36.3.1 Principle of Operation
The communication through the UPDI is based on standard UART communication, using a fixed frame format and automatic baud rate detection for clock and data recovery. In addition to the data frame, several control frames are important to the communication: DATA, IDLE, BREAK, SYNCH, ACK.
| Frame | Description |
|---|---|
| DATA | A DATA frame consists of one Start (St) bit, which is always low, eight Data bits, one Parity (P) bit for even parity, and two Stop (S1 and S2) bits, which are always high. If the Parity bit or Stop bits have an incorrect value, an error will be detected and signalized by the UPDI. The parity bit-check in the UPDI can be disabled by writing to the Parity Disable (PARD) bit in the Control A (UPDI.CTRLA) register, in which case the parity generation from the debugger is ignored. |
| IDLE | IDLE is a specific frame that consists of at least 12 high bits, which is the same as keeping the transmission line in an Idle state |
| BREAK | BREAK is a specific frame that consists of at least 12 low bits. It is used to reset the UPDI back to its default state and is typically used for error recovery. |
| SYNCH | The Baud Rate Generator uses the SYNCH frame to set the baud rate for the coming transmission. A SYNCH character is always expected by the UPDI in front of every new instruction and after a successful BREAK has been transmitted. |
| ACK | The ACK frame is transmitted from the UPDI whenever an ST
or STS instruction has successfully crossed the
synchronization boundary and gained bus access. When an ACK is received by the
debugger, the next transmission can start. |