C8051F93X Datasheet, PDF (211/330 Pages) Silicon Laboratories – Pipelined intstruction architecture executes 70 of instruction in 1 or 2 system clocks

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20.3.2. Setting a SmaRTClock Alarm
The SmaRTClock alarm function compares the 32-bit value of SmaRTClock Timer to the value of the
ALARMn registers. An alarm event is triggered if the SmaRTClock timer is equal to the ALARMn registers.
If Auto Reset is enabled, the 32-bit timer will be cleared to zero one SmaRTClock cycle after the alarm
event.
The SmaRTClock alarm event can be configured to reset the MCU, wake it up from a low power mode, or
generate an interrupt. See Section “12. Interrupt Handler” on page 136, Section “14. Power Management”
on page 159, and Section “18. Reset Sources” on page 184 for more information.
The following steps can be used to set up a SmaRTClock Alarm:
1. Disable SmaRTClock Alarm Events (RTC0AEN = 0).
2. Set the ALARMn registers to the desired value.
3. Enable SmaRTClock Alarm Events (RTC0AEN = 1).
Notes:
• The ALRM bit, which is used as the SmaRTClock Alarm Event flag, is cleared by disabling SmaRT-
Clock Alarm Events (RTC0AEN = 0).
• If AutoReset is disabled, disabling (RTC0AEN = 0) then Re-enabling Alarm Events (RTC0AEN = 1)
after a SmaRTClock Alarm without modifying ALARMn registers will automatically schedule the next
alarm after 2^32 SmaRTClock cycles (approximately 36 hours using a 32.768 kHz crystal).
• The SmaRTClock Alarm Event flag will remain asserted for a maximum of one SmaRTClock cycle.
See Section “14. Power Management” on page 159 for information on how to capture a SmaRTClock
Alarm event using a flag which is not automatically cleared by hardware.
20.3.3. Software Considerations for using the SmaRTClock Timer and Alarm
The SmaRTClock timer and alarm have two operating modes to suit varying applications. The two modes
are described below:
Mode 1:
The first mode uses the SmaRTClock timer as a perpetual timebase which is never reset to zero. Every 36
hours, the timer is allowed to overflow without being stopped or disrupted. The alarm interval is software
managed and is added to the ALRMn registers by software after each alarm. This allows the alarm match
value to always stay ahead of the timer by one software managed interval. If software uses 32-bit unsigned
addition to increment the alarm match value, then it does not need to handle overflows since both the timer
and the alarm match value will overflow in the same manner.
This mode is ideal for applications which have a long alarm interval (e.g. 24 or 36 hours) and/or have a
need for a perpetual timebase. An example of an application that needs a perpetual timebase is one
whose wake-up interval is constantly changing. For these applications, software can keep track of the
number of timer overflows in a 16-bit variable, extending the 32-bit (36 hour) timer to a 48-bit (272 year)
perpetual timebase.
Mode 2:
The second mode uses the SmaRTClock timer as a general purpose up counter which is auto reset to zero
by hardware after each alarm. The alarm interval is managed by hardware and stored in the ALRMn
registers. Software only needs to set the alarm interval once during device initialization. After each alarm,
software should keep a count of the number of alarms that have occurred in order to keep track of time.
This mode is ideal for applications that require minimal software intervention and/or have a fixed alarm
interval. This mode is the most power efficient since it requires less CPU time per alarm.
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