Intermediate
30 min

Discover the magnet's angular position with MAQ470GQE and STM32L496AG

It's all about the angle

Angle 6 Click with Discovery kit with STM32L496AG MCU

Published Jul 22, 2025

Click board™

Angle 6 Click

Dev. board

Discovery kit with STM32L496AG MCU

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

STM32L496AG

Calculates the absolute angular position of a permanent magnet

A

A

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Angle 6 Click is based on the MAQ470GQE, 12-bit PWM output angle sensor that detects the absolute angular position of a permanent magnet, typically a diametrically magnetized cylinder on a rotating shaft from Monolithic Power Systems. It allows users to read angle position information and detect the speed or direction of magnet rotation. Fast data acquisition and processing provide accurate angle measurement from 0 to 60,000 rpm. It supports many magnetic field strengths and spatial configurations, with both end-of-shaft and off-axis (side-shaft mounting) supported configurations. The MAQ470GQE features magnetic field strength detection with programmable thresholds to allow sensing of the magnet position relative to the sensor to create functions such as sensing axial movements or diagnostics. It can operate over a wide magnetic field range from 30mT to 150mT (60mT typical) with 5mT accuracy.

Eight magnetic field thresholds are programmable in approximate 15mT steps allowing the detection of changes in the distance between the magnet and the sensor. On-chip non-volatile memory provides storage for configuration parameters, including the reference zero angle position and magnetic field detection thresholds. The magnetic field is detected with integrated Hall devices in the sensors' center. The angle is measured using the Spinaxis™ method, based on phase detection generating a sinusoidal signal with a phase representing the angle of the magnetic field. The angle is then obtained by a time-to-digital converter, representing output from the front end to the digital conditioning block, which measures the time between the zero-crossing of the sinusoidal signal and the edge of a constant waveform. This output delivers a digital number proportional to the angle of the magnetic field at the rate of 1MHz in

a straightforward and open-loop manner. The Angle 6 Click communicates with MCU using the standard SPI serial interface for angle reading and register programming, which supports SPI Mode 0 and 3 and operates at clock rates up to 25 MHz. It also has the magnetic flags used to indicate when the sensor position's magnetic field is out of range, defined by the lower and upper magnetic field thresholds, routed on the RST and INT pins of the mikroBUS™ socket labeled as MGH and MGL. This Click board™ can only be operated with a 3.3V logic voltage level. The board must perform appropriate logic voltage level conversion before using MCUs with different logic levels. However, the Click board™ comes equipped with a library containing functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.

Angle 6 Click top side image
Angle 6 Click lateral side image
Angle 6 Click bottom side image

Features overview

Development board

The 32L496GDISCOVERY Discovery kit serves as a comprehensive demonstration and development platform for the STM32L496AG microcontroller, featuring an Arm® Cortex®-M4 core. Designed for applications that demand a balance of high performance, advanced graphics, and ultra-low power consumption, this kit enables seamless prototyping for a wide range of embedded solutions. With its innovative energy-efficient

architecture, the STM32L496AG integrates extended RAM and the Chrom-ART Accelerator, enhancing graphics performance while maintaining low power consumption. This makes the kit particularly well-suited for applications involving audio processing, graphical user interfaces, and real-time data acquisition, where energy efficiency is a key requirement. For ease of development, the board includes an onboard ST-LINK/V2-1

debugger/programmer, providing a seamless out-of-the-box experience for loading, debugging, and testing applications without requiring additional hardware. The combination of low power features, enhanced memory capabilities, and built-in debugging tools makes the 32L496GDISCOVERY kit an ideal choice for prototyping advanced embedded systems with state-of-the-art energy efficiency.

Discovery kit with STM32L496AG MCU double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

STM32L496AG Image

Architecture

ARM Cortex-M4

MCU Memory (KB)

1024

Silicon Vendor

STMicroelectronics

Pin count

169

RAM (Bytes)

327680

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
Magnetic Field Strength Detection (HIGH)
PB2
RST
SPI Chip Select
PG11
CS
SPI Clock
PI1
SCK
SPI Data OUT
PD3
MISO
SPI Data IN
PI3
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
PWM Signal
PA0
PWM
Magnetic Field Strength Detection (LOW)
PH2
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
NC
NC
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

Angle 6 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Discovery kit with STM32H750XB MCU front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Discovery kit with STM32L496AG MCU as your development board.

Discovery kit with STM32H750XB MCU front image hardware assembly
Thermo 21 Click front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
Board mapper by product7 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
Discovery kit with STM32H750XB MCU NECTO MCU Selection Step hardware assembly
Necto No Display image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Necto image step 11 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 Angle 6 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • angle6_write_register This function writes a data byte to the selected register by using SPI serial interface.

  • angle6_read_register This function reads a data byte from the selected register by using SPI serial interface.

  • angle6_read_angle This function reads raw angle data and converts it to degrees.

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 Angle6 Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of Angle 6 Click board by reading and displaying
 * the magnet's angular position in degrees.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initializes the driver and performs the Click default configuration which 
 * sets the rotation direction to clockwise.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * Reads the magnet's angular position in degrees and displays the results on the USB UART
 * approximately every 100ms.
 *
 * @author Stefan Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "angle6.h"

static angle6_t angle6;
static log_t logger;

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    angle6_cfg_t angle6_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.
    angle6_cfg_setup( &angle6_cfg );
    ANGLE6_MAP_MIKROBUS( angle6_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( SPI_MASTER_ERROR == angle6_init( &angle6, &angle6_cfg ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    if ( ANGLE6_ERROR == angle6_default_cfg ( &angle6 ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Default configuration." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    float angle = 0;
    if ( ANGLE6_OK == angle6_read_angle ( &angle6, &angle ) )
    {
        log_printf ( &logger, " Angle: %.2f Deg \r\n\n", angle );
        Delay_ms ( 100 );
    }
}

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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