Intermediate
30 min

Gain a clear view of AC or DC current profiles using TMCS1108A2U and PIC18F46K40

Efficiency amplified through advanced current sensing

Hall Current 11 Click with Curiosity HPC

Published Nov 01, 2023

Click board™

Hall Current 11 Click

Dev Board

Curiosity HPC

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F46K40

Elevate your engineering projects with our Hall-effect current sensing solution, delivering accurate and actionable current data for effective system design, optimization, and maintenance

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Hall Current 11 Click is based on the TMCS1108A2U, a precision Hall-effect current sensor featuring a 100V functional isolation working voltage, <3% full-scale error across temperature, and both unidirectional and bidirectional current sensing from Texas Instruments. The input current flows through a 1.8mΩ resistance conductor between the isolated input current pins, minimizing power loss and thermal dissipation. The magnetic field generated by the input current is sensed by a Hall sensor and amplified by a precision integrated signal chain. The TMCS1108A2U can be used for both AC and DC current measurements with a bandwidth of 80kHz. The TMCS1108A2U is optimized for high accuracy and temperature stability, with both offset and sensitivity compensated across the entire operating

temperature range. Based on the selected logic voltage VCC, the TMCS1108A2U allows the user to measure current in two appropriate ranges, where after that, can process the output signal in analog or digital form. With the selected logic voltage of 3.3V, it is possible to measure the current from -2.8A to 27.7A, while with the chosen 5V, it is possible to measure it in the range from -4.5A to 43A. The analog output signal of the TMCS1108A2U can be converted to a digital value using MCP3221, a successive approximation A/D converter with a 12-bit resolution from Microchip using a 2-wire I2C compatible interface, or can be sent directly to an analog pin of the mikroBUS™ socket labeled as AN. Selection can be performed by onboard SMD jumper labeled ADC SEL to an appropriate position marked as AN and I2C. 

The MCP3221 provides one single-ended input with low power consumption, a low maximum conversion current, and a Standby current of 250μA and 1μA, respectively. Data can be transferred at up to 100kbit/s in the Standard and 400kbit/s in the Fast Mode. Also, maximum sample rates of 22.3kSPS with the MCP3221 are possible in a Continuous-Conversion Mode with a clock rate of 400kHz. This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the VCC SEL jumper. This way, both 3.3V and 5V capable MCUs can use the communication lines properly. Also, this Click board™ comes equipped with a library containing easy-to-use functions and an example code that can be used, as a reference, for further development.

Hall Current 11 Click hardware overview image
Hall Current 11 Click Current Warning image

Features overview

Development board

Curiosity HPC, standing for Curiosity High Pin Count (HPC) development board, supports 28- and 40-pin 8-bit PIC MCUs specially designed by Microchip for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. This board has two unique PDIP sockets, surrounded by dual-row expansion headers, allowing connectivity to all pins on the populated PIC MCUs. It also contains a powerful onboard PICkit™ (PKOB), eliminating the need for an external programming/debugging tool, two mikroBUS™ sockets for Click board™ connectivity, a USB connector, a set of indicator LEDs, push button switches and a variable potentiometer. All

these features allow you to combine the strength of Microchip and Mikroe and create custom electronic solutions more efficiently than ever. Each part of the Curiosity HPC development board contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. An integrated onboard PICkit™ (PKOB) allows low-voltage programming and in-circuit debugging for all supported devices. When used with the MPLAB® X Integrated Development Environment (IDE, version 3.0 or higher) or MPLAB® Xpress IDE, in-circuit debugging allows users to run, modify, and troubleshoot their custom software and hardware

quickly without the need for additional debugging tools. Besides, it includes a clean and regulated power supply block for the development board via the USB Micro-B connector, alongside all communication methods that mikroBUS™ itself supports. Curiosity HPC development board allows you to create a new application in just a few steps. Natively supported by Microchip software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping thanks to many number of different Click boards™ (over a thousand boards), the number of which is growing daily.

Curiosity HPC double image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

PIC18F46K40

Architecture

PIC

MCU Memory (KB)

64

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

40

RAM (Bytes)

3728

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

Analog Signal
RA1
AN
NC
NC
RST
NC
NC
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
NC
NC
PWM
NC
NC
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
I2C Clock
RC3
SCL
I2C Data
RC4
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Schematic

Hall Current 11 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Curiosity HPC front no-mcu image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Curiosity HPC as your development board.

Curiosity HPC front no-mcu image hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click front image hardware assembly
MCU DIP 40 hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
Curiosity HPC 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 image step 5 hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
Necto DIP image step 7 hardware assembly
Necto No Display image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Debug Image Necto Step hardware assembly

Track your results in real time

Application Output

After loading the code example, pressing the "DEBUG" button builds and programs it on the selected setup.

Application Output Step 1

After programming is completed, a header with buttons for various actions available in the IDE appears. By clicking the green "PLAY "button, we start reading the results achieved with Click board™.

Application Output Step 3

Upon completion of programming, the Application Output tab is automatically opened, where the achieved result can be read. In case of an inability to perform the Debug function, check if a proper connection between the MCU used by the setup and the CODEGRIP programmer has been established. A detailed explanation of the CODEGRIP-board connection can be found in the CODEGRIP User Manual. Please find it in the RESOURCES section.

Application Output Step 4

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for Hall Current 11 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • hallcurrent11_get_adc - Hall Current 11 ADC reading function

  • hallcurrent11_get_adc_voltage - Hall Current 11 get ADC voltage function

  • hallcurrent11_get_current - Hall Current 11 get current 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 HallCurrent11 Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * This library contains API for Hall Current 11 Click driver.
 * The demo application reads ADC value and current ( A ).
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initializes I2C driver and log UART.
 * After driver initialization the app set default settings.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * This is an example that demonstrates the use of the Hall Current 11 Click board™.
 * In this example, we read and display the ADC values and current ( A ) data.
 * Results are being sent to the Usart Terminal where you can track their changes.
 *
 * @author Nenad Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "hallcurrent11.h"

static hallcurrent11_t hallcurrent11;
static log_t logger;

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;                      /**< Logger config object. */
    hallcurrent11_cfg_t hallcurrent11_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.
    hallcurrent11_cfg_setup( &hallcurrent11_cfg );
    HALLCURRENT11_MAP_MIKROBUS( hallcurrent11_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    err_t init_flag = hallcurrent11_init( &hallcurrent11, &hallcurrent11_cfg );
    if ( I2C_MASTER_ERROR == init_flag ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Application Init Error. " );
        log_info( &logger, " Please, run program again... " );

        for ( ; ; );
    }

    hallcurrent11_default_cfg ( &hallcurrent11 );
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
    log_printf( &logger, "--------------------------\r\n" );
    Delay_ms( 100 );
}

void application_task ( void ) 
{
    static uint16_t adc_data;
    static float current;
    
    hallcurrent11_get_adc( &hallcurrent11, &adc_data );
    log_printf( &logger, " ADC Value   : %d \r\n", adc_data );
    log_printf( &logger, "- - - - - - - - - - -  - -\r\n" );
    Delay_ms( 100 );

    hallcurrent11_get_current ( &hallcurrent11, &current );
    log_printf( &logger, " Current     : %.3f A \r\n", current );
    log_printf( &logger, "--------------------------\r\n" );
    Delay_ms( 1000 );
}

void main ( void ) 
{
    application_init( );

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

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

Additional Support

Resources