Experience the future of lighting innovation with MCP1643 and PIC18F57Q43
Light up your world!
Published Feb 13, 2024
Click board™
LED Driver 2 Click
Dev. board
Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43
Compiler
NECTO Studio
MCU
PIC18F57Q43
With our LED driver solution and integrated LED, you can effortlessly enhance user experiences, create custom lighting effects, and ensure clear and intuitive status indications in your projects.
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Hardware Overview
How does it work?
LED driver 2 Click is based on the MCP1643, an LED constant current regulator from Microchip. It is a compact, high-efficiency, fixed frequency, synchronous step-up converter optimized to drive one LED with a constant current. It can be powered by a two-cell alkaline/NiMH/NiCd battery (2.4V) or via the mikroBUS™ power supply pins. LED Driver 2 click also features a 3W High-brightness LED by QT-Brightek. This LED can be dimmed by applying the variable duty cycle PWM signal to the EN pin of the MCP1643 regulator through the PWM pin of the mikroBUS™. MCP1643 is a boost regulator with a low voltage reference of 120mV (VFB). The main feature of the regulator is that it is optimized to keep the current running through the LED - constant by regulating the voltage across the feedback resistor. The VFB pin regulates the voltage across the feedback
resistor to 120 mV, keeping the output LED current regulated. As the feedback resistor (R2 on the provided schematic) is connected to the FB pin and its resistance is 0.4Ω, the maximum current through the LED can easily be calculated by using the following formula: ILED = VFB/R2 = 120mV/0.4Ω = 300mA. The voltage drop on the feedback resistor has to be low to avoid dissipation. In the case of MCP1643, this voltage is set to 120mV, ensuring no dissipation issues. The onboard VIN SEL SMD jumper offers the selection of the input voltage source: it can be set to use a two-cell NiMH battery connected to the VIN terminal (2.4V) or the power supply pin from the mikroBUS™. The voltage from the mikroBUS™ can be set with the VCCIO SMD jumper to either 5V or 3.3V. Since the forward voltage on the high-power LED is 3.2V, the click board comes equipped with the MCP1826,
an LDO regulator by Microchip, which is used to drop the selected mikroBUS™ voltage down to around 2.4V so that the MPC1643 input voltage requirements are met. High brightness 3W LED is already attached to the output of the MCP1643, and it comes soldered on the board, so the circuit is ready to be used immediately. The LED brightness can be regulated by applying a variable duty cycle PWM signal to the EN pin of the MCP1643 regulator (routed to the PWM pin on the mikroBUS™). This changes the current running through the LED linearly, from 0 to the value set by the resistor, depending on the PWM cycle. 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.
Features overview
Development board
PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity Nano evaluation kit is a cutting-edge hardware platform designed to evaluate microcontrollers within the PIC18-Q43 family. Central to its design is the inclusion of the powerful PIC18F57Q43 microcontroller (MCU), offering advanced functionalities and robust performance. Key features of this evaluation kit include a yellow user LED and a responsive
mechanical user switch, providing seamless interaction and testing. The provision for a 32.768kHz crystal footprint ensures precision timing capabilities. With an onboard debugger boasting a green power and status LED, programming and debugging become intuitive and efficient. Further enhancing its utility is the Virtual serial port (CDC) and a debug GPIO channel (DGI
GPIO), offering extensive connectivity options. Powered via USB, this kit boasts an adjustable target voltage feature facilitated by the MIC5353 LDO regulator, ensuring stable operation with an output voltage ranging from 1.8V to 5.1V, with a maximum output current of 500mA, subject to ambient temperature and voltage constraints.
Microcontroller Overview
MCU Card / MCU
Architecture
PIC
MCU Memory (KB)
128
Silicon Vendor
Microchip
Pin count
48
RAM (Bytes)
8196
You complete me!
Accessories
Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards is a versatile hardware extension platform created to streamline the integration between Curiosity Nano kits and extension boards, tailored explicitly for the mikroBUS™-standardized Click boards and Xplained Pro extension boards. This innovative base board (shield) offers seamless connectivity and expansion possibilities, simplifying experimentation and development. Key features include USB power compatibility from the Curiosity Nano kit, alongside an alternative external power input option for enhanced flexibility. The onboard Li-Ion/LiPo charger and management circuit ensure smooth operation for battery-powered applications, simplifying usage and management. Moreover, the base incorporates a fixed 3.3V PSU dedicated to target and mikroBUS™ power rails, alongside a fixed 5.0V boost converter catering to 5V power rails of mikroBUS™ sockets, providing stable power delivery for various connected devices.
Used MCU Pins
mikroBUS™ mapper
Take a closer look
Click board™ Schematic
Step by step
Project assembly
Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43 as your development board.
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 LED driver 2 Click driver.
Key functions:
leddriver2_set_duty_cycle- This function sets the PWM duty cycleleddriver2_pwm_stop- This function stops PWM moduleleddriver2_pwm_start- This function starts PWM module
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 LedDriver2 Click example
*
* # Description
* This app enables usage of compact, high-efficiency, fixed frequency,
* synchronous step-up converter, optimized to drive one LED with the constant current.
*
* The demo application is composed of two sections :
*
* ## Application Init
* Initialization driver enables - GPIO,
* PWM initialization set PWM duty cycle and start PWM.
*
* ## Application Task
* This is an example that demonstrates the use of the LED Driver 2 Click board.
* This example shows the automatic control halogen bulb light intensity,
* the first intensity of light is rising and then the intensity of light is falling.
* Results are being sent to the Usart Terminal where you can track their changes.
*
* \author Nikola Peric
*
*/
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES
#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "leddriver2.h"
// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES
static leddriver2_t leddriver2;
static log_t logger;
// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS
void application_init ( void )
{
log_cfg_t log_cfg;
leddriver2_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.
leddriver2_cfg_setup( &cfg );
LEDDRIVER2_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
leddriver2_init( &leddriver2, &cfg );
leddriver2_pwm_start( &leddriver2 );
}
void application_task ( void )
{
static int8_t duty_cnt = 1;
static int8_t duty_inc = 1;
float duty = duty_cnt / 10.0;
leddriver2_set_duty_cycle ( &leddriver2, duty );
log_printf( &logger, "> Duty: %d%%\r\n", ( uint16_t )( duty_cnt * 10 ) );
Delay_ms( 500 );
if ( 10 == duty_cnt )
{
duty_inc = -1;
}
else if ( 0 == duty_cnt )
{
duty_inc = 1;
}
duty_cnt += duty_inc;
}
void main ( void )
{
application_init( );
for ( ; ; )
{
application_task( );
}
}
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END
Additional Support
Resources
Category:LED Drivers
