Markus Levy, Greg Crouch
EEMBC, National Instruments

In the 25 years since the first microcontrollers appeared in automotive powertrain systems, performance requirements for these devices have increased by a factor of about 50. Indeed, the automotive industry is the most demanding market for semiconductor suppliers in terms of performance. This paper explains how to apply real-time tests for CAN, PWM, ADC, and other peripherals and interrupt mechanisms. Measuring CPU core performance as well as the microcontroller's peripherals will give automotive powertrain designers a better indication of which microcontroller is the right choice for their applications.