48.5.2.2 Start Detection and Data Sampling

The UART only supports asynchronous operations, and this affects only its receiver. The UART receiver detects the start of a received character by sampling the URXD signal until it detects a valid start bit. A low level (space) on URXD is interpreted as a valid start bit if it is detected for more than seven cycles of the sampling clock, which is 16 times the baud rate. Hence, a space that is longer than 7/16 of the bit period is detected as a valid start bit. A space which is 7/16 of a bit period or shorter is ignored and the receiver continues to wait for a valid start bit.

When a valid start bit has been detected, the receiver samples the URXD at the theoretical midpoint of each bit. It is assumed that each bit lasts 16 cycles of the sampling clock (1-bit period) so the bit sampling point is eight cycles (0.5-bit period) after the start of the bit. The first sampling point is therefore 24 cycles (1.5-bit periods) after detecting the falling edge of the start bit.

Each subsequent bit is sampled 16 cycles (1-bit period) after the previous one.