Transform your power with MIC2606 and PIC18F25K50

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Published Nov 01, 2023

Click board™

Boost Click

Dev. board

EasyPIC v8

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F25K50

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Boost Click is based on the MIC2606, a 0.5A, 2MHz wide input range boost regulator with an integrated switch and Schottky diode from Microchip. Its FB (feedback) pin provides the control path to control the output. This FB pin is driven by an onboard DAC – MCP4921. This is a 2.7 – 5.5V, low-power, low DNL, 12-Bit Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) with an SPI interface. It provides high accuracy and low noise performance for

industrial applications. The output voltage is connected to an onboard ADC, the MCP3551, a 2.7V to 5.5V low-power, 22-bit delta-sigma analog-to-digital converter, through a voltage divider. The input voltage can be set to 5V from mikroBUS™ or 7-20V from an external DC source connected to the VIN screw terminal. The output voltage can be set up to 38V. The reference voltage for both the ADC and DAC is provided by MAX6106 – onboard

voltage reference. This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the VCCIO SEL jumper. This way, both 3.3V and 5V capable MCUs can use the communication lines properly. However, the 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.

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)

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

RAM (Bytes)

2048

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

DAC Chip Select

RA3

MIC2606 Enable

RA0

RST

ADC Chip Select

RA5

SPI Clock

RC3

SCK

SPI Data OUT

RC4

MISO

SPI Data IN

RC5

MOSI

Power Supply

3.3V

Ground

GND

PWM

INT

SCL

SDA

Power Supply

Ground

GND

Take a closer look

Click board™ 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.

NECTO Output Selection Step Image hardware assembly

In the advanced settings, pay special attention to the Redirect standard output field. By default, it is set to Application output as the method of displaying final results. To show results via a UART terminal, select the “UART” option in that field and click the “SAVE” button. You will be returned to the Compiler field, and now you can move on to the next step by pressing the “NEXT” button.

GNSS2 Click front image hardware assembly

GNSS2 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly

EasyPIC v8 Access DIPMB 1 - upright/background hardware assembly

NECTO Compiler Selection Step Image hardware assembly

Necto DIP image step 7 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 Boost Click driver.

Key functions:

boost_write_byte - Generic write 14-bit data function
boost_read_byte - Generic read 22-bit of data function
boost_set_configuration - Set configuration 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 
 * \brief Boost Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * Boost click provides an adjustable output voltage through the onboard DAC that drives the FB 
 * pin of the MIC2606 to set desired output voltage.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initializes SPI driver for serial communication and puts the device to power ON state.
 * Also, initializes logger module for message and results sending.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * This is a example which demonstrates the use of Boost Click board.
 * Boost Click communicates with register via SPI by reading from MCP3551 chip and writing DAC value to the MCP4921 chip.
 * This example periodicaly increases and decreases voltage in range between 15 and 30 Volts.
 * All data logs write on usb uart for aproximetly every 1 sec.
 *
 *
 * \author Nemanja Medakovic
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "boost.h"

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

static boost_t boost;
static log_t logger;

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

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_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... ----" );

    boost_cfg_t boost_cfg;

    //  Click initialization.

    boost_cfg_setup( &boost_cfg );
    BOOST_MAP_MIKROBUS( boost_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );

    if ( boost_init( &boost, &boost_cfg ) == BOOST_ERROR )
    {
        log_info( &logger, "---- Application Init Error. ----" );
        log_info( &logger, "---- Please, run program again... ----" );

        for ( ; ; );
    }

    log_info( &logger, "---- Application Init Done. ----" );

    boost_device_enable( &boost );

    log_info( &logger, "---- Application Running... ----\n" );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    for ( uint16_t dac_value = 0; ; dac_value += 100 )
    {
        if ( boost_dac_write( &boost, dac_value ) == BOOST_ERROR )
        {
            break;
        }

        log_printf( &logger, " DAC value [12-bit] : %u\r\n", dac_value );
        Delay_ms( 1000 );

        log_printf( &logger, " VOUT value [V] : %.3f\r\n\n", boost_vout_read( &boost ) );
        Delay_ms( 1000 );
    }
}

void main ( void )
{
    application_init( );

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


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