
2002 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS41120B-page 117
PIC16C717/770/771
12.0
SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE
CPU
These devices have a host of features intended to max-
imize system reliability, minimize cost through elimina-
tion of external components, provide power saving
operating modes and offer code protection. These are:
Oscillator Selection
RESET
- Power-on Reset (POR)
- Power-up Timer (PWRT)
- Oscillator Start-up Timer (OST)
- Brown-out Reset (BOR)
Interrupts
Watchdog Timer (WDT)
Low-voltage detection
SLEEP
Code protection
ID locations
In-circuit serial programming (ICSP)
These devices have a Watchdog Timer, which can be
shut off only through configuration bits. It runs off its
own RC oscillator for added reliability. There are two
timers that offer necessary delays on power-up. One is
the Oscillator Start-up Timer (OST), intended to keep
the chip in RESET until the crystal oscillator is stable.
The other is the Power-up Timer (PWRT), which pro-
vides a fixed delay of 72 ms (nominal) on power-up
type RESETS only (POR, BOR), designed to keep the
part in RESET while the power supply stabilizes. With
these two timers on-chip, most applications need no
external RESET circuitry.
SLEEP mode is designed to offer a very low current
Power-down mode. The user can wake-up from
SLEEP through external RESET, Watchdog Timer
Wake-up, or through an interrupt. Several oscillator
options are also made available to allow the part to fit
the application. The INTRC and ER oscillator options
save system cost while the LP crystal option saves
power. A set of configuration bits are used to select var-
ious options.
Additional information on special features is available
in the PICmicro Mid-Range MCU Family Reference
Manual, (DS33023).
12.1
Configuration Bits
The configuration bits can be programmed (read as '0')
or left unprogrammed (read as '1') to select various
device configurations. These bits are mapped in pro-
gram memory location 2007h.
The user will note that address 2007h is beyond the
user program memory space.
Some of the core features provided may not be neces-
sary to each application that a device may be used for.
The configuration word bits allow these features to be
configured/enabled/disabled as necessary. These fea-
tures include code protection, Brown-out Reset and its
trip point, the Power-up Timer, the watchdog timer and
the devices Oscillator mode. As can be seen in
have been provided for Brown-out Reset trip point
selection.