Beginner
10 min

Extend your project's battery life with TPS61299 and PIC32MZ2048EFM100

Synchronous boost converter

Step Up 2 Click with Curiosity PIC32 MZ EF

Published May 06, 2024

Click board™

Step Up 2 Click

Dev Board

Curiosity PIC32 MZ EF

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC32MZ2048EFM100

Increase battery life for portable devices by boosting voltage from low-power sources.

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Step Up 2 Click is based on the TPS61299, a synchronous boost converter with an exceptionally low quiescent current from Texas Instruments. It is designed to provide efficient power solutions for devices powered by alkaline or coin cell batteries, boasting high efficiency even under light-load conditions to extend operational time. This component also stands out for its additional current limit functionality, ensuring optimal performance and reliability. With the ability to operate by simply using the EN pin from the mikroBUS™ socket for

device enablement - a high logic signal activates the device, whereas a low logic signal deactivates it - this boost converter exemplifies efficiency and ease of use. The Step Up 2 Click also integrates the MAX5419, a digital potentiometer from Analog Devices, for precise output voltage adjustments, as well as an ADDR SEL jumper. This jumper allows for seamless selection of the I2C address of the MAX5419, leveraging the I2C interface for meticulous control. Supplying an external voltage range from 0.2V to 5.5V via the VIN terminal, the

board offers a regulated output voltage range from 1.8V to 5.5V at the VOUT terminal - adjustable through digital potentiometer configuration. 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.

Step Up 2 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
NC
NC
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

Step Up 2 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 via Debug Mode

1. Once the code example is loaded, pressing the "DEBUG" button initiates the build process, programs it on the created setup, and enters Debug mode.

2. After the programming is completed, a header with buttons for various actions within the IDE becomes visible. Clicking the green "PLAY" button starts reading the results achieved with the Click board™. The achieved results are displayed in the Application Output tab.

DEBUG_Application_Output

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for Step Up 2 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • stepup2_set_vout - This function sets the voltage output level.

  • stepup2_set_resistance - This function sets a desired resistance by writing to the volatile memory register and the wiper position.

  • stepup2_enable - This function turns on the power switch and enables the boost mode.

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 Step Up 2 Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of the Step Up 2 Click board by changing 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 changes the output voltage and displays the current voltage output value.
 * Results are being sent to the UART Terminal, where you can track their changes.
 *
 * @author Nenad Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "stepup2.h"

static stepup2_t stepup2;
static log_t logger;

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    stepup2_cfg_t stepup2_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.
    stepup2_cfg_setup( &stepup2_cfg );
    STEPUP2_MAP_MIKROBUS( stepup2_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( I2C_MASTER_ERROR == stepup2_init( &stepup2, &stepup2_cfg ) ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    if ( STEPUP2_ERROR == stepup2_default_cfg ( &stepup2 ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Default configuration." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }

    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void ) 
{
    float vout_table[ 15 ] = { STEPUP2_VOUT_LIST };
    for ( stepup2_vout_t vout = STEPUP2_VOUT_5V5; vout <= STEPUP2_VOUT_3V3; vout++ )
    {
        if ( STEPUP2_OK == stepup2_set_vout( &stepup2, vout ) )
        {
            log_printf( &logger, " Voltage: %.2f[V]\r\n\n", vout_table[ vout ] );
            Delay_ms ( 1000 );
            Delay_ms ( 1000 );
            Delay_ms ( 1000 );
            Delay_ms ( 1000 );
            Delay_ms ( 1000 );
        }
    }
}

int main ( void ) 
{
    /* Do not remove this line or clock might not be set correctly. */
    #ifdef PREINIT_SUPPORTED
    preinit();
    #endif
    
    application_init( );
    
    for ( ; ; ) 
    {
        application_task( );
    }

    return 0;
}

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

Additional Support

Resources

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