3.6. ARM7TDMI IRQ interrupts using AHB
In IRQ mode, interrupt levels can be nested lower than the
highest priority FIQ interrupt level. To provide this nesting, the
return address, stored in the Link Register (LR),
and the status register, stored in the SPSR must be available before
further IRQ interrupts can be accepted. This increases the interrupt
latency, but provides a scalable nested interrupt system. Table 3.28 shows the typical
worst case cycles for IRQ interrupts.
Table 3.28. ARM7TDMI IRQ interrupt latency
| Event | Worst case |
|---|
| Interrupt synchronization | 4 cycles |
| Worst case interrupt disable period (sequence
LDR, STMFD, MRS, MSR) | 20 cycle |
| Entry to first instruction | 2 cycles |
| Nesting (assuming single-state AHB) | 10 cycles |
| Total | 36 cycles |