4
ATmega8(L)
2486RS–AVR–07/07
The AVR core combines a rich instruction set with 32 general purpose working registers.
All the 32 registers are directly connected to the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), allowing
two independent registers to be accessed in one single instruction executed in one clock
cycle. The resulting architecture is more code efficient while achieving throughputs up to
ten times faster than conventional CISC microcontrollers.
The ATmega8 provides the following features: 8K bytes of In-System Programmable
Flash with Read-While-Write capabilities, 512 bytes of EEPROM, 1K byte of SRAM, 23
general purpose I/O lines, 32 general purpose working registers, three flexible
Timer/Counters with compare modes, internal and external interrupts, a serial program-
mable USART, a byte oriented Two-wire Serial Interface, a 6-channel ADC (eight
channels in TQFP and QFN/MLF packages) with 10-bit accuracy, a programmable
Watchdog Timer with Internal Oscillator, an SPI serial port, and five software selectable
power saving modes. The Idle mode stops the CPU while allowing the SRAM,
Timer/Counters, SPI port, and interrupt system to continue functioning. The Power-
down mode saves the register contents but freezes the Oscillator, disabling all other
chip functions until the next Interrupt or Hardware Reset. In Power-save mode, the
asynchronous timer continues to run, allowing the user to maintain a timer base while
the rest of the device is sleeping. The ADC Noise Reduction mode stops the CPU and
all I/O modules except asynchronous timer and ADC, to minimize switching noise during
ADC conversions. In Standby mode, the crystal/resonator Oscillator is running while the
rest of the device is sleeping. This allows very fast start-up combined with low-power
consumption.
The device is manufactured using Atmel’s high density non-volatile memory technology.
The Flash Program memory can be reprogrammed In-System through an SPI serial
interface, by a conventional non-volatile memory programmer, or by an On-chip boot
program running on the AVR core. The boot program can use any interface to download
the application program in the Application Flash memory. Software in the Boot Flash
Section will continue to run while the Application Flash Section is updated, providing
true Read-While-Write operation. By combining an 8-bit RISC CPU with In-System Self-
Programmable Flash on a monolithic chip, the Atmel ATmega8 is a powerful microcon-
troller that provides a highly-flexible and cost-effective solution to many embedded
control applications.
The ATmega8 AVR is supported with a full suite of program and system development
tools, including C compilers, macro assemblers, program debugger/simulators, In-Cir-
cuit Emulators, and evaluation kits.
Disclaimer Typical values contained in this datasheet are based on simulations and characteriza-
tion of other AVR microcontrollers manufactured on the same process technology. Min
and Max values will be available after the device is characterized.
