AVR or Atmel AVR are RISC based family of microcontroller produced by Atmel Corporations The AVR is a Harvard architecture

machine with programs and data stored separately

Data RAM Flash, EEPROM, and SRAM are all integrated onto a single chip, removing the need for external memory (though still available on some devices). Program Memory Program instructions are stored in non-volatile Flash memory. Although they are 8-bit MCUs, each instruction takes 16 bits with an 8-bit opcode followed by 8 bits of data or an address to be modified by the previous instruction. So the flash memory is actually addressed in a 16-bit fashion.

Internal Data Memory The data address space consists of the register file, I/O registers, and SRAM. The AVRs have 32 single-byte registers and are classified as 8-bit RISC devices. Program Execution Atmel's AVRs have a single level pipeline design. This means the next machine instruction is fetched as the current one is executing. Most instructions take just one or two clock cycles, making AVRs relatively fast among the eight-bit microcontrollers. The AVR family of processors were designed with the efficient execution of compiled C code in mind and has several built-in pointers for the task.

Current AVRs offer a wide range of features: Multifunction, Bi-directional General Purpose I/O ports with configurable, built-in pull-up resistors Multiple Internal Oscillators Internal, Self-Programmable Instruction Flash Memory up to 256 K In-System Programmable using ISP, JTAG, or High Voltage methods Optional Boot Code Section with Independent Lock Bits for Protection On chip debugging (OCD) support through JTAG or debugWIRE on most devices Internal Data EEPROM up to 4 kB Internal SRAM up to 8 K

8-Bit and 16-Bit Timers Synchronous/Asynchronous Serial Peripherals (UART/USART) Serial Peripheral Interface Bus (SPI) Universal Serial Interface (USI) for Two/Three-Wire Synchronous Data Transfer Brownout Detection Watchdog Timer (WDT) Multiple Power-Saving Sleep Modes Lighting and motor control (PWM Specific) Controller models 10-Bit A/D Converters, with multiplex of up to 16 channels A variety of serial interfaces, including

CAN Controller Support USB Controller Support Proper High-speed hardware & Hub controller with embedded AVR. Also freely available low-speed (HID) software emulation Ethernet Controller Support LCD Controller Support Low-voltage Devices Operating Down to 1.8v picoPower Devices IC Compatible Two-Wire Interface (TWI) PWM output (Dead time generator on some devices) Analog Comparators

 Relatively low cost, ICs available

Efficient RISC architecture, almost 10 times faster than CISC For details look into data sheets Crystal Clock is not divided and is given directly to the processor.
8051 divides clock by 12 Microchip divides clock by 4 Motorola divides clock by 3 So generally speaking, an AVR running at 16 MHz crystal (Max speed of some AVRs) is equivalent to a 192 MHz 8051 or a 64 MHz PIC or a 36 MHz 68HC11 in general, but variations do exist

Although the assembly language of AVR is completely different from 8051, as that of Motorola and Microchip too, but: As AVR is manufactured by same company i.e. Atmel so the most direct benefit is that its datasheets are similar to AT89C51 and easy to follow for students who have studied AT89C51 datasheets Some AVR devices (e.g. AT90S8515) are Pin compatible to AT89C51 so previously made PCBs (with some minor modifications) can be used for testing and learning the AVR architecture and programming

 In system programmable via different methods A simple low cost trivial to make programming circuit is required to program most AVRs (Feature also available in most PIC and some 8051 too) Latest AVRs support on-chip Boot program this completely eliminates the need for any external programming hardware and the AVR can be programmed through its built-in UART or other communication ports. (Motorola has been offering this feature for a long time.)

Most AVRs have built-in 10 to 16-bit PWM channels generated automatically by timers. Number of channels ranges from 2 to 6 Most AVRs have built-in 10- bit ADC and MUX with number of channels ranging from 4 to 8 Large variety of Flash Memory ranging from 1KB to 128 KB Large variety of SRAM ranging up to 4 KB Built-in EEPROM support up to 4 KB I2C and SPI synchronous serial communication for short distance networking of microcontrollers and other peripherals DACs, ADCs, Flash memory, MP3 decoder ICs etc.

AVRs are generally classified in four board groups

tinyAVRs
1-8 kB program memory 8-20-pin package Limited peripheral set

megaAVRs
4-256 kB program memory 28-100-pin package Extended instruction set and peripheral set

XMEGA AVRs 16-384 kB program memory 44-100 pin package 32-bit AVR UC3 Application Specific AVRs

Size

Features

Software we are going to use are

AVR Studio
For Simulation and Lab Experiments

Proteus 7.1 or above

 High-performance, Low-power AVR 8-bit Microcontroller Advanced RISC Architecture 131 Powerful Instructions Most Single-clock Cycle Execution 32 x 8 General Purpose Working Registers Up to 16 MIPS Throughput at 16 MHz On-chip 2-cycle Multiplier

 Nonvolatile Program and Data Memories 16K Bytes of In-System Self-Programmable Flash Endurance: 10,000 Write/Erase Cycles Optional Boot Code Section with Independent Lock Bits In-System Programming by On-chip Boot Program True Read-While-Write Operation 512 Bytes EEPROM Endurance: 100,000 Write/Erase Cycles 1K Byte Internal SRAM Programming Lock for Software Security

 Peripheral Features
Two 8-bit Timer/Counters with Separate Prescalers and Compare

Modes One 16-bit Timer/Counter with Separate Prescaler, Compare Mode, and Capture Mode Real Time Counter with Separate Oscillator Four PWM Channels 8-channel, 10-bit ADC 8 Single-ended Channels 7 Differential Channels in TQFP Package Only 2 Differential Channels with Programmable Gain at 1x, 10x, or 200x Byte-oriented Two-wire Serial Interface Programmable Serial USART Master/Slave SPI Serial Interface Programmable Watchdog Timer with Separate On-chip Oscillator On-chip Analog Comparator

 Special Microcontroller Features

Power-on Reset and Programmable Brown-out Detection Internal Calibrated RC Oscillator External and Internal Interrupt Sources Six Sleep Modes: Idle, ADC Noise Reduction, Power-save, Powerdown, Standby and Extended Standby

JTAG (IEEE std. 1149.1 Compliant) Interface

Boundary-scan Capabilities According to the JTAG Standard Extensive On-chip Debug Support Programming of Flash, EEPROM, Fuses, and Lock Bits through the JTAG Interface

 I/O and Packages

Operating Voltages
Speed Grades

32 Programmable I/O Lines 40-pin PDIP, 44-lead TQFP, and 44-pad MLF 2.7 - 5.5V for ATmega16L 4.5 - 5.5V for ATmega16 0 - 8 MHz for ATmega16L 0 - 16 MHz for ATmega16