TAP – Test Access Port

The JTAG interface is accessed through four of the AVR’s pins. In JTAG terminology, these pins constitute the Test Access Port – TAP. These pins are:

The IEEE std. 1149.1 also specifies an optional TAP signal; TRST – Test ReSeT – which is not provided.

When the JTAGEN fuse is unprogrammed, these four TAP pins are normal port pins and the TAP controller is in reset. When programmed and the JTD bit in MCUCSR is cleared, the TAP input signals are internally pulled high and the JTAG is enabled for Boundary-scan and programming. In this case, the TAP output pin (TDO) is left floating in states where the JTAG TAP controller is not shifting data, and must therefore be connected to a pull-up resistor or other hardware having pull-ups (for instance the TDI-input of the next device in the scan chain). The device is shipped with this fuse programmed.

For the On-chip Debug system, in addition to the JTAG interface pins, the RESET pin is monitored by the debugger to be able to detect External Reset sources. The debugger can also pull the RESET pin low to reset the whole system, assuming only open collectors on the Reset line are used in the application.

Figure 1. Block Diagram
Figure 2. TAP Controller State Diagram