hw/ip/uart/doc/_index.md - 3p/lowrisc/opentitan - Git at Google

 ---
 title: "UART HWIP Technical Specification"
 ---

 # Overview

 This document specifies UART hardware IP functionality. This module
 conforms to the
 [Comportable guideline for peripheral functionality.](/doc/rm/comportability_specification)
 See that document for integration overview within the broader
 top level system.


 ## Features

 - 2-pin full duplex external interface
 - 8-bit data word, optional even or odd parity bit per byte
 - 1 stop bit
 - 32 x 8b RX buffer
 - 32 x 8b TX buffer
 - Programmable baud rate
 - Interrupt for transmit empty, receive overflow, frame error, parity error, break error, receive
   timeout

 ## Description

 The UART module is a serial-to-parallel receive (RX) and parallel-to-serial
 (TX) full duplex design intended to communicate to an outside device, typically
 for basic terminal-style communication. It is programmed to run at a particular
 baud rate and contains only a transmit and receive signal to the outside world,
 i.e. no synchronizing clock. The programmable baud rate guarantees to be met up
 to 1Mbps.

 ## Compatibility

 The OpenTitan UART is feature compatible to a specific implementation in [Chromium EC](https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromiumos/platform/ec/+/refs/heads/master/chip/g/uart.c).
 Additional features such as parity have been added.

 # Theory of Operations

 ## Block Diagram

 ![UART Block Diagram](block_diagram.svg)

 ## Hardware Interfaces

 {{< hwcfg "hw/ip/uart/data/uart.hjson" >}}

 ## Design Details

 ### Serial interface (both directions)

 The TX/RX serial lines are high when idle. Data starts with a START bit (high
 idle state deasserts, **1**-->**0**) followed by 8 data bits. The least
 significant bit is sent first. If the parity feature is turned on then an odd or
 even parity bit follows after the data bits. Finally a STOP (**1**) bit
 completes one byte of data transfer.

 {{< wavejson >}}
 {
   signal: [
     { name: 'Baud Clock',     wave: 'p............'                                                        },
     { name: 'tx',             wave: '10333333331..', data: [ "lsb", "", "", "", "", "", "", "msb" ]        },
     { name: 'Baud Clock',     wave: 'p............'                                                        },
     { name: 'tx (w/ parity)', wave: '103333333341.', data: [ "lsb", "", "", "", "", "", "", "msb", "par" ] },
   ],
   head: {
     text: 'Serial Transmission Frame',
   },
   foot: {
     text: 'start bit ("0") at cycle -1, stop bit ("1") at cycle 8, or after parity bit',
     tock: -2
   },
   foot: {
     text: [
       'tspan',
         ['tspan', 'start bit '],
         ['tspan', {class:'info h4'}, '0'],
         ['tspan', ' at cycle -1, stop bit '],
         ['tspan', {class:'info h4'}, '1'],
         ['tspan', ' at cycle 8, or at cycle 9 after parity bit'],
       ],
     tock: -2,
   }
 }
 {{< /wavejson >}}

 ### Transmission

 A write to {{< regref "WDATA" >}} enqueues a data byte into the 32 byte deep write FIFO, which
 triggers the transmit module to start UART TX serial data transfer. The TX
 module dequeues the byte from the FIFO and shifts it bit by bit out to the UART
 TX pin on positive edges of the baud clock.

 If TX is not enabled, written DATA into FIFO will be stacked up and sent out
 when TX is enabled.

 When the FIFO becomes empty as part of transmittion, a TX FIFO empty interrupt will be raised.
 This is separate from the TX FIFO water mark interrupt.


 ### Reception

 The RX module oversamples the RX input pin at 16x the requested
 baud clock. When the input is detected low the receiver will check
 half a bit-time later (i.e. 8 cycles of the oversample clock) that the
 line is still low before detecting the START bit. If the line has
 returned high the glitch is ignored. After it detects the START bit,
 the RX module samples at the center of each bit-time and gathers
 incoming serial bits into a charcter buffer. If the STOP bit is
 detected as high and the optional partity bit is correct the data byte
 is pushed into a 32 byte deep RX FIFO. The data can be read out by
 reading {{< regref "RDATA" >}} register.

 This behaviour of the receiver can be used to compute the approximate
 baud clock frequency error that can be tolerated between the
 transmitter at the other end of the cable and the receiver. The
 initial sample point is aligned with the center of the START bit. The
 receiver will then sample every 16 cycles of the 16 x baud clock, the
 diagram below shows the number of ticks after the centering that each
 bit is captured. Because of the frequency difference between the
 transmiter and receiver the actual sample point will drift compared to
 the ideal center of the bit. In order to correctly receive the STOP
 bit it must be sampled between the "early" and "late" points shown
 on the diagram, which are half a bit-time or 8 ticks of the 16x baud
 clock before or after the center. If the transmitter is considered
 "ideal" then the local clock must thus differ by no more than plus or
 minus 8 ticks in 144 or aproximately +/- 5.5%. If parity is enabled
 the stop bit will be a bit time later, so this becomes 8/160 or about
 +/- 5%.

 {{< wavejson >}}
 {
   signal: [
     { name: 'Sample', wave: '', node: '..P............', period: "2" },
     {},
     { name: 'rx',
       wave: '1.0.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.1.0.3',
       node: '...A................C.D..',
       cdata: [ "idle", "start", "+16", "+32", "+48", "+64", "+80",
                 "+96", "+112", "+128", "+144", "next start" ] },
   ],
     "edge"   : ["P-|>A center", "P-|>C early", "P-|>D late"],
   head: {
     text: 'Receiver sampling window',
   },
 }
 {{< /wavejson >}}

 In practice, the transmitter and receiver will both differ from the
 ideal baud rate. Since the worst case difference for reception is 5%,
 the uart can be expected to work if both sides are within +/- 2.5% of
 the ideal baud rate.

 ### Setting the baud rate

 The baud rate is set by writing to the {{< regref "CTRL.NCO" >}} register field. This should be
 set using the equation below, where `f_pclk` is the system clock frequency
 provided to the UART, and `f_baud` is the desired baud rate (in bits per second).

 $$ NCO = 16 \times {{2^{$bits(NCO)} \times f\_{baud}} \over {f\_{pclk}}} $$

 The formula above depends on the NCO CSR width.
 The logic creates a x16 tick when the NCO counter overflows.
 So, the computed baud rate from NCO value is below.

 $$ f\_{baud} = {{1 \over 16} \times {NCO \over {2^{$bits(NCO)}}} \times {f\_{pclk}}} $$

 Note that the NCO result from the above formula can be a fraction but
 the NCO register only accepts an integer value. This will create an
 error if the baud rate is not divisible by the fixed clock frequency. As
 discussed in the previous section the error rate between the receiver
 and remote transmitter should be lower than `8 / 144` to latch a
 correct character value when parity is not used and lower than `8 /
 160` when parity is used. In the expectation that the device the other
 side of the line behaves similarly, this requires each side have a
 baud rate that is matched to within +/- 2.5% of the ideal baud
 rate. The contribution to this error if NCO is rounded down to an
 integer (which will make the actual baud rate always lower or equal to
 the requested rate) can be computed from:

 $$ Error = {{(NCO - INT(NCO))} \over {NCO}} percent $$

 In this case if the resulting value of NCO is greater than $$ {1 \over
 0.025} = 40 $$ then this will always be less than the 2.5% error
 target.

 For NCO less than 40 the error in baud rate may or may not be
 acceptable and should be carefully checked and rounding to the nearest
 integer may achieve better results. If the computed value is close to
 an integer so that the error in the target range then the baud rate
 can be supported, however if it is too far off an integer then the
 baud rate cannot be supported. This check is needed when

 $$ {{baud} < {{40 * f\_{pclk}} \over {2^{$bits(NCO)+4}}}} \qquad OR \qquad
 {{f\_{pclk}} > {{{2^{$bits(NCO)+4}} * {baud}} \over {40}}} $$

 Using rounded frequencies and common baud rates, this implies that
 care is needed for 9600 baud and below if the system clock is under
 250MHz, with 4800 baud and below if the system clock is under 125MHz,
 2400 baud and below if the system clock us under 63MHz, and 1200 baud
 and below if the system clock is under 32MHz.


 ### Interrupts

 UART module has a few interrupts including general data flow interrupts
 and unexpected event interrupts.

 #### tx_watermark / rx_watermark
 If the TX FIFO level becomes smaller than the TX water mark level (configurable via {{< regref "FIFO_CTRL.RXILVL" >}} and {{< regref "FIFO_CTRL.TXILVL" >}}), the `tx_watermark` interrupt is raised to inform SW.
 If the RX FIFO level becomes greater than or equal to RX water mark level (configurable via {{< regref "FIFO_CTRL.RXILVL" >}} and {{< regref "FIFO_CTRL.TXILVL" >}}), the `rx_watermark` interrupt is raised to inform SW.

 Note that the watermark interrupts are edge triggered events.
 This means the interrupt only triggers when the condition transitions from untrue->true.
 This is especially important in the tx_watermark case.
 When the TX FIFO is empty, it by default satisifies all the watermark conditions.
 In order for the interrupt to trigger then, it is required that software initiates a write burst that is greater than the programmed watermark value.

 For example, assume TX watermark is programmed to be less than 4 bytes, and software programs one byte at a time, waits for it to finish transmitting, before supplying the next byte.
 Under these conditions, the TX watermark interrupt will never trigger because the size of the FIFO never exceeds the watermark level.


 #### tx_empty
 If TX FIFO becomes empty as part of transmit, the interrupt `tx_empty` is asserted.
 The transmitted contents may be garbage at this point as old FIFO contents will likely be transmitted.

 #### rx_overflow
 If RX FIFO receives an additional write request when its FIFO is full,
 the interrupt `rx_overflow` is asserted and the character is dropped.

 #### rx_break_err
 The `rx_break_err` interrupt is triggered if a break condition has
 been detected. A break condition is defined as the RX pin being
 continuously low for more than a programmable number of
 character-times (via {{< regref "CTRL.RXBLVL" >}}, either 2, 4, 8, or 16). A
 character time is 10 bit-times if parity is disabled (START + 8 data +
 STOP) or 11 bit-times if parity is enabled (START + 8 data + parity +
 STOP). If the UART is connected to an external connector this would
 typically indicate the cable has been disconnected (or there is a
 break in the wire). If the UART is connected to another part on the
 same board it would typically indicate the other part has reset or
 rebooted. (If the open connector or resetting peer part causes the RX
 input to not be actively driven, then a pulldown resistor is needed to
 ensure a break and a pullup resistor will ensure the line looks idle
 and no break is generated.)  Note that only one interrupt is generated
 per break -- the line must return high for at least half a bit-time
 before an additional break interrupt is generated. The current break
 status can be read from the {{< regref "STATUS.BREAK" >}} bit. If STATUS.BREAK is set
 but {{< regref "INTR_STATE.BREAK" >}} is clear then the line break has already caused
 an interrupt that has been cleared but the line break is still going
 on. If {{< regref "STATUS.BREAK" >}} is clear but {{< regref "INTR_STATE.BREAK" >}} is set then
 there has been a line break for which software has not cleared the
 interrupt but the line is now back to normal.

 #### rx_frame_err
 The `rx_frame_err` interrupt is triggered if the RX module receives the `START`
 bit (**0**) and a series of data bits but did not detect the `STOP` bit
 (**1**). This can happen because of noise affecting the line or if the
 transmitter clock is fast or slow compared to the receiver. In a real frame
 error the stop bit will be present just at an incorrect time so the line will
 continue to signal both high and low. The start of a line break (described
 above) matches a frame error with all data bits zero and one frame error
 interrupt will be raised. If the line stays zero until the break error occurs,
 the frame error will be set at every char-time. Frame errors will continue to
 be reported after a break error.

 {{< wavejson >}}
 {
   signal: [
     { name: 'Baud Clock',        wave: 'p............'                                                 },
     { name: 'rx',                wave: '10333333330..', data: [ "lsb", "", "", "", "", "", "", "msb" ] },
     {},
     { name: 'intr_rx_frame_err', wave: '0..........1.'},
   ],
   head: {
     text: 'Serial Receive with Framing Error',
   },
   foot: {
     text: [
       'tspan',
         ['tspan', 'start bit '],
         ['tspan', {class:'info h4'}, '0'],
         ['tspan', ' at cycle -1, stop bit '],
         ['tspan', {class:'error h4'}, '1'],
         ['tspan', ' missing at cycle 8'],
       ],
     tock: -2,
   }
 }
 {{< /wavejson >}}

 The effects of the line being low for certain periods are summarized
 in the table:

 |Line low (bit-times) | Frame Err? | Break? | Comment |
 |---------------------|------------|--------|---------|
 |<10                  | If STOP=0  | No     | Normal operation |
 |10 (with parity)     | No         | No     | Normal zero data with STOP=1 |
 |10 (no parity)       | Yes        | No     | Frame error since STOP=0 |
 |11 - RXBLVL*char     | Yes        | No     | Break less than detect level |
 |\>RXBLVL*char        | Yes        | Once   | Frame error signalled at every char-time, break at RXBLVL char-times|

 #### rx_timeout
 The `rx_timeout` interrupt is triggered when the RX FIFO has data sitting in it
 without software reading it for a programmable number of bit times (using the
 baud rate clock as reference, programmable via {{< regref "TIMEOUT_CTRL" >}}). This is used to
 alert software that it has data still waiting in the FIFO that has not been
 handled yet. The timeout counter is reset whenever the FIFO depth is changed or
 an `rx_timeout` event occurs. If the RX FIFO is full and new character is
 received, it won't reset the timeout value. The software is responsible for
 keeping the RX FIFO in the level below the watermark. The actual timeout time
 can vary based on the reset of the timeout timer and the start of the
 transaction. For instance, if the software resets the timeout timer by reading a
 character from the RX FIFO and right after it there is a baud clock tick and the
 start of a new RX transaction from the host, the timeout time is reduced by 1
 and half baud clock periods.

 #### rx_partity_err
 The `rx_parity_err` interrupt is triggered if parity is enabled and
 the RX parity bit does not match the expected polarity as programmed
 in {{< regref "CTRL.PARITY_ODD" >}}.

 # Programmers Guide

 ## Initialization

 The following code snippet demonstrates initializing the UART to a programmable
 baud rate, clearing the RX and TX FIFO, setting up the FIFOs for interrupt
 levels, and enabling some interrupts. The NCO register controls the baud rate,
 and should be set using the equation below, where `f_pclk` is the fixed clock
 frequency and `f_baud` is the baud rate in bits per second. The UART uses the
 primary clock `clk_i` as a clock source.

 $$ NCO = {{2^{20} * f\_{baud}} \over {f\_{pclk}}} $$

 Note that the NCO result from the above formula can be a fraction but
 the NCO register only accepts an integer value. See the the
 [Reception](#reception) and [Setting the baud
 rate](#setting-the-baud-rate) sections for more discussion of the
 baud rate error target and when care is needed.

 Also note that because the baud rate is multiplied by 2^20 care is
 needed not to overflow 32-bit registers. Baud rates can easily be more
 than 12 bits. The code below is careful to force 64-bit
 arithmetic. (Even if the complier is pre-computing constants there can
 be unexpected overflow).

 ```cpp
 #define CLK_FIXED_FREQ_HZ (50ULL * 1000 * 1000)

 void uart_init(unsigned int baud) {
   // nco = 2^20 * baud / fclk. Assume NCO width is 16bit.
   uint64_t uart_ctrl_nco = ((uint64_t)baud << 20) / CLK_FIXED_FREQ_HZ;
   REG32(UART_CTRL(0)) =
       ((uart_ctrl_nco & UART_CTRL_NCO_MASK) << UART_CTRL_NCO_OFFSET) |
       (1 << UART_CTRL_TX) |
       (1 << UART_CTRL_RX);

   // clear FIFOs and set up to interrupt on any RX, half-full TX
   *UART_FIFO_CTRL_REG =
       UART_FIFO_CTRL_RXRST                 | // clear both FIFOs
       UART_FIFO_CTRL_TXRST                 |
       (UART_FIFO_CTRL_RXILVL_RXFULL_1 <<3) | // intr on RX 1 character
       (UART_FIFO_CTRL_TXILVL_TXFULL_16<<5) ; // intr on TX 16 character

   // enable only RX, overflow, and error interrupts
   *UART_INTR_ENABLE_REG =
       UART_INTR_ENABLE_RX_WATERMARK_MASK  |
       UART_INTR_ENABLE_TX_OVERFLOW_MASK   |
       UART_INTR_ENABLE_RX_OVERFLOW_MASK   |
       UART_INTR_ENABLE_RX_FRAME_ERR_MASK  |
       UART_INTR_ENABLE_RX_PARITY_ERR_MASK;

   // at the processor level, the UART interrupts should also be enabled
 }
 ```

 ## Common Examples

 The following code shows the steps to transmit a string of characters.

 ```cpp
 int uart_tx_rdy() {
   return ((*UART_FIFO_STATUS_REG & UART_FIFO_STATUS_TXLVL_MASK) == 32) ? 0 : 1;
 }

 void uart_send_char(char val) {
   while(!uart_tx_rdy()) {}
   *UART_WDATA_REG = val;
 }

 void uart_send_str(char *str) {
   while(*str != '\0') {
     uart_send_char(*str++);
 }
 ```

 Do the following to receive a character, with -1 returned if RX is empty.

 ```cpp
 int uart_rx_empty() {
   return ((*UART_FIFO_STATUS_REG & UART_FIFO_STATUS_RXLVL_MASK) ==
           (0 << UART_FIFO_STATUS_RXLVL_LSB)) ? 1 : 0;
 }

 int uart_rcv_char() {
   if(uart_rx_empty())
     return -1;
   return *UART_RDATA_REG;
 }
 ```

 ## Interrupt Handling

 The code below shows one example of how to handle all UART interrupts
 in one service routine.

 ```cpp
 void uart_interrupt_routine() {
   volatile uint32 intr_state = *UART_INTR_STATE_REG;
   uint32 intr_state_mask = 0;
   char uart_ch;
   uint32 intr_enable_reg;

   // Turn off Interrupt Enable
   intr_enable_reg = *UART_INTR_ENABLE_REG;
   *UART_INTR_ENABLE_REG = intr_enable_reg & 0xFFFFFF00; // Clr bits 7:0

   if (intr_state & UART_INTR_STATE_RX_PARITY_ERR_MASK) {
     // Do something ...

     // Store Int mask
     intr_state_mask |= UART_INTR_STATE_RX_PARITY_ERR_MASK;
   }

   if (intr_state & UART_INTR_STATE_RX_BREAK_ERR_MASK) {
     // Do something ...

     // Store Int mask
     intr_state_mask |= UART_INTR_STATE_RX_BREAK_ERR_MASK;
   }

   // .. Frame Error

   // TX/RX Overflow Error

   // RX Int
   if (intr_state & UART_INTR_STATE_RX_WATERMARK_MASK) {
     while(1) {
       uart_ch = uart_rcv_char();
       if (uart_ch == 0xff) break;
       uart_buf.append(uart_ch);
     }
     // Store Int mask
     intr_state_mask |= UART_INTR_STATE_RX_WATERMARK_MASK;
   }

   // Clear Interrupt State
   *UART_INTR_STATE_REG = intr_state_mask;

   // Restore Interrupt Enable
   *UART_INTR_ENABLE_REG = intr_enable_reg;
 }
 ```

 One use of the `rx_timeout` interrupt is when the {{< regref "FIFO_CTRL.RXILVL" >}}
 is set greater than one, so an interrupt is only fired when the fifo
 is full to a certain level. If the remote device sends fewer than the
 watermark number of characters before stopping sending (for example it
 is waiting an acknowledgement) then the usual `rx_watermark` interrupt
 would not be raised. In this case an `rx_timeout` would generate an
 interrupt that allows the host to read these additional characters. The
 `rx_timeout` can be selected based on the worst latency experienced by a
 character. The worst case latency experienced by a character will happen
 if characters happen to arrive just slower than the timeout: the second
 character arrives just before the timeout for the first (resetting the
 timer), the third just before the timeout from the second etc. In this
 case the host will eventually get a watermark interrupt, this will happen
 `((RXILVL - 1)*timeout)` after the first character was received.

 ## Device Interface Functions (DIFs)

 {{< dif_listing "sw/device/lib/dif/dif_uart.h" >}}

 ## Register Table

 {{< registers "hw/ip/uart/data/uart.hjson" >}}
	---
	title: "UART HWIP Technical Specification"
	---

	# Overview

	This document specifies UART hardware IP functionality. This module
	conforms to the
	[Comportable guideline for peripheral functionality.](/doc/rm/comportability_specification)
	See that document for integration overview within the broader
	top level system.


	## Features

	- 2-pin full duplex external interface
	- 8-bit data word, optional even or odd parity bit per byte
	- 1 stop bit
	- 32 x 8b RX buffer
	- 32 x 8b TX buffer
	- Programmable baud rate
	- Interrupt for transmit empty, receive overflow, frame error, parity error, break error, receive
	timeout

	## Description

	The UART module is a serial-to-parallel receive (RX) and parallel-to-serial
	(TX) full duplex design intended to communicate to an outside device, typically
	for basic terminal-style communication. It is programmed to run at a particular
	baud rate and contains only a transmit and receive signal to the outside world,
	i.e. no synchronizing clock. The programmable baud rate guarantees to be met up
	to 1Mbps.

	## Compatibility

	The OpenTitan UART is feature compatible to a specific implementation in [Chromium EC](https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromiumos/platform/ec/+/refs/heads/master/chip/g/uart.c).
	Additional features such as parity have been added.

	# Theory of Operations

	## Block Diagram

	![UART Block Diagram](block_diagram.svg)

	## Hardware Interfaces

	{{< hwcfg "hw/ip/uart/data/uart.hjson" >}}

	## Design Details

	### Serial interface (both directions)

	The TX/RX serial lines are high when idle. Data starts with a START bit (high
	idle state deasserts, 1-->0) followed by 8 data bits. The least
	significant bit is sent first. If the parity feature is turned on then an odd or
	even parity bit follows after the data bits. Finally a STOP (1) bit
	completes one byte of data transfer.

	{{< wavejson >}}
	{
	signal: [
	{ name: 'Baud Clock', wave: 'p............' },
	{ name: 'tx', wave: '10333333331..', data: [ "lsb", "", "", "", "", "", "", "msb" ] },
	{ name: 'Baud Clock', wave: 'p............' },
	{ name: 'tx (w/ parity)', wave: '103333333341.', data: [ "lsb", "", "", "", "", "", "", "msb", "par" ] },
	],
	head: {
	text: 'Serial Transmission Frame',
	},
	foot: {
	text: 'start bit ("0") at cycle -1, stop bit ("1") at cycle 8, or after parity bit',
	tock: -2
	},
	foot: {
	text: [
	'tspan',
	['tspan', 'start bit '],
	['tspan', {class:'info h4'}, '0'],
	['tspan', ' at cycle -1, stop bit '],
	['tspan', {class:'info h4'}, '1'],
	['tspan', ' at cycle 8, or at cycle 9 after parity bit'],
	],
	tock: -2,
	}
	}
	{{< /wavejson >}}

	### Transmission

	A write to {{< regref "WDATA" >}} enqueues a data byte into the 32 byte deep write FIFO, which
	triggers the transmit module to start UART TX serial data transfer. The TX
	module dequeues the byte from the FIFO and shifts it bit by bit out to the UART
	TX pin on positive edges of the baud clock.

	If TX is not enabled, written DATA into FIFO will be stacked up and sent out
	when TX is enabled.

	When the FIFO becomes empty as part of transmittion, a TX FIFO empty interrupt will be raised.
	This is separate from the TX FIFO water mark interrupt.


	### Reception

	The RX module oversamples the RX input pin at 16x the requested
	baud clock. When the input is detected low the receiver will check
	half a bit-time later (i.e. 8 cycles of the oversample clock) that the
	line is still low before detecting the START bit. If the line has
	returned high the glitch is ignored. After it detects the START bit,
	the RX module samples at the center of each bit-time and gathers
	incoming serial bits into a charcter buffer. If the STOP bit is
	detected as high and the optional partity bit is correct the data byte
	is pushed into a 32 byte deep RX FIFO. The data can be read out by
	reading {{< regref "RDATA" >}} register.

	This behaviour of the receiver can be used to compute the approximate
	baud clock frequency error that can be tolerated between the
	transmitter at the other end of the cable and the receiver. The
	initial sample point is aligned with the center of the START bit. The
	receiver will then sample every 16 cycles of the 16 x baud clock, the
	diagram below shows the number of ticks after the centering that each
	bit is captured. Because of the frequency difference between the
	transmiter and receiver the actual sample point will drift compared to
	the ideal center of the bit. In order to correctly receive the STOP
	bit it must be sampled between the "early" and "late" points shown
	on the diagram, which are half a bit-time or 8 ticks of the 16x baud
	clock before or after the center. If the transmitter is considered
	"ideal" then the local clock must thus differ by no more than plus or
	minus 8 ticks in 144 or aproximately +/- 5.5%. If parity is enabled
	the stop bit will be a bit time later, so this becomes 8/160 or about
	+/- 5%.

	{{< wavejson >}}
	{
	signal: [
	{ name: 'Sample', wave: '', node: '..P............', period: "2" },
	{},
	{ name: 'rx',
	wave: '1.0.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.3.1.0.3',
	node: '...A................C.D..',
	cdata: [ "idle", "start", "+16", "+32", "+48", "+64", "+80",
	"+96", "+112", "+128", "+144", "next start" ] },
	],
	"edge" : ["P-\|>A center", "P-\|>C early", "P-\|>D late"],
	head: {
	text: 'Receiver sampling window',
	},
	}
	{{< /wavejson >}}

	In practice, the transmitter and receiver will both differ from the
	ideal baud rate. Since the worst case difference for reception is 5%,
	the uart can be expected to work if both sides are within +/- 2.5% of
	the ideal baud rate.

	### Setting the baud rate

	The baud rate is set by writing to the {{< regref "CTRL.NCO" >}} register field. This should be
	set using the equation below, where `f_pclk` is the system clock frequency
	provided to the UART, and `f_baud` is the desired baud rate (in bits per second).

	$$ NCO = 16 \times {{2^{$bits(NCO)} \times f\_{baud}} \over {f\_{pclk}}} $$

	The formula above depends on the NCO CSR width.
	The logic creates a x16 tick when the NCO counter overflows.
	So, the computed baud rate from NCO value is below.

	$$ f\_{baud} = {{1 \over 16} \times {NCO \over {2^{$bits(NCO)}}} \times {f\_{pclk}}} $$

	Note that the NCO result from the above formula can be a fraction but
	the NCO register only accepts an integer value. This will create an
	error if the baud rate is not divisible by the fixed clock frequency. As
	discussed in the previous section the error rate between the receiver
	and remote transmitter should be lower than `8 / 144` to latch a
	correct character value when parity is not used and lower than `8 /
	160` when parity is used. In the expectation that the device the other
	side of the line behaves similarly, this requires each side have a
	baud rate that is matched to within +/- 2.5% of the ideal baud
	rate. The contribution to this error if NCO is rounded down to an
	integer (which will make the actual baud rate always lower or equal to
	the requested rate) can be computed from:

	$$ Error = {{(NCO - INT(NCO))} \over {NCO}} percent $$

	In this case if the resulting value of NCO is greater than $$ {1 \over
	0.025} = 40 $$ then this will always be less than the 2.5% error
	target.

	For NCO less than 40 the error in baud rate may or may not be
	acceptable and should be carefully checked and rounding to the nearest
	integer may achieve better results. If the computed value is close to
	an integer so that the error in the target range then the baud rate
	can be supported, however if it is too far off an integer then the
	baud rate cannot be supported. This check is needed when

	$$ {{baud} < {{40 * f\_{pclk}} \over {2^{$bits(NCO)+4}}}} \qquad OR \qquad
	{{f\_{pclk}} > {{{2^{$bits(NCO)+4}} * {baud}} \over {40}}} $$

	Using rounded frequencies and common baud rates, this implies that
	care is needed for 9600 baud and below if the system clock is under
	250MHz, with 4800 baud and below if the system clock is under 125MHz,
	2400 baud and below if the system clock us under 63MHz, and 1200 baud
	and below if the system clock is under 32MHz.


	### Interrupts

	UART module has a few interrupts including general data flow interrupts
	and unexpected event interrupts.

	#### tx_watermark / rx_watermark
	If the TX FIFO level becomes smaller than the TX water mark level (configurable via {{< regref "FIFO_CTRL.RXILVL" >}} and {{< regref "FIFO_CTRL.TXILVL" >}}), the `tx_watermark` interrupt is raised to inform SW.
	If the RX FIFO level becomes greater than or equal to RX water mark level (configurable via {{< regref "FIFO_CTRL.RXILVL" >}} and {{< regref "FIFO_CTRL.TXILVL" >}}), the `rx_watermark` interrupt is raised to inform SW.

	Note that the watermark interrupts are edge triggered events.
	This means the interrupt only triggers when the condition transitions from untrue->true.
	This is especially important in the tx_watermark case.
	When the TX FIFO is empty, it by default satisifies all the watermark conditions.
	In order for the interrupt to trigger then, it is required that software initiates a write burst that is greater than the programmed watermark value.

	For example, assume TX watermark is programmed to be less than 4 bytes, and software programs one byte at a time, waits for it to finish transmitting, before supplying the next byte.
	Under these conditions, the TX watermark interrupt will never trigger because the size of the FIFO never exceeds the watermark level.


	#### tx_empty
	If TX FIFO becomes empty as part of transmit, the interrupt `tx_empty` is asserted.
	The transmitted contents may be garbage at this point as old FIFO contents will likely be transmitted.

	#### rx_overflow
	If RX FIFO receives an additional write request when its FIFO is full,
	the interrupt `rx_overflow` is asserted and the character is dropped.

	#### rx_break_err
	The `rx_break_err` interrupt is triggered if a break condition has
	been detected. A break condition is defined as the RX pin being
	continuously low for more than a programmable number of
	character-times (via {{< regref "CTRL.RXBLVL" >}}, either 2, 4, 8, or 16). A
	character time is 10 bit-times if parity is disabled (START + 8 data +
	STOP) or 11 bit-times if parity is enabled (START + 8 data + parity +
	STOP). If the UART is connected to an external connector this would
	typically indicate the cable has been disconnected (or there is a
	break in the wire). If the UART is connected to another part on the
	same board it would typically indicate the other part has reset or
	rebooted. (If the open connector or resetting peer part causes the RX
	input to not be actively driven, then a pulldown resistor is needed to
	ensure a break and a pullup resistor will ensure the line looks idle
	and no break is generated.) Note that only one interrupt is generated
	per break -- the line must return high for at least half a bit-time
	before an additional break interrupt is generated. The current break
	status can be read from the {{< regref "STATUS.BREAK" >}} bit. If STATUS.BREAK is set
	but {{< regref "INTR_STATE.BREAK" >}} is clear then the line break has already caused
	an interrupt that has been cleared but the line break is still going
	on. If {{< regref "STATUS.BREAK" >}} is clear but {{< regref "INTR_STATE.BREAK" >}} is set then
	there has been a line break for which software has not cleared the
	interrupt but the line is now back to normal.

	#### rx_frame_err
	The `rx_frame_err` interrupt is triggered if the RX module receives the `START`
	bit (0) and a series of data bits but did not detect the `STOP` bit
	(1). This can happen because of noise affecting the line or if the
	transmitter clock is fast or slow compared to the receiver. In a real frame
	error the stop bit will be present just at an incorrect time so the line will
	continue to signal both high and low. The start of a line break (described
	above) matches a frame error with all data bits zero and one frame error
	interrupt will be raised. If the line stays zero until the break error occurs,
	the frame error will be set at every char-time. Frame errors will continue to
	be reported after a break error.

	{{< wavejson >}}
	{
	signal: [
	{ name: 'Baud Clock', wave: 'p............' },
	{ name: 'rx', wave: '10333333330..', data: [ "lsb", "", "", "", "", "", "", "msb" ] },
	{},
	{ name: 'intr_rx_frame_err', wave: '0..........1.'},
	],
	head: {
	text: 'Serial Receive with Framing Error',
	},
	foot: {
	text: [
	'tspan',
	['tspan', 'start bit '],
	['tspan', {class:'info h4'}, '0'],
	['tspan', ' at cycle -1, stop bit '],
	['tspan', {class:'error h4'}, '1'],
	['tspan', ' missing at cycle 8'],
	],
	tock: -2,
	}
	}
	{{< /wavejson >}}

	The effects of the line being low for certain periods are summarized
	in the table:

	\|Line low (bit-times) \| Frame Err? \| Break? \| Comment \|
	\|---------------------\|------------\|--------\|---------\|
	\|<10 \| If STOP=0 \| No \| Normal operation \|
	\|10 (with parity) \| No \| No \| Normal zero data with STOP=1 \|
	\|10 (no parity) \| Yes \| No \| Frame error since STOP=0 \|
	\|11 - RXBLVL*char \| Yes \| No \| Break less than detect level \|
	\|\>RXBLVL*char \| Yes \| Once \| Frame error signalled at every char-time, break at RXBLVL char-times\|

	#### rx_timeout
	The `rx_timeout` interrupt is triggered when the RX FIFO has data sitting in it
	without software reading it for a programmable number of bit times (using the
	baud rate clock as reference, programmable via {{< regref "TIMEOUT_CTRL" >}}). This is used to
	alert software that it has data still waiting in the FIFO that has not been
	handled yet. The timeout counter is reset whenever the FIFO depth is changed or
	an `rx_timeout` event occurs. If the RX FIFO is full and new character is
	received, it won't reset the timeout value. The software is responsible for
	keeping the RX FIFO in the level below the watermark. The actual timeout time
	can vary based on the reset of the timeout timer and the start of the
	transaction. For instance, if the software resets the timeout timer by reading a
	character from the RX FIFO and right after it there is a baud clock tick and the
	start of a new RX transaction from the host, the timeout time is reduced by 1
	and half baud clock periods.

	#### rx_partity_err
	The `rx_parity_err` interrupt is triggered if parity is enabled and
	the RX parity bit does not match the expected polarity as programmed
	in {{< regref "CTRL.PARITY_ODD" >}}.

	# Programmers Guide

	## Initialization

	The following code snippet demonstrates initializing the UART to a programmable
	baud rate, clearing the RX and TX FIFO, setting up the FIFOs for interrupt
	levels, and enabling some interrupts. The NCO register controls the baud rate,
	and should be set using the equation below, where `f_pclk` is the fixed clock
	frequency and `f_baud` is the baud rate in bits per second. The UART uses the
	primary clock `clk_i` as a clock source.

	$$ NCO = {{2^{20} * f\_{baud}} \over {f\_{pclk}}} $$

	Note that the NCO result from the above formula can be a fraction but
	the NCO register only accepts an integer value. See the the
	[Reception](#reception) and [Setting the baud
	rate](#setting-the-baud-rate) sections for more discussion of the
	baud rate error target and when care is needed.

	Also note that because the baud rate is multiplied by 2^20 care is
	needed not to overflow 32-bit registers. Baud rates can easily be more
	than 12 bits. The code below is careful to force 64-bit
	arithmetic. (Even if the complier is pre-computing constants there can
	be unexpected overflow).

	```cpp
	#define CLK_FIXED_FREQ_HZ (50ULL * 1000 * 1000)

	void uart_init(unsigned int baud) {
	// nco = 2^20 * baud / fclk. Assume NCO width is 16bit.
	uint64_t uart_ctrl_nco = ((uint64_t)baud << 20) / CLK_FIXED_FREQ_HZ;
	REG32(UART_CTRL(0)) =
	((uart_ctrl_nco & UART_CTRL_NCO_MASK) << UART_CTRL_NCO_OFFSET) \|
	(1 << UART_CTRL_TX) \|
	(1 << UART_CTRL_RX);

	// clear FIFOs and set up to interrupt on any RX, half-full TX
	*UART_FIFO_CTRL_REG =
	UART_FIFO_CTRL_RXRST \| // clear both FIFOs
	UART_FIFO_CTRL_TXRST \|
	(UART_FIFO_CTRL_RXILVL_RXFULL_1 <<3) \| // intr on RX 1 character
	(UART_FIFO_CTRL_TXILVL_TXFULL_16<<5) ; // intr on TX 16 character

	// enable only RX, overflow, and error interrupts
	*UART_INTR_ENABLE_REG =
	UART_INTR_ENABLE_RX_WATERMARK_MASK \|
	UART_INTR_ENABLE_TX_OVERFLOW_MASK \|
	UART_INTR_ENABLE_RX_OVERFLOW_MASK \|
	UART_INTR_ENABLE_RX_FRAME_ERR_MASK \|
	UART_INTR_ENABLE_RX_PARITY_ERR_MASK;

	// at the processor level, the UART interrupts should also be enabled
	}
	```

	## Common Examples

	The following code shows the steps to transmit a string of characters.

	```cpp
	int uart_tx_rdy() {
	return ((*UART_FIFO_STATUS_REG & UART_FIFO_STATUS_TXLVL_MASK) == 32) ? 0 : 1;
	}

	void uart_send_char(char val) {
	while(!uart_tx_rdy()) {}
	*UART_WDATA_REG = val;
	}

	void uart_send_str(char *str) {
	while(*str != '\0') {
	uart_send_char(*str++);
	}
	```

	Do the following to receive a character, with -1 returned if RX is empty.

	```cpp
	int uart_rx_empty() {
	return ((*UART_FIFO_STATUS_REG & UART_FIFO_STATUS_RXLVL_MASK) ==
	(0 << UART_FIFO_STATUS_RXLVL_LSB)) ? 1 : 0;
	}

	int uart_rcv_char() {
	if(uart_rx_empty())
	return -1;
	return *UART_RDATA_REG;
	}
	```

	## Interrupt Handling

	The code below shows one example of how to handle all UART interrupts
	in one service routine.

	```cpp
	void uart_interrupt_routine() {
	volatile uint32 intr_state = *UART_INTR_STATE_REG;
	uint32 intr_state_mask = 0;
	char uart_ch;
	uint32 intr_enable_reg;

	// Turn off Interrupt Enable
	intr_enable_reg = *UART_INTR_ENABLE_REG;
	*UART_INTR_ENABLE_REG = intr_enable_reg & 0xFFFFFF00; // Clr bits 7:0

	if (intr_state & UART_INTR_STATE_RX_PARITY_ERR_MASK) {
	// Do something ...

	// Store Int mask
	intr_state_mask \|= UART_INTR_STATE_RX_PARITY_ERR_MASK;
	}

	if (intr_state & UART_INTR_STATE_RX_BREAK_ERR_MASK) {
	// Do something ...

	// Store Int mask
	intr_state_mask \|= UART_INTR_STATE_RX_BREAK_ERR_MASK;
	}

	// .. Frame Error

	// TX/RX Overflow Error

	// RX Int
	if (intr_state & UART_INTR_STATE_RX_WATERMARK_MASK) {
	while(1) {
	uart_ch = uart_rcv_char();
	if (uart_ch == 0xff) break;
	uart_buf.append(uart_ch);
	}
	// Store Int mask
	intr_state_mask \|= UART_INTR_STATE_RX_WATERMARK_MASK;
	}

	// Clear Interrupt State
	*UART_INTR_STATE_REG = intr_state_mask;

	// Restore Interrupt Enable
	*UART_INTR_ENABLE_REG = intr_enable_reg;
	}
	```

	One use of the `rx_timeout` interrupt is when the {{< regref "FIFO_CTRL.RXILVL" >}}
	is set greater than one, so an interrupt is only fired when the fifo
	is full to a certain level. If the remote device sends fewer than the
	watermark number of characters before stopping sending (for example it
	is waiting an acknowledgement) then the usual `rx_watermark` interrupt
	would not be raised. In this case an `rx_timeout` would generate an
	interrupt that allows the host to read these additional characters. The
	`rx_timeout` can be selected based on the worst latency experienced by a
	character. The worst case latency experienced by a character will happen
	if characters happen to arrive just slower than the timeout: the second
	character arrives just before the timeout for the first (resetting the
	timer), the third just before the timeout from the second etc. In this
	case the host will eventually get a watermark interrupt, this will happen
	`((RXILVL - 1)*timeout)` after the first character was received.

	## Device Interface Functions (DIFs)

	{{< dif_listing "sw/device/lib/dif/dif_uart.h" >}}

	## Register Table

	{{< registers "hw/ip/uart/data/uart.hjson" >}}