1.4.2.1 PWM
Pulse width modulation (PWM) is a powerful technique for digitally encoding analog signal levels.
High-resolution counters are used to generate a square wave, and the duty cycle of the square
wave is modulated to encode an analog signal. Typical applications include switching power supplies
and motor control.
On the LM3S8530, PWM motion control functionality can be achieved through:
■ The motion control features of the general-purpose timers using the CCP pins
CCP Pins (see page 196)
The General-Purpose Timer Module's CCP (Capture Compare PWM) pins are software programmable
to support a simple PWM mode with a software-programmable output inversion of the PWM signal.
1.4.3 Serial Communications Peripherals
The LM3S8530 controller supports both asynchronous and synchronous serial communications
with:
■ One fully programmable 16C550-type UART
■ Two SSI modules
■ One I
2
C module
■ Three CAN units
■ Ethernet controller
1.4.3.1 UART (see page 250)
A Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) is an integrated circuit used for RS-232C
serial communications, containing a transmitter (parallel-to-serial converter) and a receiver
(serial-to-parallel converter), each clocked separately.
The LM3S8530 controller includes one fully programmable 16C550-type UARTthat supports data
transfer speeds up to 3.125 Mbps. (Although similar in functionality to a 16C550 UART, it is not
register-compatible.) In addition, each UART is capable of supporting IrDA.
Separate 16x8 transmit (TX) and receive (RX) FIFOs reduce CPU interrupt service loading. The
UART can generate individually masked interrupts from the RX, TX, modem status, and error
conditions. The module provides a single combined interrupt when any of the interrupts are asserted
and are unmasked.
1.4.3.2 SSI (see page 291)
Synchronous Serial Interface (SSI) is a four-wire bi-directional full and low-speed communications
interface.
The LM3S8530 controller includes two SSI modules that provide the functionality for synchronous
serial communications with peripheral devices, and can be configured to use the Freescale SPI,
MICROWIRE, or TI synchronous serial interface frame formats. The size of the data frame is also
configurable, and can be set between 4 and 16 bits, inclusive.
Each SSI module performs serial-to-parallel conversion on data received from a peripheral device,
and parallel-to-serial conversion on data transmitted to a peripheral device. The TX and RX paths
are buffered with internal FIFOs, allowing up to eight 16-bit values to be stored independently.
35June 22, 2010
Texas Instruments-Production Data
Stellaris® LM3S8530 Microcontroller
