Intermediate
30 min

Safeguard your devices and elevate their performance with STPW12 and PIC32MX664F064L

Effortless power management: Elevate performance with eFuse excellence

eFuse Click with UNI-DS v8

Published Oct 09, 2023

Click board™

eFuse Click

Dev Board

UNI-DS v8

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC32MX664F064L

Our vision is to empower your devices with eFuse precision, setting the standard for future power control solutions, and ensuring optimal performance and control

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

eFuse Click is based on the STPW12, a programmable electronic power breaker optimized to monitor the input power from STMicroelectronics. The device is designed and optimized to work on 12V power rails, even if the operating supply voltage can range from 10.5V to 18V. Connected in series to the power rail, it can disconnect the electronic circuitry on its output if the power consumption overcomes the programmed limit. The intervention threshold is programmed by the resistor connected to the RSET terminal. When this happens, the STPW12 automatically opens the integrated power switch and disconnects the load. The overcoming of the power limit threshold is signaled on the monitor/fault pin on the onboard header pin

labeled VMON. The monitor/fault pin is proportional to the power, continuously present on the pin, and provides two valuable signals for the real-time control of the device and application status. After a particular delay time, programmable by the user, the STPW12 automatically tries again to close the internal switch and re-connect the load. eFuse Click communicates with MCU using two GPIO pins routed on the PWM and RST pins of the mikroBUS™ socket labeled PWM and EN. The device can be turned on or off through a dedicated Enable (EN) pin with a direct PWM mode, which can be achieved through an external PWM signal. In this mode, the device's internal power switch can be driven ON/OFF by an external

PWM signal provided to the PWM pin of the STPW12 (square wave, maximum 2kHz, duty cycle 20% - 100%). This approach allows the user to optimize the design power distribution system in terms of accurate power control, choice of isolation material, and safety improvements, such as the reduced risk of flammability and easier qualification and certification flow. This Click board™ can be operated only with a 3.3V logic voltage level. The board must perform appropriate logic voltage level conversion before using MCUs with different logic levels. Also, it comes equipped with a library containing functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.

eFuse Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

UNI-DS v8 is a development board specially designed for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. It supports a wide range of microcontrollers, such as different STM32, Kinetis, TIVA, CEC, MSP, PIC, dsPIC, PIC32, and AVR MCUs regardless of their number of pins, and a broad set of unique functions, such as the first-ever embedded debugger/programmer over WiFi. The development board is well organized and designed so that the end-user has all the necessary elements, such as switches, buttons, indicators, connectors, and others, in one place. Thanks to innovative manufacturing technology, UNI-DS v8 provides a fluid and immersive working experience, allowing access anywhere and under any

circumstances at any time. Each part of the UNI-DS v8 development board contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. An advanced integrated CODEGRIP programmer/debugger module offers many valuable programming/debugging options, including support for JTAG, SWD, and SWO Trace (Single Wire Output)), and seamless integration with the Mikroe software environment. Besides, it also includes a clean and regulated power supply module for the development board. It can use a wide range of external power sources, including a battery, an external 12V power supply, and a power source via the USB Type-C (USB-C) connector. Communication options such as USB-UART, USB

HOST/DEVICE, CAN (on the MCU card, if supported), and Ethernet is also included. In addition, it also has the well-established mikroBUS™ standard, a standardized socket for the MCU card (SiBRAIN standard), and two display options for the TFT board line of products and character-based LCD. UNI-DS v8 is an integral part of the Mikroe ecosystem for rapid development. Natively supported by Mikroe software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping and development thanks to a considerable number of different Click boards™ (over a thousand boards), the number of which is growing every day.

UNI-DS v8 horizontal image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Type

8th Generation

Architecture

PIC32

MCU Memory (KB)

64

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

100

RAM (Bytes)

32768

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
Enable
PB0
RST
NC
NC
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
PWM Signal
PD1
PWM
NC
NC
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
NC
NC
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Schematic

eFuse Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Fusion for PIC v8 front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the UNI-DS v8 as your development board.

Fusion for PIC v8 front image hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click front image hardware assembly
SiBRAIN for PIC32MZ1024EFK144 front image hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
v8 SiBRAIN Access MB 1 - upright/background hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
NECTO Compiler Selection Step Image hardware assembly
NECTO Output Selection Step Image hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
Necto image step 7 hardware assembly
Necto image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Necto PreFlash Image hardware assembly

Track your results in real time

Application Output

After pressing the "FLASH" button on the left-side panel, it is necessary to open the UART terminal to display the achieved results. By clicking on the Tools icon in the right-hand panel, multiple different functions are displayed, among which is the UART Terminal. Click on the offered "UART Terminal" icon.

UART Application Output Step 1

Once the UART terminal is opened, the window takes on a new form. At the top of the tab are two buttons, one for adjusting the parameters of the UART terminal and the other for connecting the UART terminal. The tab's lower part is reserved for displaying the achieved results. Before connecting, the terminal has a Disconnected status, indicating that the terminal is not yet active. Before connecting, it is necessary to check the set parameters of the UART terminal. Click on the "OPTIONS" button.

UART Application Output Step 2

In the newly opened UART Terminal Options field, we check if the terminal settings are correct, such as the set port and the Baud rate of UART communication. If the data is not displayed properly, it is possible that the Baud rate value is not set correctly and needs to be adjusted to 115200. If all the parameters are set correctly, click on "CONFIGURE".

UART Application Output Step 3

The next step is to click on the "CONNECT" button, after which the terminal status changes from Disconnected to Connected in green, and the data is displayed in the Received data field.

UART Application Output Step 4

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for eFuse Click driver.

Key functions:

  • efuse_enable_device - eFuse enable the device function

  • efuse_disable_device - eFuse disable the device function

  • efuse_disable_pwm - eFuse disable the device function

Open Source

Code example

This example can be found in NECTO Studio. Feel free to download the code, or you can copy the code below.

/*!
 * @file main.c
 * @brief eFuse Click Example.
 *
 * # Description
 * This library contains API for the eFuse Click driver.
 * This demo application shows use of a eFuse Click board™.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initialization of GPIO module and log UART.
 * After driver initialization the app set default settings.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * This is an example that shows the use of an eFuse Click board™.
 * The Electronic Fuse is an electrical safety device that operates to 
 * provide overcurrent protection of an electrical circuit.
 * The intervention threshold is programmed by the Rs resistor.
 * The device disconnects the load if the power overcomes the pre-set threshold, 
 * for example if Vset = 3.9 kOhm, Vin = 12 V, 
 * the intervention threshold is set approximately to 875 mA.
 * Results are being sent to the Usart Terminal where you can track their changes.
 *
 * @author Nenad Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "efuse.h"

static efuse_t efuse;   /**< eFuse Click driver object. */
static log_t logger;    /**< Logger object. */

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;      /**< Logger config object. */
    efuse_cfg_t efuse_cfg;  /**< Click config object. */

    /** 
     * Logger initialization.
     * Default baud rate: 115200
     * Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
     * @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX 
     * are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will 
     * need to define them manually for log to work. 
     * See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
     */
    LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
    log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
    log_info( &logger, " Application Init " );

    // Click initialization.

    efuse_cfg_setup( &efuse_cfg );
    EFUSE_MAP_MIKROBUS( efuse_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( efuse_init( &efuse, &efuse_cfg ) == DIGITAL_OUT_UNSUPPORTED_PIN ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Application Init Error. " );
        log_info( &logger, " Please, run program again... " );

        for ( ; ; );
    }
    efuse_default_cfg ( &efuse );
    Delay_ms( 100 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " Disable PWM \r\n" );
    efuse_disable_pwm( &efuse );
    Delay_ms( 100 );
    
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
    Delay_ms( 100 );
}

void application_task ( void ) 
{
    log_printf( &logger, "--------------------------\r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "\t Active \r\n" );
    efuse_enable_device( &efuse );
    Delay_ms( 10000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, "--------------------------\r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "\tInactive \r\n" );
    efuse_disable_device( &efuse );
    Delay_ms( 10000 );
}

void main ( void ) 
{
    application_init( );

    for ( ; ; ) 
    {
        application_task( );
    }
}

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END

Additional Support

Resources