13.21.6.3.3 Master with Several Slaves

Master with multiple slaves in parallel is only available when Master Slave Select Enable (CTRLB.MSSEN) is set to zero and hardware SS control is disabled. If the bus consists of several SPI slaves, an SPI master can use general purpose I/O pins to control the SS line to each of the slaves on the bus, as shown in Multiple Slaves in Parallel. In this configuration, the single selected SPI slave will drive the tri-state MISO line.

Another configuration is multiple slaves in series, as in Multiple Slaves in Series. In this configuration, all n attached slaves are connected in series. A common SS line is provided to all slaves, enabling them simultaneously. The master must shift n characters for a complete transaction. Depending on the Master Slave Select Enable bit (CTRLB.MSSEN), the SS line can be controlled either by hardware or user software and normal GPIO.