An effective PWM peripheral must be able to generate complex pulse width waveforms with minimal CPU overhead or intervention. It needs to be highly programmable and very flexible while being easy to understand and use. The EPWM unit described here addresses these requirements by allocating all needed timing and control resources on a per PWM channel basis. Cross coupling or sharing of resources has been avoided; instead, the EPWM is built up from smaller single channel modules with separate resources and that can operate together as required to form a system. This modular approach results in an orthogonal architecture and provides a more transparent view of the peripheral structure, helping users to understand its operation quickly.

In the further description the letter x within a signal or module name is used to indicate a generic EPWM instance on a device. For example, output signals EPWMxA and EPWMxB refer to the output signals from the EPWM_x instance. Thus, EPWM1A and EPWM1B belong to EPWM1, EPWM2A and EPWM2B belong to EPWM2, and so forth.

Additionally, the EPWM integration allows this synchronization scheme to be extended to the capture peripheral modules (ECAP). The number of modules is device-dependent and based on target application needs. Modules can also operate stand-alone.

For more information, see Enhanced Pulse Width Modulation (EPWM) Module section in Peripherals chapter in the device TRM.