The Pulse Width Modulation Controller (PWM) generates output pulses on 4 channels independently according to parameters defined per channel. Each channel controls two complementary square output waveforms. Characteristics of the output waveforms such as period, duty-cycle, polarity and dead-times (also called dead-bands or non-overlapping times) are configured through the user interface. Each channel selects and uses one of the clocks provided by the clock generator. The clock generator provides several clocks resulting from the division of the PWM peripheral clock. External triggers can be managed to allow output pulses to be modified in real time.
All accesses to the PWM are made through registers mapped on the peripheral bus. All channels integrate a double buffering system in order to prevent an unexpected output waveform while modifying the period, the spread spectrum, the duty-cycle or the dead-times.
Channels can be linked together as synchronous channels to be able to update their duty-cycle or dead-times at the same time.
The update of duty-cycles of synchronous channels can be performed by the DMA Controller channel which offers buffer transfer without processor Intervention.
The PWM includes a spread-spectrum counter to allow a constantly varying period (only for Channel 0). This counter may be useful to minimize electromagnetic interference or to reduce the acoustic noise of a PWM driven motor.
The PWM provides 8 independent comparison units capable of comparing a programmed value to the counter of the synchronous channels (counter of channel 0). These comparisons are intended to generate software interrupts, to trigger pulses on the 2 independent event lines (in order to synchronize ADC conversions with a lot of flexibility independently of the PWM outputs) and to trigger DMA Controller transfer requests.
PWM outputs can be overridden synchronously or asynchronously to their channel counter.
The PWM provides a fault protection mechanism with 8 fault inputs, capable to detect a fault condition and to override the PWM outputs asynchronously (outputs forced to ‘0’, ‘1’ or Hi-Z).
For safety usage, some configuration registers are write-protected.