Enhancing MCU performance with a DMA-based event system controller

Abstract

Today's microcontrollers need to perform a wide range of tasks, including managing real-time control algorithms, decoding high-speed communications protocols, and processing signals from high-frequency sensors. Polling methods, such as checking interface ports to see if new data has arrived yet, consume too many CPU cycles as well as often have too high a maximum response time to reliably service I/O and peripherals. For most embedded applications, developers rely upon interrupts to meet their real-time requirements for managing peripherals.