13.6.4 EEPROM Control Register

The EEPROM Programming mode bit setting defines which programming action that will be triggered when writing EEPE. It is possible to program data in one atomic operation (erase the old value and program the new value) or to split the Erase and Write operations into two different operations. The Programming times for the different modes are shown in the table below. While EEPE is set, any write to EEPMn will be ignored. During reset, the EEPMn bits will be reset to 0b00 unless the EEPROM is busy programming.

When EEMPE is '1', setting EEPE within four clock cycles will write data to the EEPROM at the selected address.

If EEMPE is zero, setting EEPE will have no effect. When EEMPE has been written to '1' by software, hardware clears the bit to zero after four clock cycles. See the description of the EEPE bit for an EEPROM write procedure.

The EEPROM can not be programmed during a CPU write to the Flash memory. The software must check that the Flash programming is completed before initiating a new EEPROM write. Step 2 is only relevant if the software contains a Boot Loader allowing the CPU to program the Flash. If the Flash is never being updated by the CPU, step 2 can be omitted.

The EEPROM Read Enable Signal EERE is the read strobe to the EEPROM. When the correct address is set up in the EEAR Register, the EERE bit must be written to a '1' to trigger the EEPROM read. The EEPROM read access takes one instruction, and the requested data is available immediately. When the EEPROM is read, the CPU is halted for four cycles before the next instruction is executed.

The user should poll the EEPE bit before starting the read operation. If a write operation is in progress, it is neither possible to read the EEPROM, nor to change the EEAR Register.

The calibrated Oscillator is used to time the EEPROM accesses. See the following table for typical programming times for EEPROM access from the CPU.

The following code examples show one assembly and one C function for writing to the EEPROM. The examples assume that interrupts are controlled (e.g. by disabling interrupts globally) so that no interrupts will occur during execution of these functions. The examples also assume that no Flash Boot Loader is present in the software. If such code is present, the EEPROM write function must also wait for any ongoing SPM command to finish.

EEPROM_write:
      ; Wait for completion of previous write
      sbic     EECR,EEPE
      rjmp     EEPROM_write
      ; Set up address (r18:r17) in address register
      out     EEARH, r18
      out     EEARL, r17
      ; Write data (r16) to Data Register
      out     EEDR,r16
      ; Write logical one to EEMPE
      sbi     EECR,EEMPE
      ; Start eeprom write by setting EEPE
      sbi     EECR,EEPE
      ret

void EEPROM_write(unsigned int uiAddress, unsigned char ucData)
{
    /* Wait for completion of previous write */
    while(EECR & (1<<EEPE))
    ;
    /* Set up address and Data Registers */
    EEAR = uiAddress;
    EEDR = ucData;
    /* Write logical one to EEMPE */
    EECR |= (1<<EEMPE);
    /* Start eeprom write by setting EEPE */
    EECR |= (1<<EEPE);
}

EEPROM_read:
   ; Wait for completion of previous write 
   sbic     EECR,EEPE 
   rjmp     EEPROM_read
   ; Set up address (r18:r17) in address register
   out     EEARH, r18
   out     EEARL, r17
   ; Start eeprom read by writing EERE
   sbi     EECR,EERE
   ; Read data from Data Register
   in      r16,EEDR
   ret

unsigned char EEPROM_read(unsigned int uiAddress)
{
    /* Wait for completion of previous write */
    while(EECR & (1<<EEPE))
    ;
    /* Set up address register */
    EEAR = uiAddress;
    /* Start eeprom read by writing EERE */
    EECR |= (1<<EERE);
    /* Return data from Data Register */
    return EEDR;
}