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Counter/Timer Block

  // RTL for one channel of a typical timer

  //Programmers' Model
  reg int_enable, int_pending;

  reg [31:0] prescalar;
  reg [31:0] reload;

  //Internal state
  reg ovf'
  reg [31:0] counter, prescale;

  // Host write operations
  always @(posedge clk) begin
     if (hwen && addr==0) int_enable <= wdata[0];
     if (hwen && addr==4) prescalar <= wdata;
     if (hwen && addr==8) reload <= wdata; //FIXED
     // Write to addr==12 to clear interrupt
     end

  // Host read operations
  assign rdata = 
    (addr==0) ? {int_pending, int_enable}:
    (addr==4) ? prescalar:
    (addr==8) ? reload: 0; 
      
  // A timer counts system clock cycles.
  // A counter would count transitions from external input.
  always @(posedge clk) begin
     ovf <= (prescale == prescalar);
     prescale <= (ovf) ? 0: prescale+1; 
     if (ovf) counter <= counter -1;
     if (counter == 0) begin
         int_pending <= 1;
         counter <= reload;
         end
     if (host_op) int_pending <= 0;
     end
  wire host_op = hwen && addr == 12;

  // Interrupt generation
  assign interrupt = int_pending && int_enable;
Re-load register accommodates poor interrupt latency.

Timer (illustrated in RTL) : counts pre-scaled system clock. Counter: counts external event pulses (e.g. car rev counter).

Four to eight, versatile, configurable counter/timers provided in one block (only one shown in RTL).

All registers also configured as bus target read/write resources.

Interrupt cleared by host programmed I/O to host_op.

Exercise: draw programmers' model diagram for the above RTL (probably done in lecture).


25: (C) 2008-13, DJ Greaves, University of Cambridge, Computer Laboratory.