PWM generation using timers in Embedded C - Mini Project: Build & Apply

PWM generation using timers

📖 Scenario: You are working on a small embedded system that controls the brightness of an LED using PWM (Pulse Width Modulation). PWM is generated using a timer peripheral in the microcontroller.This project will guide you through setting up the timer registers to generate a PWM signal with a specific duty cycle.

🎯 Goal: Build a simple embedded C program that configures a timer to generate a PWM signal with a 50% duty cycle on a specific output pin.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create variables to represent timer registers

Set the timer period to a fixed value

Set the duty cycle to 50%

Configure the timer control register to enable PWM mode

Print the configured register values

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

PWM signals are used to control LED brightness, motor speed, and other devices by adjusting the power delivered.

💼 Career

Understanding timer-based PWM generation is essential for embedded systems engineers working on hardware control and device drivers.

1

Create timer register variables

Create three unsigned int variables called TIMER_PERIOD, TIMER_DUTY, and TIMER_CONTROL and initialize them all to 0.

Embedded C

// Create three unsigned int variables TIMER_PERIOD, TIMER_DUTY, and TIMER_CONTROL initialized to 0
// Your code here

Need a hint?

Use unsigned int type and set each variable to 0.

2

Set timer period

Set the variable TIMER_PERIOD to 1000 to represent the timer period for PWM.

Embedded C

unsigned int TIMER_PERIOD = 0;
unsigned int TIMER_DUTY = 0;
unsigned int TIMER_CONTROL = 0;

// Set TIMER_PERIOD to 1000
// Your code here

Need a hint?

Assign 1000 to TIMER_PERIOD.

3

Set duty cycle to 50%

Set the variable TIMER_DUTY to half of TIMER_PERIOD using the expression TIMER_PERIOD / 2.

Embedded C

unsigned int TIMER_PERIOD = 1000;
unsigned int TIMER_DUTY = 0;
unsigned int TIMER_CONTROL = 0;

// Set TIMER_DUTY to half of TIMER_PERIOD
// Your code here

Need a hint?

Use TIMER_PERIOD / 2 to set TIMER_DUTY.

4

Enable PWM mode and print registers

Set TIMER_CONTROL to 0x01 to enable PWM mode. Then write printf statements to print TIMER_PERIOD, TIMER_DUTY, and TIMER_CONTROL values.

Embedded C

unsigned int TIMER_PERIOD = 1000;
unsigned int TIMER_DUTY = TIMER_PERIOD / 2;
unsigned int TIMER_CONTROL = 0;

// Enable PWM mode and print register values
// Your code here

Need a hint?

Set TIMER_CONTROL = 0x01; and use printf to display all three variables.