Welcome to Microchip’s dsPIC33F DMA controller training module. This module will explore the features and capabilities of the DMA controller, a new component in our high performance 16-bit MCU families. You’ll find the DMA controller on all dsPIC33F and PIC24H family members. DMA, or Direct Memory Access, is a generic term for any subsystem that provides the capability of moving data from one place to another, without the assistance of the system CPU. Typically, both the CPU and DMA controller will be bus masters, though architecturally things then start to diverge based on system level requirements. During this module you’ll see how the dsPIC DMA controller implementation has been optimized for high performance real-time embedded application, where determinism and system latency are priorities. First, we will review the DMA architecture from a system level perspective, discussing its key attributes along the way. We will then cover the various operating modes and examples of how they are applied. Finally, we’ll discuss the debug features that have been included to simplify application development.