22.6.2.6 Transfer Triggers and Actions

A DMA transfer through a DMA channel can be started only when a DMA transfer request is detected, and the DMA channel has been granted access to the DMA. A transfer request can be triggered from software, from a peripheral, or from an event. There are dedicated Trigger Source selections for each DMA Channel n Control A (CHCTRLAn.TRIGSRC).

The trigger actions are available in the Trigger Action bit group in the Channel n Control A register (CHCTRLAn.TRIGACT). By default, a trigger generates a request for a block transfer operation. If a single descriptor is defined for a channel, the channel is automatically disabled when a block transfer has been completed. If a list of linked descriptors is defined for a channel, the channel is automatically disabled when the last descriptor in the list is executed. As long as the list still has descriptors to execute, the channel will be waiting for the next block transfer trigger. When enabled again, the channel will wait for the next block transfer trigger. The trigger actions can also be configured to generate a request for a burst transfer (CHCTRLAn.TRIGACT=0x2) or transaction transfer (CHCTRLAn.TRIGACT=0x3) instead of a block transfer (CHCTRLAn.TRIGACT=0x0).

The following figure shows an example where triggers are used with two linked block descriptors.

If the trigger source generates a transfer request for a channel during an ongoing transfer, the new transfer request will be kept pending (CHSTATUSn.PEND=1), and the new transfer can start after the ongoing one is done. Only one pending transfer can be kept per channel. If the trigger source generates more transfer requests while one is already pending, the additional ones will be lost. All channels pending status flags are also available in the Pending Channels register (PENDCH).

When the transfer starts, the corresponding Channel Busy status flag is set in Channel n Status register (CHSTATUSn.BUSY). When the trigger action is complete, the Channel Busy status flag is cleared. All channel busy status flags are also available in the Busy Channels register (BUSYCH) in DMAC.