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SAMA7G54-EK – Features

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

Introduction

This training topic describes the features of the SAMA7G54-EK Evaluation Kit (P/N: EV21H18A) with links to additional information. 

Photo of SAMA7G54-EK Evaluation Kit and USB cables

Features Summary

The SAMA7G54-EK is a multi-function demonstration and development platform featuring:

  • SAMA7G54 MPU
  • Mass Storage
  • Debugging
  • User Interface
  • Communications
  • Security
  • Audio
  • Expansion
  • Power Options
  • Jumper Summary

References

SAMA7G54 MPU

Photo of SAMA7G54-EK highlighting the MPU and DDR memory

The SAMA7G54 is a high-performance, ultra-low power Arm® Cortex®-A7 CPU-based embedded microprocessor (MPU) running up to 1 GHz. Its features include:

  • 1 GHz Arm Cortex-A7 Core, 256 Kbytes of L2 cache
  • 128 Kbytes of internal SRAM and 5 Kbytes of secure backup RAM
  • Complete Imaging and Audio Sub-System
  • One 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet MAC
  • One 10/100 Ethernet MAC
  • Two high-speed USB devices and three high-speed USB hosts
  • Six flexible data rate CAN-FD controllers
  • Three Secure Digital (SD) Memory Card / e.MMC
  • Twelve FLEXCOMs (USART, SPI and I2C)
  • Hardware Encryption Engine and True Random Number Generator (TRNG)
  • Arm® TrustZone® technology

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Mass Storage

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

Photo of SAMA7G54-EK highlighting mass storage

Secure Digital Multimedia Card (SDMMC) (J4)

J4 is a Secure Digital (SD) or MultiMediaCard (MMC) Memory Card slot. It is connected to the Secure Digital MultiMediaCard port 1 (SDMMC1) of the SAMA7G54.

4 GB e.MMC Flash (U10)

U10 is a 4 Gb e.MMC managed NAND Flash memory (SkyHigh Memory S40FC004C1B1C00000). It is connected to the Secure Digital Multimedia Controller port 0 (SDMMC0) of the SAMA7G54.

1 Gb NOR Flash (U9)

U9 is a 1 Gb octal interface serial NOR Flash memory (Macronix MX66LM1G45G) configured as 8 bits x 128 MB. It is connected to the Quad Serial Peripheral Interface port 0 (QSPI0) of the SAMA7G54.

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Debugging

Photo of SAMA7G54-EK highlighting debug connections

J-Link On-Board (OB) + CDC (J24)

The Segger J-Link On-Board (OB) Debug Probe is included on the SAMA7G54-EK. The J-Link OB + CDC provides debugging/programming and a virtual COM port (CDC) from a single USB port. J-Link OB is fully supported and integrated into the MPLAB® X Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

Console Serial Port (J24)

A console serial port is available using the J-Link OB + CDC USB port (J24). For more information see: SAMA7G54-EK – Console Serial Communications.

JTAG (J27)

A JTAG interface to the SAMA7G54-EK 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. Both are fully supported and integrated into the MPLAB® X Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

Serial Debug (J20)

A 2-pin Serial Wire Debug (SWD) port is provided by 6-pin connector J20. The two signals, SWDIO and SWCLK, are overlaid on the TMS and TCK pin allowing for bi-modal debug devices.

Note: You will need a 6-pin, 5-volt Serial-to-USB adapter to connect the Serial Debug Port to a personal computer. If a 3-wire adapter is used, a jumper needs to be closed (shorted) between J20: VBUS_FTDI and J21: VDD_3V3.

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User Interface

Photo of SAMA7G54-EK highlighting user interface

Red-Green-Blue (RGB) LED (D7)

The SAMA7G54-EK features one RGB LED (D7).

Pushbuttons (SW1-SW4)

The SAMA7G54-EK contains four pushbuttons:

  • User (SW1): User push button connected to PIO_PA12 for free use.
  • nReset (SW2): Reset push button, when pressed the processor is reset.
  • nStart (SW3): Will wake up the processor when it has been shut down by software.
  • Disable Boot (SW4): When pressed it will disable booting from e.MMC and NOR Flash memories. Booting can also be disabled by shorting jumper J22 which is in parallel with SW4.

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Communications

The SAMA7G54-EK provides wired communications via Ethernet, USB, CAN.

Photo of SAMA7G54-EK highlighting communications

Ethernet 10/100 (J6)

The 10Base-T/100Base-TX Ethernet interface is an RJ45 connector (J6) for standard transmission and reception of data over a standard CAT-5 unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable. It is connected to Ethernet physical layer transceiver, KSZ8081RNA, that is connected to the Reduced Media Independent Interface (RMII) of the Gigabit Ethernet MAC (GMAC) peripheral 1 of the SAMA7G54.

A unique EUI-48™ MAC address is provided by a Serial EEPROM, 24AA025E48.

Gigabit Ethernet (J5)

The Gigabit Ethernet interface is an RJ45 connector (J5) for transmission and reception of data on standard CAT-5 as well as CAT-5e and CAT-6 unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cables. It is connected to Ethernet physical layer transceiver, KSZ9131RNX, that is connected to the Reduced Gigabit Media Independent Interface (RGMII) of the Gigabit Ethernet MAC (GMAC) peripheral 0 of the SAMA7G54.

A unique EUI-48™ MAC address is provided by a Serial EEPROM, 24AA025E48.

USB-A Host / Device (J7)

The USB-A port is a USB micro-B connector (J7) that can act as a USB device or USB host interface.

The USB-A port also functions as a secondary source to power the SAMA7G54-EK. The port is limited to 500 mA. If great current is required, the SAMA7G54-EK should be powered via J1 (see Power Options below).

The USB-A port is used to connect the SAMA7G54 MPU to the SAM-BA In-System Programmer (ISP). For more information see: SAM-BA In-System Programmer (ISP)

USB-B Host / Device (J8)

The USB-B port is a USB Type-C connector (J8) that can act as a USB device or USB host interface.

USB-C Device (J9)

The USB-C port is a USB Type-A connector (J9) that can act as a USB device.

Controller Area Network (CAN) Flexible Data (FD) Rate (J17)

The SAMA7G54 features two Flexible Data (FD) rate Control Area Network (CAN) transceivers MCP2542FD. They are accessible from connector J17.

Wireless Connectivity (U20) (Not populated)

Wireless communications (IEEE 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth® Low-Energy) can be added to the SAMA7G54-EK by soldering on a ATWIL3000 module.

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Security

Photo of SAMA7G54-EK highlighting security

Secure Element (U11)

The SAMA7G54-EK contains a ATECC608B CryptoAuthentication™ secure element (U11).

Tamper Pins

The SAMA7G54-EK features four tamper pins (J14) for static or dynamic intrusion detections. The SAMA7G54 Security Module (SECUMOD) provides secure functions to offer protection against voltage, temperature, frequency, and mechanical attacks on the chip. For more information see the Security Module (SECUMOD) section in the SAMA7G54 Data Sheet.

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Audio

Photo of SAMA7G54-EK highlighting audio

S/PDIF RX/TX Interfaces (J18 / J19)

S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) is a type of digital audio interface using fiber optic cable with TOSLINK connectors. Connector J18 is for receiving data, and J19 is for transmitting data.

Quad MEMS Microphones (MIC1, MIC2, MIC3, MIC4)

The SAMA7G54-EK has four surface mount MEMS microphones (Knowles SPK0641HT4H-1). These microphones connect to the SAMA7G54 Pulse Density Microphone Controller (PDMC).

To connect the MEMS microphones to the PDMC peripheral, jumper J3 needs to be closed (shorted) (see Jumper Summary below).

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Expansion

Photo of SAMA7G54-EK highlighting expansion

mikroBUS™ (J10 / J12)

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 (Universal Asynchronous Receiver and Transmitter), TWI (Two-Wire Interface), and PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) based sensors and devices. They are made by MikroElektronika, a producer and retailer of hardware and software tools for developing embedded systems.

Raspberry Pi / 40-pin GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output.) Connector(J13)

The SAMA7G54-EK contains a 40-pin GPIO connector (J13) for use. This connector is compatible with the Raspberry Pi expansion header.

Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) Camera Serial Interface (CSI) (J11)

The SAMA7G54-EK contains a MIPI CSI camera connector (J11). It is connected to the Camera Serial Interface (CSI) peripheral of the SAMA7G54 that implements the MIPI CSI-2 protocol specification.

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Power Options

Photo of SAMA7G54-EK highlighting power options

Power can be applied to the SAMA7G54-EK by one of two methods:

USB-A Port (J7)

Connect a USB Micro-B cable to USB-A Port (J7) and host computer. Per the USB specification, the current is limited to 500 ma. Generally, this is sufficient for powering the board. However, if more current is necessary, a sufficiently sized power supply to be connected to J1.

The USB-A port is used to connect the SAMA7G54 MPU to the SAM-BA In-System Programmer (ISP). For more information see: SAM-BA In-System Programmer (ISP)

+5 VDC (J1)

External power can be applied to the SAMA7G54-EK to connector J1. It is a 2.1 mm coaxial power connector with a positive center conductor.

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Jumper Summary

Photo of SAMA7G54-EK highlighting jumpers

The SAMA7G54 jumpers are as follows:

Jumper J2 – VDDBU:

  • Open: Removes VDDBU voltage from MPU; General Purpose Backup Registers (GPBR) will reset to initial conditions.
  • Closed (default): Normal operation

Jumper J3 – Ethernet 10/100 or PDMC Selection:

  • Open (default): Ethernet 10/100 selected
  • Closed: Pulse Density Microphone Controller (PDMC) selected

Jumper J22 – Disable Boot:

  • Open (default): MPU boots from onboard memory
  • Closed: MPU will not boot from onboard memory

Jumper J25 – Disable J-Link CDC:

  • Open (default): Enables serial communications with MPU
  • Closed: Disables serial communications with MPU

Jumper J26 – Disable J-Link OB:

  • Open (default): Enable J-Link OB debug probe
  • Closed: Disables J-Link OB debug probe

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What’s Next?

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