2 Interrupts

Introduction
The interrupt I/O is a process of data transfer whereby an external device or a peripheral can
inform the processor that it is ready for communication and it requests attention.

The process is initiated by an external device and is asynchronous, meaning that it can be
initiated at any time without reference to the system clock. However, the response to an
interrupt request is directed or controlled by the microprocessor.

The interrupt requests are classified in two categories: maskable interrupt and nonmaskable
interrupt. More specifically four maskable interrupts and one nonmaskable interrupt. Among
these four maskable interrupts, one is nonvectored. The other three are vectored to specific
locations

RST 7.5

3 Vectored RST 6.5

4 Maskable RST 5.5

Interrupts 1 Non-Vectored INTR

1 Non-
Vectored TRAP
maskable

THE 8085 INTERRUPT

The 8085 interrupt process is controlled by the Interrupt Enable flip-flop, which is internal to the
processor and can be set or reset by using software instructions.

If the flip-flop is enabled and the input to the interrupt signal INTR (pin 10) goes high, the
microprocessor is interrupted. This is a maskable interrupt and can be disabled.

Steps for the 8085 Interrupt process

Step 1: The interrupt process should be enabled by writing the instruction EI in the main
program.
The instruction EI sets the Interrupt Enable flip-flop.
The instruction DI resets the flip-flop and disables the interrupt process.
EI (Enable Interrupt):
1 -byte instruction.
Sets the Interrupt Enable flip-flop and enables the interrupt process.
System reset or an interrupt disables the interrupt process.

DI (Disable Interrupt):
1-byte instruction.
Resets the Interrupt Enable flip-flop and disables the interrupt.
It should be included in a program segment where an interrupt from an outside source cannot
be tolerated.

Step 2: When the microprocessor is executing a program, it checks the INTR line during the
execution of each instruction.

Step 3: If the line INTR is high and the interrupt is enabled, the microprocessor:
• Completes the current instruction
• Disables the Interrupt Enable flip-flop
• Sends a signal called INTA - Interrupt Acknowledge (active low).
• The processor cannot accept any interrupt requests until the interrupt flip-flop is
enabled again.

Step 4: The signal INTA is used to insert a restart (RST) instruction through external hardware.
• The RST instruction is a 1-byte CALL instruction that transfers the program control to a
specific memory location on Page 00H (The first 256 bytes).

Step 5: When the microprocessor receives an RST instruction:

• It saves the memory address of the next instruction on the stack.
• The program is transferred to the CALL location.

Step 6: Assuming that the task to be performed is written as a subroutine at the specified
location, the processor performs the task. This subroutine is known as a service routine

Step 7: The service routine should include the instruction EI to enable the interrupt again.

Step 8: At the end of the subroutine, the RET instruction retrieves the memory address where
the program was interrupted and continues the execution.

RST Instruction
The 8085 instruction set includes
eight RST (Restart) instructions:
• RST 0 , ………., RST 7
• These are 1-byte Call instructions
that transfer the program execution to
a specific location on page 00H, as
listed in the following Table.
 Implementing the RST instruction (STEP 4)
To implement Step 4 in the interrupt process, insert one of these instructions in the
microprocessor by using external hardware and the signal INTA.

In the following circuit, instruction RST 5 is built using a tri-state buffer

RST 5 instruction implementation

Example: An Implementation of the 8085 Interrupt

• Write a main program to count continuously in binary with a one-second delay between each
count.
• Write a service routine at XX70H to flash FFH five times when the program is interrupted, with
some appropriate delay
between each flash.

Main Program Service Routine

XX00 LXI SP,XX99H XX70 SERV: PUSH B
XX03 EI XX71 PUSH PSW
XX04 MVI A,00H XX72 MVI B,0AH
XX06 NXTCNT: OUT PORT1 XX74 MVI A,00H
XX08 MVI C,01H XX76 FLASH: OUT PORT1
XX0A CALL DELAY XX78 MVI C,01H
XX0D INR A XX7A CALL DELAY
XX0E JMP NXTCNT XX7D CMA
XX7E DCR B
XX7F JNZ FLASH
XX82 POP PSW
XX83 POP B
XX84 EI
XX85 RET
 Issues in Implementing Interrupts

1. Is there a minimum pulse width required for the INTR signal?

The microprocessor checks INTR, one clock period before the last T-state of an instruction cycle.
In the 8085, the Call instructions require 18 T-states; therefore, the INTR pulse should be high at
least for 17.5 T-states.
In a system with 3 MHz clock frequency the input pulse to INTR should be at least 5.8 µs long.
(1/3MHz *17.5)

2. How long can the INTR pulse stay high?

The INTR pulse can remain high until the interrupt flip-flop is set by the EI instruction in the
service routine.
If it remains high after the execution of the El instruction, the processor will be interrupted gain,
as if it were a new interrupt.

3. Can the microprocessor be interrupted again before the completion of the first interrupt
service routine?
The answer to this question is determined by the programmer.
After the first interrupt, the interrupt process is automatically disabled.
If instruction El is written at the beginning of the routine, the microprocessor can be interrupted
gain during the service routine.

Multiple Interrupts and Priorities

how to use INTR for multiple peripherals and how to determine priorities among these
peripherals when two or more of the peripherals request interrupt service simultaneously .
One solution is using an 8-to-3 priority encoder that determines the priorities among
interrupting devices.

 This device has 8 inputs and 3 outputs.

 The inputs are assigned increasing priorities according to
the increasing index of the input.

 Input 7 has highest priority and input 0 has the lowest.

 The 3 outputs carry the index of the highest priority
active input.

The following Figure shows how this circuit can be used with a Tri-
state buffer to implement an interrupt priority scheme.
 Function Table for the priority encoder

Using the priority Encoder

 When an interrupting
device requests service,
one of the input lines
goes low, which makes
line E0 high and
interrupts the
microprocessor

 When the interrupt is

acknowledged and the
signal INTA enables the
tri-state buffer, the code
corresponding to the
input is placed on lines
D5, D4, and D3.

For example, if the interrupting device on

line I5 goes low:

 The output of the encoder will be 010.

 This code is inverted by the buffer 74LS366 and combined with other high data lines.
Thus, the instruction 11101111 (EFH) is placed on the data bus. This is instruction
RST 5.
 If there are simultaneous requests, it responds to the higher-level input, ignoring the
lower-level input.
  One of the drawbacks of this scheme is that the interrupting device connected to the
input I7 always has the highest priority. And this is one of the drawbacks of this schema.
 this device is being replaced by a more versatile one called a Programmable Interrupt
controller (8259A)

8085 Vectored Interrupt

 The 8085 has five interrupt inputs; one is called INTR which was discussed so far.
 Three are called RST 5.5, RST 6.5, and RST 7.5, and the fifth is called TRAP, a non-maskable
interrupt.

 These last four (RSTs and TRAP) are automatically vectored (transferred) to specific locations
on memory page 00H without any external hardware.

They do not require the INTA signal or an input port; the necessary hardware is already
implemented inside the 8085.

TRAP
 A nonmaskable interrupt that has the highest priority among the interrupt signals.
 It need not be enabled, and it cannot be disabled.

RST 7.5, 6.5, and 5.5

 These maskable interrupts are enabled under program control by two instructions:
 El (Enable Interrupt) described earlier
 SIM (Set Interrupt Mask)
 SIM: Set Interrupt Mask. This is a 1-byte instruction and can be used for three different
functions

SIM Instruction and Functions

 Set mask for RST 7.5, 6.5, and 5.5 interrupts. Bit D3 is a control bit and should = 1 for bits D0,
D1 and D2 to be effective.

 Reset RST 7.5 flip-flop .Bit

D4 is additional control
for RST 7.5. If D4 = 1, RST
7.5 is reset. This is used to
override (or ignore) RST
7.5 without servicing it.

 The third function is to

implement serial I/O
(discussed in Chapter 16).
 Interrupts Priority and Vector Locations

Level Sensitive Edge Sensitive Level and Edge Sensitive

As shown from this schema, all of the interrupts can be masked entirely by EI, or individually by
the SIM instruction and its code.

Triggering Mechanism
RST 7.5 Triggering Level
This is positive-edge sensitive and can be triggered with a short
pulse. The request is stored internally by the D flip-flop until
the microprocessor responds to the request or until it is
cleared by Reset or by bit D4 in the SIM instruction.

RST 6.5 , RST 5.5 Triggering Levels

These interrupts are level-sensitive, meaning that the triggering
level should be on until the microprocessor completes the
execution of the current instruction.

TRAP Triggering Level

It is level- and edge sensitive, meaning that the input should go
high and stay high to be acknowledged. It cannot be
acknowledged again until it makes a transition from low to
high.
Examples
Enable all the interrupts in an 8085 system:
EI ;enable interrupts
MVI A,08H ;bit pattern to enable all interrupts
SIM ;enable RST 7.5, 6.5, 5.5

Reset the 7.5 interrupt from the last Example:

MVI A,18H ;Set D4=1
SIM ;Reset 7.5 interrupt flip-flop

PENDING INTERRUPTS
Because there are several interrupt lines, when one interrupt request is being served, other
interrupt requests may occur and remain pending.
The 8085 has an additional instruction called RIM (Read Interrupt Mask) to sense these pending
interrupts.

RIM: Read Interrupt Mask

This is a 1-byte instruction that can be used for the following functions:
 To read interrupt masks: This instruction loads the accumulator with 8 bits indicating the
current status of the interrupt masks.
 To identify pending interrupts: Bits D4, D5, and D6 identify the pending interrupts.
 To receive serial data. Bit D7 is used to receive serial data.

Bit Pattern for the RIM Instruction

Example
Assuming the microprocessor is completing an RST 7.5 interrupt request, check to see if RST 6.5
is pending. If it is pending, enable RST 6.5 without affecting any other interrupts; otherwise,
return to the main program.

RIM ;read interrupt mask

MOV B,A ;save mask info.
ANI 20H ;check if RST 6.5 is pending?
JNZ NEXT ;RST 6.5 is pending
EI ;RST is not pending ,return to main
RET
NEXT: MOV A,B ;get mask info.
ANI 0DH ;enable RST 6.5 (00001101)
ORI 08H ;enable SIM (00001x0x)
SIM
JMP SERV ;jump to RST 6.5 service routine

Summary
 Restart as a software instruction
After the breakpoint routine, the program should return to executing the main program at the
breakpoint.
The breakpoint procedure allows the user to test programs in segments.
For example, if RST 6 is written in a program, the program execution is transferred to location
0030H; it is equivalent to a 1-byte call instruction. This can be used to write a software
breakpoint routine.

Illustrative Program:
This code illustrates the use of a procedure to display the accumulator content and the PSW into
PORT1 and PORT2 when A is entered through a keyboard, and then returns when 0 is entered.

Here when an interrupt with an RST 6 code is initiated, this procedure is called. Arguably, this
could also be called from within a program as a normal instruction

BRKPNT is called in the RST 6 code segment.

BRKPNT: PUSH PSW Save Registers
PUSH B
PUSH D
PUSH H
KYCHK: CALL KBRD Administers a Key in A Function KBRD abstracted here
CPI 0AH Is it key A?
JNZ RETKY NO? check Zero key
LXI H,0007H Yes? Load A Location HL= SP+7 = SP’-3
DAD SP Add the content of SP to HL which is A
MOV A,M
OUT PORT1 Display A
DCX H Decrease HL by one HL= SP’-4
MOV A,M Which is the PSW
OUT PORT2 Display PSW
JMP KYCHK Go back to check again Stack Pointer Content
Position Label
RETKY: CPI 00H Is it Key Zero?
SP: SP’-A L
JNZ KYCHK No? check for next entry
POP H Yes? Restore registers SP’-9 H
POP D SP’-8 E
POP B SP’-7 D
POP PSW SP’-6 C
RET Restore PC content SP’-5 B
SP’-4 PSW
SP’-3 A
SP’-2 Low
PC
SP’-1 High

SP’ X
So if at any at any point the programmer desires to view the content of the accumulator within
the program for debugging purposes, the user/programmer could inject RST 6 within the code.
 Additional I/O Concepts and Processes
The 8085 interrupt I/O, described earlier, is limited because of its single interrupt pin and
hardware requirements to determine interrupt priorities.
To circumvent these limitations, a programmable interrupt controller such as the 8259A is used
to implement and extend the capability of the 8085 interrupt.
Another I/O process, Direct Memory Access (DMA), is commonly used for high-speed data
transfer.

Programmable Interrupt Controller:

The 8259A
• The 8259A is a programmable interrupt managing device.
• The primary features of the 8259A are:
– It manages eight interrupt requests.
– It can vector an interrupt request anywhere in the memory map through program
control without additional hardware for restart instructions.
– It can solve eight levels of interrupt priorities in a variety of modes.
– With additional 8259A devices, the priority scheme can be expanded to 64 levels.

• One of the major limitations of the 8085 interrupt scheme is that all requests are vectored to
memory locations on page 00H, which is reserved for ROM or EPROM,
• Access to these locations is difficult after a system has been designed.
• In addition, the process of determining priorities is limited, and extra hardware is required to
insert Restart instructions.
• The 8259A overcomes these limitations and provides many more flexible options.
• It can be employed with 16-bit Intel microprocessors as the 8086/8088 as well.