Intermediate
30 min

Detect and monitor minuscule pressure variations with SM8436 and PIC18F47K40

Accurate pressure measurements relative to the local atmospheric pressure

Ultra-Low Press Click with EasyPIC v8

Published Dec 09, 2023

Click board™

Ultra-Low Press Click

Dev Board

EasyPIC v8

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F47K40

Ultra-low pressure measurement solution for up to 500Pa with exceptional sensitivity and accuracy

A

A

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Ultra-Low Press Click is based on the SM8436, a high precision, factory-calibrated pressure sensor for ultra-low pressure measurements ranging from 0 to 500Pa from TE Connectivity Measurement Specialties. It combines a low-pressure MEMS die with a 16-bit ASIC, utilizing DSP for multi-dimensional polynomial error correction. The calibrated pressure output data and status information on the sensor integrity and unique serial number are available via the digital data interface. This Click board™ represents an ideal solution for lower pressure-sensing capabilities in industrial and medical markets. From HVAC and

gas flow to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), ventilation, and patient monitoring applications, the ability to detect small pressure changes is critical. This demand requires the sensor to be highly accurate and provide long-term stability, which this board achieves. Ultra-Low Press Click communicates with MCU using the standard I2C 2-Wire interface with a maximum clock frequency of up to 400kHz. It is fully adjustable through software registers where the digital output data is available with a word length 16-bit. The I2C interface allows setting the SM8436 into Sleep Mode using a specific command (Enter

Sleep Mode), which confirms low consumption of typically less than 10μA. In Sleep Mode, no pressure data is acquired. To wake the sensor from its Sleep state, the clock line SCL shall be toggled (a rising edge at SCL will wake up the device). 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.

Ultra-Low Press Click top side image
Ultra-Low Press Click bottom side image

Features overview

Development board

EasyPIC v8 is a development board specially designed for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. It supports many high pin count 8-bit PIC microcontrollers from Microchip, regardless of their number of pins, and a broad set of unique functions, such as the first-ever embedded debugger/programmer. 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, EasyPIC v8 provides a fluid and immersive working experience, allowing access anywhere and under any

circumstances at any time. Each part of the EasyPIC v8 development board contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. In addition to the advanced integrated CODEGRIP programmer/debugger module, which offers many valuable programming/debugging options and seamless integration with the Mikroe software environment, the board 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 DEVICE, and CAN are also included, including the well-established mikroBUS™ standard, two display options (graphical and character-based LCD), and several different DIP sockets. These sockets cover a wide range of 8-bit PIC MCUs, from the smallest PIC MCU devices with only eight up to forty pins. EasyPIC 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.

EasyPIC v8 horizontal image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

PIC18F47K40

Architecture

PIC

MCU Memory (KB)

128

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

40

RAM (Bytes)

3728

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
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

Click board™ Schematic

Ultra-Low Press Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

EasyPIC v8 front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the EasyPIC v8 as your development board.

EasyPIC v8 front image hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click front image hardware assembly
MCU DIP 40 hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
EasyPIC v8 Access DIPMB 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 DIP 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

This Click board can be interfaced and monitored in two ways:

  • Application Output - Use the "Application Output" window in Debug mode for real-time data monitoring. Set it up properly by following this tutorial.

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for Ultra-Low Press Click driver.

Key functions:

  • ultralowpress_ready_to_read - Ready to read

  • ultralowpress_get_press - Read pressure

  • ultralowpress_get_temp - Read temperature

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 UltraLowPress Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * This application reads the serial number of the sensor. If there were 
 * no errors it continues reading temperature and pressure data from the sensor.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initializes host communication(UART and I2C). Reads devices serial number and logs it.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * Checks if data is available. When it's available it reads the temperature 
 * and pressure data from the sensor and logs it.
 *
 * @author Luka Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "ultralowpress.h"

static ultralowpress_t ultralowpress;
static log_t logger;

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    ultralowpress_cfg_t ultralowpress_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.
    ultralowpress_cfg_setup( &ultralowpress_cfg );
    ULTRALOWPRESS_MAP_MIKROBUS( ultralowpress_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    err_t init_flag = ultralowpress_init( &ultralowpress, &ultralowpress_cfg );
    if ( init_flag == I2C_MASTER_ERROR ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Application Init Error. " );
        log_info( &logger, " Please, run program again... " );

        for ( ; ; );
    }
    //Serial number of sensor read
    uint16_t temp_read = 0;
    uint32_t serial_read = 0;
    init_flag = ultralowpress_generic_read( &ultralowpress, ULTRALOWPRESS_REG_SERIAL_NUM_H, &temp_read );
    serial_read = temp_read;
    serial_read <<= 16;
    init_flag |= ultralowpress_generic_read( &ultralowpress, ULTRALOWPRESS_REG_SERIAL_NUM_L, &temp_read );
    serial_read |= temp_read;
    
    if ( init_flag < 0 )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Read" );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    else
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " > Serial number: 0x%.8LX\r\n", serial_read );
    }
    
    Delay_ms( 1000 );
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void ) 
{
    if ( ultralowpress_ready_to_read( &ultralowpress ) )
    {
        ultralowpress_clear_status( &ultralowpress );
        float temp = ultralowpress_get_temp( &ultralowpress );
        float press = ultralowpress_get_press( &ultralowpress );
        log_printf( &logger, " > Temperature[ C ]: %.2f\r\n > Pressure[ Pa ]: %.2f\r\n", temp, press );
    }
    Delay_ms( 100 );
}

void main ( void ) 
{
    application_init( );

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

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

Additional Support

Resources

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