The output buffers of a microcontroller can produce a significant amount of noise when all channels switch at the same instant of time. Time-shared switching, in which some channels switch at one instant of time and others switch later, is a good idea. But MCU designers generally don’t implement techniques that delay port timing. They do apply a related approach in some cases, though. They diffuse the internal switching noise by using multi-phase, non-overlap clock signals that are in sync with the master clock.