Development of DMA controller for real time data processing in FPGA based embedded application

Abstract

In present day technology there is an immense need of developing suitable data communication interfaces for real time embedded systems. Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) offers various resources, which can be programmed for building up an efficient embedded system. In recent years the SOC (System on Chip) design eg, in media processing [1] is becoming more and more important in real time embedded applications as SOCs require low power, low area but are still capable of implementing various complex functionalities. In order to achieve SOC architecture, which can run a real time application, we need to develop high-speed data interfaces of the system with the external world through its various I/O ports. The DMA controller, which sends the data from I/O to memory and vice-versa without intervention of the processor, thus plays a vital role in these systems in order to achieve faster I/O data transfer. This paper proposes a technique to implement a DMA controller core on Spartan 3A FPGA hardware, which serves as an essential component for developing a real time data acquisition and processing system.