Experience lightning-fast data storage and retrieval with MB85RS256A and PIC18F26K42
Non-volatile memory using Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FRAM) technology
Published Nov 01, 2023
Click board™
FRAM click
Dev Board
EasyPIC v8
Compiler
NECTO Studio
MCU
PIC18F26K42
Ultra-reliable lightning-fast memory storage for your projects!
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Hardware Overview
How does it work?
FRAM Click is based on the MB85RS256A, a memory FRAM from Fujitsu. It can retain data without a backup battery, as SRAM needs. Although the FRAM is still being developed, this company provided a very reliable and fast FRAM module that can write data at bus speed, has an extremely high endurance of 10 billion read/write cycles, and a fast SPI interface. When using the Writer to an array instruction, it is possible to write the whole array, which is an obvious advantage
over the traditional EEPROM. The FRAM memory does not use pages because the memory is written faster than the SPI bus can deliver new information (the data is written at bus speed). Therefore, no buffering is required, and the whole array can be sequentially written. FRAM Click uses a standard 4-Wire SPI interface to communicate with the host MCU supporting 25MHz of maximum operating frequency and an SPI 0 (0, 0) and SPI 3 (1, 1) modes. The MB85RS256A includes the write
protection of the specific parts or the whole memory array, which can be accessed over the WP pin. The hold HLD pin interrupts serial input/output without deselecting the chip. 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.
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.
Microcontroller Overview
MCU Card / MCU
Architecture
PIC
MCU Memory (KB)
64
Silicon Vendor
Microchip
Pin count
28
RAM (Bytes)
4096
Used MCU Pins
mikroBUS™ mapper
Take a closer look
Schematic
Step by step
Project assembly
Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the EasyPIC v8 as your development board.
Track your results in real time
Application Output via UART Mode
1. Once the code example is loaded, pressing the "FLASH" button initiates the build process, and programs it on the created setup.
2. After the programming is completed, click on the Tools icon in the upper-right panel, and select the UART Terminal.
3. After opening the UART Terminal tab, first check the baud rate setting in the Options menu (default is 115200). If this parameter is correct, activate the terminal by clicking the "CONNECT" button.
4. Now terminal status changes from Disconnected to Connected in green, and the data is displayed in the Received data field.
Software Support
Library Description
This library contains API for FRAM Click driver.
Key functions:
fram_write_enable- This function sends write enable command to the chipfram_read- This function reads sequential memory locations to bufferfram_write- This function writes to sequential memory locations from buffer.
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
* \brief Fram Click example
*
* # Description
* This app writing data to click memory.
*
* The demo application is composed of two sections :
*
* ## Application Init
* Initialization device.
*
* ## Application Task
* Writing data to click memory and displaying the read data via UART.
*
* \author MikroE Team
*
*/
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES
#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "fram.h"
// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES
static fram_t fram;
static log_t logger;
// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS
void application_init ( void )
{
log_cfg_t log_cfg;
fram_cfg_t cfg;
/**
* 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.
fram_cfg_setup( &cfg );
FRAM_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
fram_init( &fram, &cfg );
fram_erase_all( &fram );
Delay_ms( 1000 );
}
void application_task ( void )
{
char wr_data[ 10 ] = { 'M', 'i', 'k', 'r', 'o', 'E', 13, 10, 0 };
char rd_data[ 20 ] = { 0 };
uint8_t i = 0;
log_printf( &logger, "Writing MikroE to Fram memory, from address 0x0150: \r\n" );
fram_write( &fram, 0x0150, &wr_data[ 0 ], 9 );
Delay_ms( 1000 );
log_printf( &logger, "Reading 9 bytes of Fram memory, from address 0x0150: \r\n" );
fram_read( &fram, 0x0150, &rd_data[ 0 ], 9 );
log_printf( &logger, "Data read: %s \r\n", rd_data );
Delay_ms( 1000 );
}
void main ( void )
{
application_init( );
for ( ; ; )
{
application_task( );
}
}
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END
