Stop Bit (1)
5. Baud rate is determined by the Timer 1 over flow rate.

8051
 8051 Serial Port – Mode 2
The Serial Port in Mode-2 has the following features:

1. Serial data enters through RXD

2. Serial data exits through TXD
3. 9th data bit (TB8) can be assign value 0 or 1
4. On receive, the 9th data bit goes into RB8 in SCON
5. 11 bits are transmitted / received
1.Start bit (0)
2.Data bits (9)
3.Stop Bit (1)
6. Baud rate is programmable

8051
 8051 Serial Port – Mode 3
The Serial Port in Mode-3 has the following features:

1. Serial data enters through RXD

2. Serial data exits through TXD
3. 9th data bit (TB8) can be assign value 0 or 1
4. On receive, the 9th data bit goes into RB8 in SCON
5. 11 bits are transmitted / received
1.Start bit (0)
2.Data bits (9)
3.Stop Bit (1)
6. Baud rate is determined by Timer 1 overflow rate.

8051
 Programming Serial Data Transmission
1. TMOD register is loaded with the value 20H, indicating the use of timer
1 in mode 2 (8-bit auto-reload) to set baud rate.
2. The TH1 is loaded with one of the values to set baud rate for serial data
transfer.
3. The SCON register is loaded with the value 50H, indicating serial mode
1, where an 8- bit data is framed with start and stop bits.
4. TR1 is set to 1 to start timer 1
5. TI is cleared by CLR TI instruction
6. The character byte to be transferred serially is written into SBUF
register.
7. The TI flag bit is monitored with the use of instruction JNB TI, xx to see
if the character has been transferred completely.
8. To transfer the next byte, go to step 5
8051
 Programming Serial Data Reception
1. TMOD register is loaded with the value 20H, indicating the use of timer 1
in mode 2 (8-bit auto-reload) to set baud rate.
2. TH1 is loaded to set baud rate
3. The SCON register is loaded with the value 50H, indicating serial mode 1,
where an 8- bit data is framed with start and stop bits.
4. TR1 is set to 1 to start timer 1
5. RI is cleared by CLR RI instruction
6. The RI flag bit is monitored with the use of instruction JNB RI, xx to see if
an entire character has been received yet
7. When RI is raised, SBUF has the byte, its contents are moved into a safe
place.
8. To receive the next character, go to step 5.

8051
 Doubling Baud Rate
• There are two ways to increase the baud rate of data
transfer
1. By using a higher frequency crystal
2. By changing a bit in the PCON register

• PCON register is an 8-bit register.

• When 8051 is powered up, SMOD is zero

• We can set it to high by software and thereby double the baud rate.

8051
 Doubling Baud Rate (cont…)

8051
 8051
Interrup
ts
8051
 INTERRUPTS
• An interrupt is an external or internal event that
interrupts the microcontroller to inform it that a device
needs its service

• A single microcontroller can serve several devices by two

ways:
1. Interrupt
2. Polling

8051
 Interrupt Vs Polling
1. Interrupts
– Whenever any device needs its service, the device notifies the
microcontroller by sending it an interrupt signal.
– Upon receiving an interrupt signal, the microcontroller
interrupts whatever it is doing and serves the device.
– The program which is associated with the interrupt is called the
interrupt service routine (ISR) or interrupt handler.
2. Polling
– The microcontroller continuously monitors the status of a
given device.
– When the conditions met, it performs the service.
– After that, it moves on to monitor the next device until every
one is serviced.
8051
 Interrupt Vs Polling
• The polling method is not efficient, since it wastes much of
the microcontroller’s time by polling devices that do not
need service.
• The advantage of interrupts is that the microcontroller can
serve many devices (not all at the same time).
• Each devices can get the attention of the microcontroller
based on the assigned priority.
• For the polling method, it is not possible to assign priority
since it checks all devices in a round-robin fashion.
• The microcontroller can also ignore (mask) a device request
for service in Interrupt.
8051
 Steps in Executing an Interrupt
1. It finishes the instruction it is executing and saves the address of
the next instruction (PC) on the stack.
2. It also saves the current status of all the interrupts internally (i.e:
not on the stack).
3. It jumps to a fixed location in memory, called the interrupt vector
table, that holds the address of the ISR.
4. The microcontroller gets the address of the ISR from the
interrupt vector table and jumps to it.
5. It starts to execute the interrupt service subroutine until it
reaches the last instruction of the subroutine which is RETI
(return from interrupt).
6. Upon executing the RETI instruction, the microcontroller returns
to the place where it was interrupted.
8051
 Six Interrupts in 8051
Six interrupts are allocated as follows:
1. Reset – power-up reset.

2. Two interrupts are set aside for the timers.

– one for timer 0 and one for timer 1

3. Two interrupts are set aside for hardware external

interrupts.
– P3.2 and P3.3 are for the external hardware interrupts INT0
(or EX1), and INT1 (or EX2)

4. Serial communication has a single interrupt that

belongs to both receive and transfer.
8051
 What events can trigger Interrupts?
• We can configure the 8051 so that any of the following
events will cause an interrupt:

– Timer 0 Overflow.
– Timer 1 Overflow.
– Reception/Transmission of Serial Character.
– External Event 0.
– External Event 1.

• We can configure the 8051 so that when Timer 0

Overflows or when a character is sent/received, the
appropriate interrupt handler routines are called.
8051
 8051 Interrupt Vectors

8051
 8051 Interrupt related Registers
• The various registers associated with the use of
interrupts are:
– TCON - Edge and Type bits for External Interrupts 0/1

– SCON - RI and TI interrupt flags for RS232

– IE - Enable interrupt sources

– IP - Specify priority of interrupts

8051
 Enabling and Disabling an Interrupt
• Upon reset, all interrupts are disabled (masked),
meaning that none will be responded to by the
microcontroller if they are activated.

• The interrupts must be enabled by software in order for

the microcontroller to respond to them.

• There is a register called IE (interrupt enable) that is

responsible for enabling (unmasking) and disabling
(masking) the interrupts.

8051
 Interrupt Enable (IE) Register

--

• EA : Global enable/disable.
• --- : Reserved for additional interrupt hardware.

MOV IE,#08h
• ES : Enable Serial port interrupt.
or • ET1 : Enable Timer 1 control bit.
SETB ET1
• EX1 : Enable External 1 interrupt.
• ET0 : Enable Timer 0 control bit.
• EX0 : Enable External 0 interrupt.

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 Enabling and Disabling an Interrupt
• Example: Show the instructions to (a) enable the serial interrupt,
timer 0 interrupt, and external hardware interrupt 1 and (b)
disable (mask) the timer 0 interrupt, then (c) show how to disable
all the interrupts with a single instruction.
• Solution:
– (a) MOV IE,#10010110B ;enable serial, timer 0, EX1
• Another way to perform the same manipulation is:
– SETB IE.7 ;EA=1, global enable
– SETB IE.4 ;enable serial interrupt
– SETB IE.1 ;enable Timer 0 interrupt
– SETB IE.2 ;enable EX1
– (b) CLR IE.1 ;mask (disable) timer 0 interrupt only
– (c) CLR IE.7 ;disable all interrupts
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 Interrupt Priority
• When the 8051 is powered up, the priorities are assigned according
to the following.

• In reality, the priority scheme is nothing but an internal polling

sequence in which the 8051 polls the interrupts in the sequence
listed and responds accordingly.

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 Interrupt Priority
• We can alter the sequence of interrupt priority by assigning a
higher priority to any one of the interrupts by programming a
register called IP (interrupt priority).
• To give a higher priority to any of the interrupts, we make the
corresponding bit in the IP register high.

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 Interrupt Priority (IP) Register

Reserved PS PT1 PX1 PT0 PX0

Serial Port
INT 0 Pin
Timer 1 Pin

INT 1 Pin Timer 0 Pin

Priority bit=1 assigns high priority

Priority bit=0 assigns low priority
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