Jump to content

Oscillator start-up timer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.

An oscillator start-up timer (OST) is a module used by some microcontrollers to keep the device reset until the crystal oscillator is stable. When a crystal oscillator starts up, its frequency is not constant, which causes the clock frequency to be non-constant. This would cause timing errors, leading to many problems. An oscillator start-up timer ensures that the device only operates when the oscillator generates a stable clock frequency.[1][2] The PIC microcontroller's oscillator start-up timer holds the device's reset for a 1024-oscillator-cycle delay to allow the oscillator to stabilize.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ PIC tutorials - PIC16x8x, retrieved 27 October 2011
  2. ^ Maxim - Crystal Considerations with Maxim Real-Time Clocks, retrieved 27 October 2011
  3. ^ Microchip - reset, retrieved 27 October 2011