Beginner
10 min

Convert and regulate voltage levels with TPS55289 and PIC32MZ2048EFM100

Synchronous buck-boost converter optimized for USB power delivery (USB PD) application

Buck-Boost 4 Click with Curiosity PIC32 MZ EF

Published Feb 06, 2024

Click board™

Buck-Boost 4 Click

Dev. board

Curiosity PIC32 MZ EF

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC32MZ2048EFM100

Take in one voltage and convert it to a higher or lower voltage as needed, making it useful for various applications that require different power levels

A

A

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Buck-Boost 4 Click is based on the TPS55289, a buck-boost converter from Texas Instruments. It can smoothly transition between buck mode, buck-boost mode, and boost mode according to the input voltage and the set output voltage. It operates in buck mode when the input voltage exceeds the output voltage and in boost mode when the input voltage is less than the input voltage. When the input voltage is close to the output voltage, it

alternates between one-cycle buck mode and one-cycle boost mode. The converter can work in PWM or PFM mode, depending on the load currents. The switching frequency is set with a resistor to a little less than 1MHz. Buck-Boost 4 Click uses a standard 2-wire I2C interface to communicate with the host MCU supporting clock frequency of up to 1MHz. The I2C address can be selected over the ADDR SEL jumper. You can turn off the device by

setting the EN pin to a LOW logic state. The fault indication is available over the INT pin. 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 for further development.

Buck-Boost 4 Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

Curiosity PIC32 MZ EF development board is a fully integrated 32-bit development platform featuring the high-performance PIC32MZ EF Series (PIC32MZ2048EFM) that has a 2MB Flash, 512KB RAM, integrated FPU, Crypto accelerator, and excellent connectivity options. It includes an integrated programmer and debugger, requiring no additional hardware. Users can expand

functionality through MIKROE mikroBUS™ Click™ adapter boards, add Ethernet connectivity with the Microchip PHY daughter board, add WiFi connectivity capability using the Microchip expansions boards, and add audio input and output capability with Microchip audio daughter boards. These boards are fully integrated into PIC32’s powerful software framework, MPLAB Harmony,

which provides a flexible and modular interface to application development a rich set of inter-operable software stacks (TCP-IP, USB), and easy-to-use features. The Curiosity PIC32 MZ EF development board offers expansion capabilities making it an excellent choice for a rapid prototyping board in Connectivity, IOT, and general-purpose applications.

Curiosity PIC32MZ EF double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

PIC32

MCU Memory (KB)

2048

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

100

RAM (Bytes)

524288

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
NC
NC
RST
ID COMM
RPD4
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
Device Enable
RPE8
PWM
Interrupt
RF13
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
I2C Clock
RPA14
SCL
I2C Data
RPA15
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

Buck-Boost 4 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Curiosity PIC32MZ EF front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Curiosity PIC32 MZ EF as your development board.

Curiosity PIC32MZ EF front image hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
Curiosity PIC32 MZ EF MB 1 Access - 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
Curiosity PIC32 MZ EF MCU Step 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

1. Application Output - In Debug mode, the 'Application Output' window enables real-time data monitoring, offering direct insight into execution results. Ensure proper data display by configuring the environment correctly using the provided tutorial.

2. UART Terminal - Use the UART Terminal to monitor data transmission via a USB to UART converter, allowing direct communication between the Click board™ and your development system. Configure the baud rate and other serial settings according to your project's requirements to ensure proper functionality. For step-by-step setup instructions, refer to the provided tutorial.

3. Plot Output - The Plot feature offers a powerful way to visualize real-time sensor data, enabling trend analysis, debugging, and comparison of multiple data points. To set it up correctly, follow the provided tutorial, which includes a step-by-step example of using the Plot feature to display Click board™ readings. To use the Plot feature in your code, use the function: plot(*insert_graph_name*, variable_name);. This is a general format, and it is up to the user to replace 'insert_graph_name' with the actual graph name and 'variable_name' with the parameter to be displayed.

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for Buck-Boost 4 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • buckboost4_set_vout - Buck-Boost 4 set the output voltage function

  • buckboost4_set_vref - Buck-Boost 4 set internal reference voltage function

  • buckboost4_fault_indicator - Buck-Boost 4 check fault indicator function

Open Source

Code example

The complete application code and a ready-to-use project are available through the NECTO Studio Package Manager for direct installation in the NECTO Studio. The application code can also be found on the MIKROE GitHub account.

/*!
 * @file main.c
 * @brief Buck-Boost 4 Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of the Buck-Boost 4 Click board™.
 * This driver provides functions for device configurations and for the sets the output voltage.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initialization of I2C module and log UART.
 * After driver initialization, the app executes a default configuration.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * The demo application sets the desired output voltage 
 * by cycling through a couple of voltage values.
 * Results are sent to the UART Terminal, where you can track their changes.
 *
 * @author Nenad Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "buckboost4.h"

static buckboost4_t buckboost4;
static log_t logger;

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    buckboost4_cfg_t buckboost4_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.
    buckboost4_cfg_setup( &buckboost4_cfg );
    BUCKBOOST4_MAP_MIKROBUS( buckboost4_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( I2C_MASTER_ERROR == buckboost4_init( &buckboost4, &buckboost4_cfg ) ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    if ( BUCKBOOST4_ERROR == buckboost4_default_cfg ( &buckboost4 ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Default configuration." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
    log_printf( &logger, "____________\r\n" );
    Delay_ms( 100 );
}

void application_task ( void ) 
{
    for ( uint8_t vout = 1; vout < 21; vout++ )
    {
        if ( BUCKBOOST4_OK == buckboost4_set_vout( &buckboost4, ( float ) vout ) )
        {
            log_printf( &logger, " Vout: %dV\r\n", ( uint16_t ) vout );
            Delay_ms( 5000 );
        }
    }
    log_printf( &logger, "____________\r\n" );
    Delay_ms( 1000 );
}

void main ( void ) 
{
    application_init( );

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

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

Additional Support

Resources

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