SAMA5D29-Curiosity – Features

Last modified by Microchip on 2024/06/20 12:44

Introduction

This topic describes the features of the SAMA5D29-Curiosity Development Board (P/N: EV07R15A) with links to additional information. 

Features Summary

The major features of the SAMA5D29-Curiosity are: 

  • SAMA5D29 MPU 
  • Mass Storage 
  • Communications 
  • Debugging 
  • User Interface 
  • Expansion 
  • Power Options 
  • Jumper Summary 

References

Photo of SAMA5D29-Curiosity Development Board

Back to Top

SAMA5D29 MPU

The SAMA5D29 is a high-performance, ultra-low-power Arm® Cortex-A5 CPU embedded microprocessor (MPU) running up to 500 MHz. 

SAMA5D29-Curiosity - Processor

Back to Top

Mass Storage

There are three mass storage options available on the development board. 

SAMA5D29-Curiosity - Mass Storage

64 Mb Serial Quad I/O (SQI) Flash with EUI-48 and EUI-64 (U9)

U9 is a 64 Mb Serial Quad I/O (SQI) Flash with EUI-48 and EUI-64 memory (Microchip SST26VF064BEUI). It is connected to the Quad SPI Interface 1 (QSPI1) peripheral of the SAMA5D29. 

Secure Digital Multimedia Card (SDMMC) (J7)

J7 is a Secure Digital (SD) or MultiMediaCard (MMC) Memory Card slot. It is connected to the Secure Digital MultiMediaCard port 1 (SDMMC1) peripheral of the SAMA5D29. 

J7 can accommodate SD format radio modules. See the SAMA5D29-Curiosity User’s Guide for more information. 

Micro Secure Digital (J6) (Bottom Side)

J6 is a micro Secure Digital (SD) Memory Card slot mounted on the bottom side of the development board. It is connected to the Secure Digital MultiMediaCard port 0 (SDMMC0) peripheral of the SAMA5D29. 

Back to Top

Communications

The SAMA5D29-Curiosity provides wired communications via Ethernet, USB, CAN, and wireless communications from SDMMC slot (J7) and Bluetooth® UART (J8). 

SAMA5D29-Curiosity - Communications

Ethernet (J15-J18)

The SAMA5D29-Curiosity contains a 10Base T/100Base-TX Ethernet Reduced Media-Independent Interface (RMII) available on connectors J15, J16, J17, and J18. Microchip provides a wide range of compatible Ethernet daughter boards that can be used for testing and evaluation. See the SAMA5D29-Curiosity User’s Guide for more information. 

USB (J1 and J11)

The SAMA5D29-Curiosity features two USB communication ports named USB-A (J1) and USB-B (J11). 

The USB-A port (J1) acts only as a USB device interface and is accessed via USB Type-C connector J1. 

The USB-A port (J1) can be used as a source of power for the development board. In most cases, this port is limited to 500 mA. See Power Options below. 

The USB-A port (J1) is used as the default serial port used to communicate with the SAM-BA® Monitor resident in the MPU. 

The USB-B port (J11) acts as a host and is accessed via USB Type-A connector J11. 

Controller Area Network (CAN) Flexible Data-Rate (FD)

The SAMA5D29 MPU contains two CAN-FD peripherals. By selecting a CAN-FD compatible mikro Click board™, the CAN-FD interfaces can be evaluated. 

MCAN0 signals are routed to the mikroBUS 1 connector (J19) by moving resistors R184 to R181 and R185 to R180. The resistors are located on the bottom side of the development board, below the mikroBUS 1 connector.

When evaluating MCAN0 signals, the LCD and ISC camera interfaces are unavailable. 

MCAN1 signals are routed to the mikroBUS 2 connector (J22) by moving resistors R192 to R189 and R193 to R188. The resistors are located on the bottom side of the development board, below the mikroBUS 2 connector.

When evaluating MCAN1 signals, the LCD and ISC camera interfaces are unavailable. 

Wireless Connectivity

Wireless communications (IEEE 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth) can be added to the SAMA5D29-Curiosity by plugging in SD memory card format radio modules such as the ATWILC3000-SD Evaluation Kit (P/N: AC164158) to SD Memory Card slot J7.  

Bluetooth modules that support the serial UART interface can connect to the 6-pin header J8. 

Back to Top

Debugging

There is one method of debugging the SAMA5D29-Curiosity via JTAG (J27). In addition, a dedicated serial port for debugging and Console Serial Communications (J28). 

SAMA5D29-Curiosity - Debugging

JTAG (J27)

A JTAG interface to the SAMA5D29-Curiosity is provided by 20-pin connector J27. This facilitates software development and debugging by connecting an external JTAG debugger such as the J-32 Debug Probe or Segger J-Link BASE Debug Probe

The JTAG interface signals voltage levels are 3.3V. 

Serial Debug Port (J28)

The Serial Debug Port (J28) is a dedicated TTL-level serial port connection between the SAMA5D29 and J28. A level shifter (U12) allows either 3.3 or 5.0 VDC levels. To interface between J28 and the host computer, you will need a USB-to-Serial (3.3 or 5.0 VDC) TTL level adapter with a 6-pin single-in-line 0.1” pitch connector.  

Take care to align Pin 1 (GND) of the header J28 to the USB-to-Serial adapter Pin 1 (look for an arrow on the connector and a black wire). 

A terminal emulation program running on a host computer provides a user interface to interact with the target console. 

For more information, see the SAMA5D29-Curiosity: Console Serial Communications page.

Back to Top

User Interface

SAMA5D29-Curiosity - User Interface

Red-Green-Blue (RGB) LED (D5)

The SAMA5D29-Curiosity features one RGB LED (D5). 

Pushbuttons (SW1-SW3)

The SAMA5D29-Curiosity contains three pushbuttons: 

  • USER (SW1): User push button is the connector to PIO PA17 and is available for the user’s usage. 
  • RESET (SW2): Reset push button, when pressed the system resets. 
  • START (SW3): When pressed it will initiate the PMIC start-up sequence if the buck converters are off. The PMIC will also assert the SAMA5D29 wakeup (WKUP) signal to wake the MPU from a low-power state. 

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Interface (J23)

The SAMA5D29-Curiosity contains an 18-bit parallel LCD Interface that supports various LCD Displays. The Liquid Crystal Display Controller (LCDC) I/O lines are available on the baseboard 50-pin Flexible Flat Cable (FFC) / Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) connector J23. 

The default supply voltage to the LCD Interface is 5 VDC. The supply voltage can be changed to 3.3 VDC by moving the zero-ohm resistor from R196 to R197. 

Image Sensor Controller (ISC) Camera Interface (J24) (Not populated)

The SAMA5D29 contains an Image Sensor Controller (ISC) that supports incoming data from a parallel CMOS/CCD sensor. The system supports an active interface and the ITU-R BT 656/1120 422 protocol with an 8-bit or 10-bit data width and raw Bayer format. The ISC I/O lines are available on baseboard 2x15 connector J24 (not populated). 

Back to Top

Expansion

SAMA5D29-Curiosity - Expansion

mikroBUS™ (J19 and J22)

mikroBUS™ socket is a proprietary communication and plugin standard for small interface boards called Click boards that extends the capabilities of the development board by offering Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), UART, TWI, and PWM-based sensors and devices. They are made by MikroElektronika, a producer and retailer of hardware and software tools for developing embedded systems. 

GPIO/Raspberry Pi Connector(J25)

The SAMA5D29-Curiosity contains a 40-pin GPIO connector (J25) for use. This connector is compatible with the Raspberry Pi expansion header. 

Multifunction 20-Pin Connector (J26) (Not populated)

The 20-pin Multifunction connector provides connectivity to alternate functions of certain SAMA5D29 PIOs. One such function is bringing the NAND Flash interface to this connector. Refer to the SAMA5D29-Curiosity User’s Guide for more information. 

Tamper (J29) and System Signals (J30) Connectors (Not populated)

The SAMA5D29-Curiosity board provides six tamper pins for static or dynamic intrusion detection on connector J29 (not populated).  

The PMIC High-Power Mode (HPM) signal, used to enable the PMIC High-Power mode, is present on J29 pin 8. 

Unused I/O signals from the SAMA5D29 are routed to connector J30 (not populated). 

Signal NameDescription
JTAGSEL JTAG boundary scan mode enable 
RXD  Low-Power Asynchronous Receiver 
SHDN Enable/disable external power supply circuit 
WKUP Event detection input used to wake up the processor from Shutdown state
COMPN Analog comparator inverting input 
COMPPAnalog comparator non-inverting input 

Back to Top

Power Options

There are two options to power the SAMA5D29-Curiosity. 

SAMA5D29-Curiosity - Power Options

USB-A Port (J1)

The USB-A port (J1) is a USB-C connector and can be used as a source of power to the development board. In most cases, this port is limited to 500 mA. 

DC Jack (J2)

The SAMA5D29-Curisosity can be powered by an external 5.0 VDC power supply. The connector (J1) is a 2.1 mm coaxial center-positive. 

DO NOT exceed 6.0 VDC on DC Jack (J2). 

If both J1 and J2 are powered at the same time, automatic switching circuitry prioritizes power from the DC Jack (J2).  

Back to Top

Jumper Summary

The SAMA5D29-Curiosity jumpers are as follows: 

SAMA5D29-Curiosity - Jumpers

Jumper J3 – VDDBU Current Measurement:

  • Closed: (default) 
  • Open: Removing the jumper will remove power to VDDBU and reset the Backup Registers (BUREG) to their initial configuration. 

Ensure the SAMA5D29-Curiosity Development Board is powered off before removing jumper J3. 

Jumper J3 must be in place for the proper operation of the MPU.  

Jumper J10 – Serial Quad I/O (SQI) Flash Boot:

  • Closed: enable boot (default) 
  • Open: disable boot 

Jumper J14 – Enable RMII 50 MHz Clock Source:

  • Closed: Enables (default) 
  • Open: Disables 

Back to Top

Learn More

Back to Top