Beginner
10 min

Transform your projects into hubs of efficiency with AP33771 and STM32F031K6

USB-C sink – Uniting speed, power, and style!

USB-C Sink 3 Click with Nucleo 32 with STM32F031K6 MCU

Published Oct 01, 2024

Click board™

USB-C Sink 3 Click

Dev. board

Nucleo 32 with STM32F031K6 MCU

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

STM32F031K6

Revolutionize your project experience with our USB-C sink solution, paving the way for faster data transfers and smarter power management.

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

USB-C Sink 3 Click is based on the AP33771, a high-performance USB PD sink controller from Diodes Incorporated. It supports up to eight voltage selections alongside ten different power range selections. In addition to selected voltages, both fixed PDO and PPS APDO in the PD source adapter are supported in the AP33771 search algorithm. The PD controller supports OVP with auto-restart, one-time programming (OTP) ROM for main firmware, and power capability selection. The onboard FAULT LED serves as a visual presentation of the negotiation mismatch. USB-C Sink 3 Click is equipped with a VSINK, an external power supply terminal that comes with a pair of MOSFETs, according to the AP33771’s driver for N-MOS VBUS power switch support. The PD controller can control the external NMOS switch ON or OFF. The USB-C connector acts as a PD-IN discharge path terminal with a USB Type-C configuration channels 1 and 2. The presence of the power supply on the USB C is indicated over

the VBUS LED. The USB-C Sink 3 Click comes with a VSEL three 2-position jumpers labeled 0, 1, and 2 to select the desired target voltage. I/O and FIX(ed) sides allow you to choose between hardware and software target voltage selection in eight positions and a target voltage range from 5V up to 17.2V. The VSEL is set to I/O by default, where you can set logic states to the three IO pins over the TCA9536, a remote 4-bit I2C, and SMBus I/O expander with configuration registers from Texas Instruments. The table of the combination of the positions and the resulting target voltages is printed at the bottom of the Click board™. You can use fixed jumper positions by setting the jumpers as you like, where I/O acts as a 0 and 3V3 as a 1 position. The 5V and 3.3V LDO voltage output can be measured over the V5V and V3V pads and voltage feedback over the VFB pad. To select the desired power, there is the MCP41100T, a digital potentiometer with an SPI interface from Microchip. Selecting the corresponding resistance

value on the digital potentiometer allows you to choose one of the current capabilities ranging from 12W to 100W. The table with the expected resistance and the resulting current is printed at the bottom of the Click board™. In addition, you can solder a standard resistor by soldering it on RES resistor pads. For that purpose, you should set the PSEL jumper to a RES position, as it is set to a POT position by default. USB-C Sink 3 Click uses a standard 2-Wire I2C interface of the MCP41100T to communicate with the host MCU. One of the main features of the USB-C Sink 3 Click is the ability to track the VBUS voltage over the AN pin of the mikroBUS™ socket. 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.

USB-C Sink 3 Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

Nucleo 32 with STM32F031K6 MCU board provides an affordable and flexible platform for experimenting with STM32 microcontrollers in 32-pin packages. Featuring Arduino™ Nano connectivity, it allows easy expansion with specialized shields, while being mbed-enabled for seamless integration with online resources. The

board includes an on-board ST-LINK/V2-1 debugger/programmer, supporting USB reenumeration with three interfaces: Virtual Com port, mass storage, and debug port. It offers a flexible power supply through either USB VBUS or an external source. Additionally, it includes three LEDs (LD1 for USB communication, LD2 for power,

and LD3 as a user LED) and a reset push button. The STM32 Nucleo-32 board is supported by various Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) such as IAR™, Keil®, and GCC-based IDEs like AC6 SW4STM32, making it a versatile tool for developers.

Nucleo 32 with STM32F031K6 MCU double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

ARM Cortex-M0

MCU Memory (KB)

32

Silicon Vendor

STMicroelectronics

Pin count

32

RAM (Bytes)

4096

You complete me!

Accessories

Click Shield for Nucleo-32 is the perfect way to expand your development board's functionalities with STM32 Nucleo-32 pinout. The Click Shield for Nucleo-32 provides two mikroBUS™ sockets to add any functionality from our ever-growing range of Click boards™. We are fully stocked with everything, from sensors and WiFi transceivers to motor control and audio amplifiers. The Click Shield for Nucleo-32 is compatible with the STM32 Nucleo-32 board, providing an affordable and flexible way for users to try out new ideas and quickly create prototypes with any STM32 microcontrollers, choosing from the various combinations of performance, power consumption, and features. The STM32 Nucleo-32 boards do not require any separate probe as they integrate the ST-LINK/V2-1 debugger/programmer and come with the STM32 comprehensive software HAL library and various packaged software examples. This development platform provides users with an effortless and common way to combine the STM32 Nucleo-32 footprint compatible board with their favorite Click boards™ in their upcoming projects.

Click Shield for Nucleo-32 accessories 1 image

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

Analog Output
PA0
AN
Reset
PA11
RST
SPI Chip Select
PA4
CS
SPI Clock
PB3
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
SPI Data IN
PB5
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
NC
NC
PWM
NC
NC
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
I2C Clock
PB6
SCL
I2C Data
PB7
SDA
NC
NC
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

USB-C Sink 3 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Click Shield for Nucleo-144 front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Nucleo 32 with STM32F031K6 MCU as your development board.

Click Shield for Nucleo-144 front image hardware assembly
Nucleo 144 with STM32L4A6ZG MCU front image hardware assembly
Stepper 22 Click front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
Stepper 22 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
Board mapper by product8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
Necto image step 5 hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
STM32 M4 Clicker HA MCU/Select Step hardware assembly
Necto No Display image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Debug Image Necto Step 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 USB-C Sink 3 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • usbcsink3_set_voltage - USB-C Sink 3 set the voltage function.

  • usbcsink3_set_power - USB-C Sink 3 set the power function.

  • usbcsink3_get_vbus - USB-C Sink 3 get VBUS 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 main.c
 * @brief USB-C Sink 3 Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of USB-C Sink 3 Click board™ 
 * by setting DC power requests and control for Type-C connector-equipped devices (TCD).
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initializes SPI, I2C and ADC modules and log UART.
 * After driver initialization the app set default settings:
 * Voltage Selection: 5 [V] and Power: 15.0 [W].
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * In this example, the app configures Power Data Objects (PDO) 
 * highest priority profile and requests power from a standard USB PD source adapter.
 * It interprets power input requirements (voltage/current and maximum power) from the TCD.
 * The example uses two configurations: 
 *  - Voltage 5 [V] and Power 15.0 [W]
 *  - Voltage 9 [V] and Power 18.0 [W]
 * Results are being sent to the Usart Terminal where you can track their changes.
 *
 * @note
 * FAULT LED flickering notified of the system status:
 *  - Charging: Breathing light (2 sec dimming), 1 cycle is 4 sec.
 *  - Fully charged: Continuously lit Charging current < 500mA.
 *  - Mismatch: 1s flicker Voltage or power mismatch. Non-PD power source, 1 cycle is 2sec.
 *  - Fault: 300ms flicker OVP, 1 cycle is 600ms.
 *
 * @author Nenad Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "usbcsink3.h"

static usbcsink3_t usbcsink3;
static log_t logger;

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    usbcsink3_cfg_t usbcsink3_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.
    usbcsink3_cfg_setup( &usbcsink3_cfg );
    USBCSINK3_MAP_MIKROBUS( usbcsink3_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    err_t init_flag = usbcsink3_init( &usbcsink3, &usbcsink3_cfg );
    if ( ( I2C_MASTER_ERROR == init_flag ) || ( SPI_MASTER_ERROR == init_flag ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    
    if ( USBCSINK3_ERROR == usbcsink3_default_cfg ( &usbcsink3 ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Default configuration." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
    log_printf( &logger, " ------------------------\r\n" );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    static float voltage = 0.0;
    if ( ( USBCSINK3_OK == usbcsink3_set_voltage( &usbcsink3, USBCSINK3_VTG_SEL_5V ) ) &&
         ( USBCSINK3_OK == usbcsink3_set_power( &usbcsink3, USBCSINK3_PWR_SEL_15W ) ) )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " Output:\r\nVoltage: 5.0 [V]\r\nPower: 15.0 [W]\r\n" );
        log_printf( &logger, " - - - - - -  - - - - - -\r\n" );
        Delay_ms ( 1000 );
        usbcsink3_get_vbus ( &usbcsink3, &voltage );
        log_printf( &logger, " VBUS : %.1f [V]\r\n", voltage );
        log_printf( &logger, " ------------------------\r\n" );
        Delay_ms ( 1000 );
        Delay_ms ( 1000 );
        Delay_ms ( 1000 );
        Delay_ms ( 1000 );
        Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    }
    
    if ( ( USBCSINK3_OK == usbcsink3_set_voltage( &usbcsink3, USBCSINK3_VTG_SEL_9V ) ) &&
         ( USBCSINK3_OK == usbcsink3_set_power( &usbcsink3, USBCSINK3_PWR_SEL_18W ) ) )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " Output:\r\nVoltage: 9.0 [V]\r\nPower: 18.0 [W]\r\n" );
        log_printf( &logger, " - - - - - -  - - - - - -\r\n" );
        Delay_ms ( 1000 );
        usbcsink3_get_vbus ( &usbcsink3, &voltage );
        log_printf( &logger, " VBUS : %.1f [V]\r\n", voltage );
        log_printf( &logger, " ------------------------\r\n" );
        Delay_ms ( 1000 );
        Delay_ms ( 1000 );
        Delay_ms ( 1000 );
        Delay_ms ( 1000 );
        Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    }
}

int main ( void ) 
{
    /* Do not remove this line or clock might not be set correctly. */
    #ifdef PREINIT_SUPPORTED
    preinit();
    #endif
    
    application_init( );
    
    for ( ; ; ) 
    {
        application_task( );
    }

    return 0;
}

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

Additional Support

Resources

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