Nxp Semiconductors Pca9451a-evk Evaluation Board User Manual

Semiconductors PCA9451A-EVK Evaluation Board
User Manual

Document information

Revision history

Important notice

For engineering development or evaluation purposes only
NXP provides the product under the following conditions:
This evaluation kit is for use of ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT OR EVALUATION PURPOSES ONLY.
It is provided as a sample IC pre-soldered to a printed-circuit board to make it easier to access inputs, outputs and supply terminals. This evaluation board may be used with any development system or other source of I/O signals by connecting it to the host MCU computer board via off-the-shelf cables. This evaluation board is not a Reference Design and is not intended to represent a final design recommendation for any particular application. Final device in an application heavily depends on proper printed-circuit board layout and heat sinking design as well as attention to supply filtering, transient suppression, and I/O signal quality.
The product provided may not be complete in terms of required design, marketing, and or manufacturing related protective considerations, including product safety measures typically found in the end device incorporating the product. Due to the open construction of the product, it is the responsibility of the user to take all appropriate precautions for electric discharge. In order to minimize risks associated with the customers’ applications, adequate design and operating safeguards must be provided by the customer to minimize inherent or procedural hazards. For any safety concerns, contact NXP sales and technical support services.

Introduction

The PCA9451A is a single chip Power Management IC (PMIC) designed to support the i.Mx 93x processors family in both 1 cell Li-ion and Li-polymer battery portable application and 5 V adapter non-portable applications.
This document is the user manual for the PCA9451A evaluation kit. It is intended for the engineers involved in the evaluation, design, implementation, and validation of this single power management-integrated circuit PCA9451A.
The PCA9451A-EVK user manual covers information regarding connecting the hardware, installing the software and tools, configuring the environment and using the kit.
This customer evaluation board provides full access to all the features in the PCA9451A device.
PCA9451A key features

• Six high-efficiency step-down regulators
  – One 4 A dual phase buck regulator with DVS feature and remote sense
  – One 2 A buck regulator with DVS feature and remote sense
  – One 3 A buck regulator
  – One 2 A buck regulator
  – One 1.5 A buck regulator
• Three linear regulators
  – One 10 mA LDO
  – One 150 mA LDO
  – One 200 mA LDO
• 400 mA load switch with built-in active discharge resistor
• 32.768 kHz crystal oscillator driver and buffer output
• Two channel logic level translator
• Power control I/O
  – Power ON/OFF control
  – Standby/run mode control
• Fm+ 1 MHz I2 C-bus interface
• ESD protection
  – Human Body Model (HBM): +/- 2000 V
  – Charged Device Model (CDM): +/-500 V
• 7 mm x 7 mm, 56-pin HVQFN with 0.4 mm pitch

Applications

• IoT devices
• Tablet
• Electronic Point of Sale (epos)
• Industrial application
• Monitoring system
• Infotainment

Finding kit resources and information on the NXP website
NXP Semiconductors provides online resources for evaluation boards and its supported device(s) on http://www.nxp.com.
The information page for evaluation boards is http://www.nxp.com/PCA9451A-EVK.
The information page provides overview information, documentation, software and tools, parametric, ordering information and a Getting Started tab. The Getting Started tab provides quick-reference information applicable to these evaluation boards, including the downloadable assets referenced in this document.
4.1 Collaborate in the NXP community
The NXP community is for sharing ideas and tips, asking and answering technical questions, and receiving input on just about any embedded design topic. The NXP community is at http://community.nxp.com.

Getting ready

Working with this evaluation board requires the evaluation kit components, additional hardware, and a Windows PC workstation with installed software.
5.1 Evaluation kit components

• 1x PCA9451A evaluation board, which allows easy evaluation on function and features
• 1x Interface (FTDI C232HM-DDHSL-0) cable, which serves as a USB to I C interface between the computer and the PCA9451A evaluation board.

5.2 Additional hardware
In addition to the kit components, the following hardware is necessary or beneficial when working with this kit.

• Power supply with a range of 3.0 V to 5.0 V and a current limit set initially to 1.0 A (maximum current consumption can be up to 7.0 A)
• Oscilloscope/multimeter
• Electronic load (optional) – each power rail output can be connected to e-load for testing

5.3 Windows PC workstation
This evaluation board requires a Windows PC workstation. Meeting these minimum specifications should produce great results when working with this evaluation board.

• USB-enabled computer with Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10

5.4 PCA9451A-EVK GUI software
Installing software is necessary to work with this evaluation board.

• Go to http://www.nxp.com/PCA9451A-EVK.
• Extract the zip file PCA9451_EVB_GUI.zip into selected folder. No need to install. (if password is asked during unzip, then type “NXP”)
• Install the FTDI cable driver from website https://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/D2XX.htm
• Run the file PCA9451.exe. The interface window is shown in Figure 1.

Getting to know the hardware

The NXP analog product development boards provide an easy-to-use platform for evaluating NXP products. The boards support a range of analog, mixed-signal, and power solutions. They incorporate monolithic integrated circuits and system-in-package devices that use proven high-volume technology. NXP products offer longer battery life, a smaller form factor, reduced component counts, lower cost, and improved performance in powering state-of-the-art systems.
6.1 Kit overview
This evaluation board features the PCA9451A power management IC. The kit integrates all hardware needed to fully evaluate the PMIC. It integrates a communication bridge based on FTDI to interface with the PCA9451A GUI software interface to fully configure and control the PMIC.
6.1.1 Evaluation board features

• Six buck regulators
  – One 4 A buck regulator with DVS
  – One 2 A buck regulator with DVS
  – One 3 A buck regulator
  – One 2 A buck regulator
  – One 1.5 A buck regulator
• Three linear regulators
  – One 10 mA LDO
  – One 150 mA LDO
  – One 200 mA LDO
• 400 mA load switch with a built-in active discharge resistor
•  32.768 kHz crystal oscillator driver and buffer output
• Two-channel logic level translator
• System features
  – 2.85 V to 5.5 V operating input voltage range
  – Power ON/OFF control
  – Standby/run mode control
  – Smart DVS control
  – Interrupt configuration
  – FM+ 1 MHz2  I2 C Interface (via FTDI USB to I C cable)

6.2 Kit featured components
Figure 2 helps to identify the different main components on the board.

1. PCA9451A PMIC
2. VPWR and GND input power connectors
3. I 2 C connector
4. BUCK1 and BUCK3 output test points
5. BUCK3 Feedback connection
6. Load switch output test point
7. BUCK4 and BUCK5 output test points
8. I2 C pullup voltage jumper (I2C_PU)
9. Digital IO connector
10.  Kelvin sense connector
11.  LDO outputs test points
12. BUCK2 and BUCK6 output test points

6.3 Default jumper configuration

Table 1. Evaluation board jumper description

6.4 Test points
Use the test points to measure the output voltage signal of the PMIC regulators and load switch by oscilloscope/ multimeter.
Table 2. Evaluation board test point descriptions

Table 2. Evaluation board test point descriptions…continued

6.5 Connectors
6.5.1 Main input power connectors
Main input power VPWR is supplied using LK1 and LK5 connectors.

Table 3. Main input power connectors

6.5.2 Interface connectors
Digital IO connector (J4) is used to have access for easy monitoring of some of the analog and digital pins of the PCA9451A. Table 4 explains each of the pins included in this connector.
Table 4. Digital IO connector (J4)

I² C connector (J3) is used to interface the PMIC with external I2 C controllers. This connector is typically used to interface the PCA9451A-EVK with the external FTDI cable, for proper communication with the PCA9451A-GUI.
Table 5. I C connector (J3)

Kelvin sense connector (J5) is used to have access for easy monitoring of some of the voltage rails of the PMIC. Kelvin measurement makes it possible to accurately measure voltages while eliminating the inherent resistance of the PCB traces.
Table 6. Kelvin sense connector (J5)

Evaluation kit connections and configuration

7.1 Test setup
Figure 5 shows test setup block diagram.7.2 Evaluation board connection7.2.1 Configure and power the board
Connect the wires of the FTDI cable on the following pins as shown in Figure 6, and make sure the power supply is turned off and the USB connector is disconnected during the wiring stage:

1. Connect both SDAs, SCL, GND, and the 3.3 V wires from the FTDI cable as mentioned in Figure 6 above. a. SCL serial clock signal (orange cable) should be connected to pin 5 of the ‘Digital IO’ connector (J3).
   b. Both SDA serial data wires (yellow and green cables) should be connected to create bidirectional data. Connect yellow cable to pin 3, and green cable to pin 4 of the ‘Digital IO’ connector (J3).
   c. GND ground signal (black cable) should be connected to pin 6 or pin 2 of the ‘Digital IO’ connector (J3).
   d. Remove jumper from J11.
   e. 3.3 V supply wire (red cable) from FTDI cable should be connected to pin 1 of the ‘I2C connector’ (J3).
2. With the power supply turned off, connect 5 V power supply to LK1 connector and corresponding ground to LK5.
   3. Turn ON power supply.
3. Connect USB connector of the FDTI cable to PC.
4. Set switch S1 to “ON” position.

7.2.2 Default power configuration
The default power configuration can be checked without doing any HW or SW modifications. Check the default voltage configuration using a multimeter on BUCK1, BUCK2, BUCK3, BUCK4, BUCK5, BUCK6, LDO1, LDO4, and LDO5 test points:
Table 7. Default voltage configuration

PCA9451A GUI software

As shown in Figure 7, the PCA9451A software GUI is an user friendly tool to access the on-chip registers to perform write/read commands manually or automatically (depending on different setting chosen from the GUI). Below is a quick guide of the key blocks that the PCA9451A software GUI provides.8.1 GUI setup
After turning on the power supply and plugging in the USB part of the FTDI cable, the GUI detects the cable automatically. Select the cable type (FT2TRWH9) from the drop-down menu, and then click “Connect” button. On the “Device connection status” section (right bottom part of the screen), the GUI shows “Connected” with green light.
8.2 Register table section
The registers are categorized as shown below:

• Interrupt/status – Includes status registers like Interrupts source, power status, power on source, and output regulator levels.
• Configuration – system configuration, power-up/power-down sequence control, reset behaviors, UVLO threshold, fault information, and level translator control.
• Buck123 – Includes all of the configuration registers for all Buck regulators 1, 2, and 3, including DVS controls.
• Buck456 – Includes all of the configuration registers for all Buck regulators 4, 5, and 6.
• LDO – Includes all of the configuration registers for all LDO regulators.

8.3 I C read and write
PCA9451A software GUI provides three ways to read and write.

• On register table, click the “read”/“write” button for the whole table, or click:

• Command. Read or write the Hex value to specific register.
• Script. Run the script to read or write a series of registers. Using guideline can be found in help menu.

PCA9451A evaluation steps

The following sections show how to perform evaluation of the PCA9451A using the evaluation board and the software GUI.
9.1 I C pullup configuration for proper GUI interface
This step must be done with the power supply turned off and USB cable disconnected. For I C interface
communication using the PCA9451A software GUI, remove J11 jumper (I2C_PU), and connect the red cable (3.3 V) from the FTDI cable to pin 1 of J3 connector (I C connector).
9.2 Jumper configuration
This step also needs to be done with the power supply turned off and USB cable disconnected. With exception of J11 jumper, please connect the jumpers in default configuration as shown in Section 6.3.
9.3 Connect and power the board
As shown in Figure 6, connect the wires of the FTDI cable and power supply according to the information in Section 7.2.1.
9.4 Working on the PCA9451A software GUI
Open, setup, and connect the GUI as directed in Section 8.1, then start configuring the PMIC using the different tabs.
9.4.1 BUCK configuration
Select ‘BUCKxxx’ tab from the register table selection.
From here you can change all the configuration registers for all the buck regulators of the PCA9451A, configure the low power modes, enable the active discharge resistor, use forced PWM, change enable modes, configure the DVS speed (for BUCK1, BUCK2 and BUCK3), and change output voltages by either by writing the value or using the horizontal slide bar.
Use the multimeter to check the voltage on the buck test points to confirm the voltage changes when configured.
9.4.2 LDO configuration
Select ‘LDO’ tab from the register table selection.
From here you can change all the configuration registers for all the LDO regulators of the PCA9451A, configure the low power modes, enable the active discharge resistor, change enable modes, and change output voltages by either by writing the value or using the horizontal slide bar.
Use the multimeter to check the voltage on the LDO test points to confirm the voltage changes when configured.
9.4.3 Load switch configuration
Select ‘LDO’ tab from the register table selection.
From here you can change all the configuration registers for the Load Switch of the PCA9451A, enable the active discharge resistor, change enable modes, and configure the different protection mechanisms.
9.4.4 GUI close
Click ‘Disconnect’ button, disconnect USB cable from the PC and turn OFF the Power Supply and close the PCA9451A GUI.

Schematic diagram

The schematic diagram of PCA9451A-EVK is available at URL: http://www.nxp.com/PCA9451A-EVK.

Bill of materials

The BOM of PCA9451A-EVK board is based on SCH-50786 REV A.
Table 8. PCA9451A-EVK BOM

 Legal information

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© 2023 NXP B.V.
For more information, please visit: http://www.nxp.com
All rights reserved.
Date of release: 30 March 2023
Document identifier: UM11883

References

• Home - NXP Community
• Automotive, IoT & Industrial Solutions | NXP Semiconductors
• PCA9451A-EVK | PCA9451A Evaluation Board | NXP Semiconductors
• Our Terms And Conditions Of Commercial Sale | NXP Semiconductors
• D2XX Drivers - FTDI