LM3S1D21 Datasheet, PDF (456/956 Pages) Texas Instruments – Stellaris® LM3S1D21 Microcontroller

External Peripheral Interface (EPI)
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External Peripheral Interface (EPI)
The External Peripheral Interface is a high-speed parallel bus for external peripherals or memory.
It has several modes of operation to interface gluelessly to many types of external devices. The
External Peripheral Interface is similar to a standard microprocessor address/data bus, except that
it must typically be connected to just one type of external device. Enhanced capabilities include
µDMA support, clocking control and support for external FIFO buffers.
The EPI has the following features:
■ 8/16/32-bit dedicated parallel bus for external peripherals and memory
■ Memory interface supports contiguous memory access independent of data bus width, thus
enabling code execution directly from SDRAM, SRAM and Flash memory
■ Blocking and non-blocking reads
■ Separates processor from timing details through use of an internal write FIFO
■ Efficient transfers using Micro Direct Memory Access Controller (µDMA)
– Separate channels for read and write
– Read channel request asserted by programmable levels on the internal non-blocking read
FIFO (NBRFIFO)
– Write channel request asserted by empty on the internal write FIFO (WFIFO)
The EPI supports three primary functional modes: Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
(SDRAM) mode, Traditional Host-Bus mode, and General-Purpose mode. The EPI module also
provides custom GPIOs; however, unlike regular GPIOs, the EPI module uses a FIFO in the same
way as a communication mechanism and is speed-controlled using clocking.
■ Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM) mode
– Supports x16 (single data rate) SDRAM at up to 50 MHz
– Supports low-cost SDRAMs up to 64 MB (512 megabits)
– Includes automatic refresh and access to all banks/rows
– Includes a Sleep/Standby mode to keep contents active with minimal power draw
– Multiplexed address/data interface for reduced pin count
■ Host-Bus mode
– Traditional x8 and x16 MCU bus interface capabilities
– Similar device compatibility options as PIC, ATmega, 8051, and others
– Access to SRAM, NOR Flash memory, and other devices, with up to 1 MB of addressing in
unmultiplexed mode and 256 MB in multiplexed mode (512 MB in Host-Bus 16 mode with
no byte selects)
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January 22, 2012
Texas Instruments-Production Data