SAMA7D65 Curiosity Development Board – Introduction
Introduction
This training introduces the SAMA7D65-Curiosity Development Board.
What Can I Do With the SAMA7D65-Curiosity?
The SAMA7D65-Curiosity is designed for evaluating and prototyping with the high-performance SAMA7D65 Arm® Cortex®-A7 CPU embedded microprocessor (MPU) running up to 1 GHz. You can use it to develop embedded Linux® or Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) applications.
Visit Microchip's "32-bit Microprocessor (MPUs)" page for information on our MPU offerings.
What Is the SAMA7D65-Curiosity?
The SAMA7D65-Curiosity Development Board is a multi-function demonstration and development platform featuring:
- SAMA7D65 MPU
- Mass storage
- Communications
- Debugging
- User interface
- Expansion
- Power options
How Do I Get Started?
Start by familiarizing yourself with the "SAMA7D65-Curiosity - Features" page and then jump to the "SAMA7D65-Curiosity – Booting Demo Linux Image" page.
Where Can I Get Demo Images?
Demonstration images for the SAMA7D65-Curiosity are available. Images are available from two build automation systems:
How Do I Write Images?
Demonstration images can be flashed onto a microSD™ memory card (of size 1 GB or higher) using the balenaEtcher utility program. balenaEtcher is a cross-platform utility program used for writing image files onto storage media.
For more information on writing demonstration Linux images, see the "SAMA7D65-Curiosity - Booting Demo Linux Image" page.
How Do I Develop?
There are two popular methods for MPU development, with Embedded Linux or MPLAB Harmony v3 Software Framework.
Where Can I Get the Source Code?
The source code is available through the "SAMA7D65-Curiosity" page.
How Do I Debug?
JTAG
A JTAG/In-Circuit Emulator (ICE) interface to the SAMA7D65-Curiosity is provided by a 20-pin connector (J38). This facilitates software development and debugging by connecting an external JTAG debugger such as the PICkit™ 5 in-circuit debugger.
Console Serial Port
A console serial port is available using the serial debug port. The SAMA7D65-Curiosity features a dedicated serial UART port (J35) (3.3 or 5.0 VDC TTL level) for communicating with the target console where you can:
- View the kernel log
- Query processes
- Get information on various internal features of the system
See the "SAMA7D65-Curiosity – Console Serial Communications" page for more information about the Linux console.
Where Can I Get Additional Information?
Additional information can be found on the SAMA7D65-Curiosity product webpage. There you can find:
- User’s guide
- Design files
- Manufacturing files
- Links to component data sheets
Where Can I Order One?
You can purchase a SAMA7D65-Curiosty (Part Number: EV63J76A) from Microchip purchasing and client services or your favorite Microchip distributor.
What Is Included in the Box?
Contents of the box are:
- The SAMA7D65-Curiosity Development Board
- USB-A to USB Type-C® cable
What Do I Need to Supply?
For booting demo Linux images, you will need to supply:
- Personal computer (Windows®, macOS®, Linux) running a terminal program
- USB-to-Serial 3.3 or 5.0 VDC TTL Level adapter with a 6-pin single-in-line 0.1” pitch connector
- microSD memory card (1 GB or larger)