Intermediate
30 min

Enhance magnetic field detection with TLI5012B-E1000 and PIC18F26K40

Revolutionizing angle sensing with GMR technology

GMR Angle Click with EasyPIC v8

Published Nov 01, 2023

Click board™

GMR Angle Click

Dev Board

EasyPIC v8

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F26K40

Discover the transformative power of Giant Magneto Resistance (GMR) elements, enhancing precision in measuring magnetic field orientations.

A

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

GMR Angle Click is based on the TLI5012B E1000, a GMR-based 360° angle sensor from Infineon for detects any kind the orientation of a magnetic field, and the analog multiplexer 74HCT4053, switch a bi-directional Synchronous Serial Communication DATA line. This is achieved by measuring sine and cosine angle components with monolithic integrated Giant Magneto Resistance (iGMR) elements. These raw signals (sine and cosine) are digitally processed internally to calculate the angle orientation of the magnetic field (magnet). The calibration parameters are stored in laser fuses. At start-up the values of the fuses are written into flip-flops, where these values can be changed by the application-specific parameters. Further precision of the angle measurement over a wide temperature range and a long lifetime are improved with the internal autocalibration algorithm. The Giant Magneto Resistance (GMR) sensor is implemented using vertical integration. This means that the

GMR-sensitive areas are integrated above the logic part of the TLI5012B E1000 device. These GMR elements change their resistance depending on the direction of the magnetic field. Four individual GMR elements are connected to one Wheatstone sensor bridge. These GMR elements sense one of two components of the applied magnetic field: • X component, Vx (cosine) or the • Y component, Vy (sine) With this full-bridge structure the maximum GMR signal is available and temperature effects cancel out each other. The GMR Angle click also features the 74HCT4053, which is a triple single-pole double-throw analog switch (3x SPDT) suitable for use in analog or digital 2:1 multiplexer/demultiplexer applications. Each switch features a digital select input (Sn), two independent inputs/outputs (nY0 and nY1) and a common input/output (nZ). A digital enable input (E) is common to all switches. When E is HIGH, the switches are turned off. Inputs include clamp diodes. This enables the use of current limiting

resistors to interface inputs to voltages in excess of VCC. When CSS pin on microBUS is HIGH, switches in multiplexer connect DATA line with MOSI line, in other case when CSS pin is LOW, swithces connect DATA line with MISO line. The 74HCT4053 is mainly used for Analog multiplexing and demultiplexing, Digital multiplexing and demultiplexing and Signal gating, but in this one the 74HCT4053 is used for selection SPI line. These feature enable the GMR Angle click to be used for various applications, most notably for angular position sensing in industrial and consumer applications such as electrical commutated motor (e.g. BLDC), fans or pumps. 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. 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.

GMR Angle Click top side image
GMR Angle 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

default

Architecture

PIC

MCU Memory (KB)

64

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

28

RAM (Bytes)

3728

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

Interface A
RA3
AN
Communication Serial Select
RA0
RST
SPI Chip Enable
RA5
CS
SPI Clock
RC3
SCK
SPI Data OUT
RC4
MISO
SPI Data IN
RC5
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
Interface C
RC1
PWM
Interface B
RB1
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
2

Take a closer look

Schematic

GMR Angle 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
Rotary B 2 Click front image hardware assembly
MCU DIP 28 hardware assembly
EasyPIC v8 28pin-DIP - 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

After pressing the "FLASH" button on the left-side panel, it is necessary to open the UART terminal to display the achieved results. By clicking on the Tools icon in the right-hand panel, multiple different functions are displayed, among which is the UART Terminal. Click on the offered "UART Terminal" icon.

UART Application Output Step 1

Once the UART terminal is opened, the window takes on a new form. At the top of the tab are two buttons, one for adjusting the parameters of the UART terminal and the other for connecting the UART terminal. The tab's lower part is reserved for displaying the achieved results. Before connecting, the terminal has a Disconnected status, indicating that the terminal is not yet active. Before connecting, it is necessary to check the set parameters of the UART terminal. Click on the "OPTIONS" button.

UART Application Output Step 2

In the newly opened UART Terminal Options field, we check if the terminal settings are correct, such as the set port and the Baud rate of UART communication. If the data is not displayed properly, it is possible that the Baud rate value is not set correctly and needs to be adjusted to 115200. If all the parameters are set correctly, click on "CONFIGURE".

UART Application Output Step 3

The next step is to click on the "CONNECT" button, after which the terminal status changes from Disconnected to Connected in green, and the data is displayed in the Received data field.

UART Application Output Step 4

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for GMR Angle Click driver.

Key functions:

  • gmrangle_read_data - Generic read 16-bit data function

  • gmrangle_write_data - Generic write 16-bit data function

  • gmrangle_calculate_angle - Calculate angle 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 
 * \brief GmrAngle Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * This is an example which demonstrates the use of GMR Angle Click board.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * Initializes GPIO pins, SPI and LOG modules.
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * Display angle value in degrees.
 * Results are being sent to the Usart Terminal where you can track their changes.
 * All data logs write on USB uart changes for every 1 sec.
 * 
 * \author MikroE Team
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "gmrangle.h"

// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES

static gmrangle_t gmrangle;
static log_t logger;
static float angle;

// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    gmrangle_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.

    gmrangle_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    GMRANGLE_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    gmrangle_init( &gmrangle, &cfg );
    
    log_printf( &logger, "---------------------\r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "   GMR Angle Click\r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "---------------------\r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "        Start\r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "---------------------\r\n" );
    Delay_ms( 100 );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    angle = gmrangle_calculate_angle( &gmrangle );
    log_printf( &logger, " Angle is %0.2f\r\n", angle );
    Delay_ms( 1000 );
}

void main ( void )
{
    application_init( );

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


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

Additional Support

Resources