USB Power Evaluation Kit Based on an Automotive-Grade MCU
The AEKD-USBTYPEC1 evaluation kit from STMicroelectcronics is designed to let engineers test the USB Power Delivery protocol stack implemented on the ASIL-B automotive grade 32-bit Power Architecture® microcontroller SPC58 C (Chorus) line (from 1 to 10 MB flash, single or multi-core, including ISO CAN FD and Ethernet peripherals).
Designers can also use the AEKD-USBTYPEC1 to prototype USB Power Delivery solutions to power compatible consumer devices via the USB Type-C™ ports.
The AEK-USB-2TYPEC1 interface board hosts a pair of STUSB1702Y automotive grade USB Type-C controllers; one for each USB Type-C port. The board contains a dual Transil™ array ESDA25LY and very low capacitance USBLC6-2SC6Y devices for ESD protection. The status of the ports is signaled on the board through a set of LEDs for each port. The board includes about 20 test points.
The main devices on the board are the STUSB1702Y USB Type-C controller with Tx/Rx line driver and bi-phase marked coding (BMC), and the physical layer (PHY) protocol for USB Power Delivery stack.
The AEKD-USBTYPEC1 kit supports a 5V, 500mA PDO based on the electrical characteristics of the SPC58ECDISP. To extend the range of PDOs, an external power board can be added, not included in the kit.
The software package contains the following elements:
- The firmware for the SPC58EC-DISP discovery board (already pre-loaded on the board).
- A complex driver for the STUSB1702Y USB Type-C controller.
- An SPC5-STUDIO library plugin with the USB Power Delivery software stack.
- A demo application with predefined 5V 500mA PDO.
USB function board - AEK-USB-2TYPEC1
The functional interface board hosts two STUSB1702 automotive grade USB Type-C controller with TX/RX line driver and BMC for the USB Type-C ports.
For each port, the status is signaled with a set of LEDs. Once the power profile is successfully negotiated between the Provider (AEKD-USBTYPEC1) and Consumer (USB Type-C and PD compatible device connected to one of the ports), a green LED signals that the Explicit state has been achieved. For ESD protection, the board includes an ESDALY dual Transil™ array and very low capacitance USBLC6-2SC6Y. There are numerous test points on the board for debugging.
SPC58EC-DISP discovery board with SPC58 microcontroller
The SPC58EC-DISP discovery board hosts an SPC58 microcontroller and CAN, Flex and Ethernet ports, as well as a 4 x 37 pin connector which maps to most of the microcontroller I/O pins. You can assign different functions to one microcontroller pin (e.g., GPIO or Clock for SPI interface or Timer) with the SPC5 Studio GUI, which also supports the generation of .h configuration files from the pin setups established in the GUI.
AutoDevKit governs the hardware and software connection between micro discovery boards and specific function boards for applications like stepper motor control, led control, etc.
Each function board has a dedicated driver with abstractions for the specific microcontroller peripherals to ensure portability between platforms. The drivers are SPC5 Studio plugins that are instantiated dynamically by the tool according to the microcontroller used for the development. The instantiation process generates the appropriate source code and indicates how a function board should be connected to the chosen discovery board.
