bits (LSB first), parity bit, and the stop bits according to the programmed configuration in the control
registers. See Figure 11-2 on page 252 for details.
The receive logic performs serial-to-parallel conversion on the received bit stream after a valid start
pulse has been detected. Overrun, parity, frame error checking, and line-break detection are also
performed, and their status accompanies the data that is written to the receive FIFO.
Figure 11-2. UART Character Frame
1
0
5-8 data bits
LSB
MSB
Parity bit
if enabled
1-2
stop bits
UnTX
n
Start
11.2.2 Baud-Rate Generation
The baud-rate divisor is a 22-bit number consisting of a 16-bit integer and a 6-bit fractional part.
The number formed by these two values is used by the baud-rate generator to determine the bit
period. Having a fractional baud-rate divider allows the UART to generate all the standard baud
rates.
The 16-bit integer is loaded through the UART Integer Baud-Rate Divisor (UARTIBRD) register
(see page 265) and the 6-bit fractional part is loaded with the UART Fractional Baud-Rate Divisor
(UARTFBRD) register (see page 266). The baud-rate divisor (BRD) has the following relationship
to the system clock (where BRDI is the integer part of the BRD and BRDF is the fractional part,
separated by a decimal place.)
BRD = BRDI + BRDF = UARTSysClk / (16 * Baud Rate)
where UARTSysClk is the system clock connected to the UART.
The 6-bit fractional number (that is to be loaded into the DIVFRACbit field in the UARTFBRD register)
can be calculated by taking the fractional part of the baud-rate divisor, multiplying it by 64, and
adding 0.5 to account for rounding errors:
UARTFBRD[DIVFRAC] = integer(BRDF * 64 + 0.5)
The UART generates an internal baud-rate reference clock at 16x the baud-rate (referred to as
Baud16). This reference clock is divided by 16 to generate the transmit clock, and is used for error
detection during receive operations.
Along with the UART Line Control, High Byte (UARTLCRH) register (see page 267), the UARTIBRD
and UARTFBRD registers form an internal 30-bit register. This internal register is only updated
when a write operation to UARTLCRH is performed, so any changes to the baud-rate divisor must
be followed by a write to the UARTLCRH register for the changes to take effect.
To update the baud-rate registers, there are four possible sequences:
■ UARTIBRD write, UARTFBRD write, and UARTLCRH write
■ UARTFBRD write, UARTIBRD write, and UARTLCRH write
■ UARTIBRD write and UARTLCRH write
■ UARTFBRD write and UARTLCRH write
June 22, 2010252
Texas Instruments-Production Data
Universal Asynchronous Receivers/Transmitters (UARTs)
