GPIO – General Purpose Input/Output

Quick Facts

What?

The General Purpose I/O is used to interface with external devices and peripherals.

Why?

The GPIO can trigger asynchronous interrupts in all low energy modes and be used as a DPI source and a system benefits from long periods in the low energy modes.

How?

In the EFM32G the General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) pins are divided into ports with up to 16 pins each. These pins can individually be configured as either an output or input. More advances configurations like open-drain, filtering and drive strength can also be configured individually for the pins. The GPIO pins can also be overridden by peripheral pin connections, like Timer PWM outputs or USART communication, which can be routed to several locations on the device. Also, the input value of a pin can be routed through the Peripheral Reflex System to other peripherals. The GPIO's flexible routing of the alternative port functions saves PCB layout issues and is a very flexible and easy interface expansion for asynchronous and synchronous reading of signals (input) or for controlling parts of an application (output).

Find out more on the low-power EFM32 Gecko microcontrollers:
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