C8051F388 Datasheet, PDF (242/285 Pages) –

C8051F388/9/A/B
25.3. Timer 3
Timer 3 is a 16-bit timer formed by two 8-bit SFRs: TMR3L (low byte) and TMR3H (high byte). Timer 3 may
operate in 16-bit auto-reload mode, (split) 8-bit auto-reload mode, or Low-Frequency Oscillator (LFO) Ris-
ing Edge capture mode. The Timer 3 operation mode is defined by the T3SPLIT (TMR3CN.3), T3CE
(TMR3CN.4) bits, and T3CSS (TMR3CN.1) bits.
Timer 3 may be clocked by the system clock, the system clock divided by 12, or the external oscillator
source divided by 8. The external clock mode is ideal for real-time clock (RTC) functionality, where the
internal oscillator drives the system clock while Timer 3 (and/or the PCA) is clocked by an external preci-
sion oscillator. Note that the external oscillator source divided by 8 is synchronized with the system clock.
25.3.1. 16-bit Timer with Auto-Reload
When T3SPLIT (TMR3CN.3) is zero, Timer 3 operates as a 16-bit timer with auto-reload. Timer 3 can be
clocked by SYSCLK, SYSCLK divided by 12, or the external oscillator clock source divided by 8. As the
16-bit timer register increments and overflows from 0xFFFF to 0x0000, the 16-bit value in the Timer 3
reload registers (TMR3RLH and TMR3RLL) is loaded into the Timer 3 register as shown in Figure 25.8,
and the Timer 3 High Byte Overflow Flag (TMR3CN.7) is set. If Timer 3 interrupts are enabled (if EIE1.7 is
set), an interrupt will be generated on each Timer 3 overflow. Additionally, if Timer 3 interrupts are enabled
and the TF3LEN bit is set (TMR3CN.5), an interrupt will be generated each time the lower 8 bits (TMR3L)
overflow from 0xFF to 0x00.
Figure 25.8. Timer 3 16-Bit Mode Block Diagram
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