Understanding
UART Protocol and
Architecture
Introduction to UART Protocol
UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter) is a protocol used for serial communication
between two devices. It is a simple and widely used communication protocol that allows data to be
transmitted and received between devices asynchronously.
UART Architecture
•Transmitter
The UART architecture consists of a transmitter, a receiver, and a
•Receiver
baud rate generator. The transmitter and receiver communicate
•Baud Rate Generator
through a common set of data lines, and the baud rate generator
sets the speed at which data is transmitted and received. UART Architecture
UART Working
UART uses a start bit, data bits, parity bit, and stop bit to •Start Bit
transmit and receive data. The start bit indicates the beginning of •Data Bits
a byte, followed by the data bits, which contain the actual data •Parity Bit
being transmitted. The parity bit is used for error checking, and •Stop Bit
the stop bit indicates the end of a byte. UART Data Transmission
UART ARCHITECTURE
The UART architecture consists of two main components: the transmitter and the receiver.
Transmitter
The transmitter is responsible for converting parallel data into serial data and transmitting it through the
communication channel. The transmitter consists of the following components:
• Data Register: Stores the data to be transmitted.
• Baud Rate Generator: Generates the clock signal for the transmitter and receiver to synchronize the data
transmission.
• Control Register: Configures the transmitter settings such as the number of data bits, parity, and stop bits.
Receiver
The receiver is responsible for receiving serial data from the communication channel and converting it into
parallel data. The receiver consists of the following components:
• Data Register: Stores the received data.
• Baud Rate Generator: Generates the clock signal for the transmitter and receiver to synchronize the data
transmission.
• Control Register: Configures the receiver settings such as the number of data bits, parity, and stop bits.
Data Transfer
UART transfers data in serial format, one bit at a time. It Baud Rate
uses start and stop bits to indicate the beginning and The baud rate is the number of bits per second that are
end of a byte of data. transmitted.
Data is transmitted LSB (Least Significant Bit) firstData is It is important to ensure that the transmitting and
received MSB (Most Significant Bit) first receiving devices have the same baud rate to ensure
accurate data transfer.
Start Bit
The transmission of data begins with a start bit, which is always
a logic low (0).
Data Bits
The data bits are transmitted LSB first, followed by the MSB.
The number of data bits can be configured to be 5, 6, 7, or 8
bits.
Parity Bit
The parity bit is optional and can be used for error detection. It
can be configured to be even, odd, or none.
Stop Bit
The transmission of data ends with a stop bit, which is always a
logic high (1).
