Getting Started with the KITPF8121FRDMEVM

The KITPF8121FRDMEVM evaluation board features the PF8121 power management IC. The kits integrate all hardware needed to fully evaluate the PMIC. It integrates a communication bridge based on the FRDM-KL25Z FRDM board to interface with the FlexGUI software interface to fully configure and control the PF8121 PMIC.

2.1 Board Features

KITPF8121FRDMEVM evaluation board features:

• Buck regulators
• SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4, SW5, SW6: 0.4 V to 1.8 V; 2500 mA; 2 % accuracy and dynamic voltage scaling and single, dual, triple or quad-phase configuration
• SW7: 1.0 V to 4.1 V; 2500 mA; 2 % accuracy
• Configurable VTT termination mode on SW6
• Programmable current limit
• Spread-spectrum and manual tuning of switching frequency
• LDO regulators
• 4 x LDO regulators: 1.5 V to 5.0 V; 400 mA; 3 % accuracy with optional load switch mode
• Selectable hardware/software control on LDO2
• RTC supply VSNVS 1.8 V/3.0 V/3.3 V, 10 mA
• Battery backed memory including coin cell charger with programmable charge current and voltage
• System features
• 2.5 V to 5.5 V operating input voltage range
• USB to I²C communication via the FRDM-KL25Z interface
• Selectable hardwire default PMIC configuration or OTP/TBB operation
• Fast mode I²C communication at 400 kHz (high speed operation supported by PMIC)
• Advance system monitoring/diagnostic via PMIC and/or system AMUX
• Controller/target interface connector
• Onboard I/O regulator with 1.8 V/3.3 V selectable output voltage
• Attached FRDM-KL25Z
• Pre-programmed FRDM-KL25Z as a communication link between the EVB and a PC
• The FRDM KL25Z is an ultra-low-cost development platform for Kinetis® L Series KL1x (KL14/15) and KL2x (KL24/25) MCUs built on Arm® Cortex®-M0+ processor
• Features include easy access to MCU I/O, battery-ready, low-power operation, a standards-based form factor with expansion board options and a built-in debug interface for flash programming and run-control

2.2 Board Description

2.3 Board Image

The KITPF8121FRDMEVM consists of a multiple boards with FRDM-LKL25 as shown in the final assembly below.

This section summarizes the overall setup. Detail description is provided in the user guide.

Suggested equipment's needed for test:

• 3.0 V to 5.0 V power supply (using banana jacks)
• Computer
• Mini USB type A Cable

3.1 Configuration Image

3.2 Device Considerations

It is recommended to learn about the device and its specifications prior to operating the boards. The device has a high level of flexibility due to parameter configuration available in the OTP. This impacts the functionality of the device. It is key to understand how the parameters are programmed on the device.

Note: The board is populated with an MC33PF8121A0ES.

3.3 Setting Up the Board

To configure the hardware and workstation as illustrated.

1. With the USB cable connected to the PC and the USB port in the FRDM board, apply VIN to the evaluation board
1. Provide external VIN between 2.5 V to 5.5 V on J10 (VIN) and J4 (GND) or
2. Short jumper J17 to provide 3V3 VIN from FRDM board (use this mode of operation for functional demonstration only, no regulation loading allowed in this mode)

Note: Do not apply power to J10 while J17 is shorted. This could damage the onboard regulator on the FRDM-KL25Z FRDM board.

2. Press Reset on the FRDM board, to ensure board is properly recognized
3. Browse to the NXP_FlexGUI/bin/ folder and double-click on the flexgui-app-8xxx.jar executable to start the application
4. The FlexGUI launcher is displayed with a list of possible configurations to load the FlexGUI. Select the appropriate option for device and silicon revision to be used. If the device revision populated on the evaluation board is not available in the list, please contact your NXP representative to obtain the latest software update suitable for your device
Mark as complete:3.3 Setting Up the Board

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4.1 Preparing Graphical User Interface Operating Environment

Download and run SW for the KITPF8121FRDMEVM. These evaluation boards use FlexGUI software for PF8121 device. Prior to the installation of the FlexGUI software and performing device firmware updates (if needed), download and unzip the NXP_FlexGUI_PF8x_REV_0.7.x.zip file to any desired location.

4.2 Installing the Java JRE

1. Download Java JRE (Java SE Runtime Environment) available at Java Downloads  (8u162 or newer)
2. Open the installer and follow the installation instructions
3. Following the successful installation, restart the computer

4.3 Installing FlexGUI Software Package

The FlexGUI software installation requires only extracting the zip file in a desired location.

1. If necessary, install the Java JRE and Windows 7 FlexGUI driver
2. Download the latest FlexGUI (32-bit or 64-bit) version, NXP_FlexGUI_PF8x_REV_0.7.x.zip, available at KITPF8121FRDMEVM
3. Extract all the files to a desired location on your PC. FlexGUI is started by running the batch file: NXP_FlexGUI_PF8x_Rev_0.7.x\NXP FlexGUI\bin\flexgui-app-pf8xxxx.bat

The FlexGUI Rev 0.7.0 or higher, interfaces with the FRDM-KL25Z FRDM board via USB-HID protocol which should be recognized automatically by the Windows OS eliminating the need for any extra hardware drivers. Refer to UM11214 Section 5.4 "Updating the PF8121 FlexGUI firmware" for details on how to update the FRDM-KL25Z, in case the board is not loaded with the latest firmware with USB-HID support.

4.4 Updating the PF8121 FlexGUI Firmware

The FRDM-KL25Z FRDM board is used as a communication bridge to interface the FlexGUI with the PMIC and other I²C devices. The firmware is organized in three levels:

1. At first level, the SDA uses the BOOTLOADER to operate as the main path to flash the functional code of the SDA processor. The BOOTLOADER is preprogrammed on the FRDM-KL25Z FRDM boards and cannot be reflashed to avoid permanent damage to the FRDM board
2. At second level, the SDA provides a firmware loader for drag and drop update of the KL25Z MCU firmware
3. At the third level, the KL25Z MCU provides the FlexGUI firmware in charge of converting the USB communication into MCU instructions to control digital I/Os as well as I²C communication to the PMIC. If the FRDM-KL25Z is not loaded with the correct firmware to support a future software upgrade, the firmware can be updated in few simple steps

4.5 Flashing the FRDM-KL25Z Firmware Loader

1. Press the push button on the FRDM board and connect the USB cable into the SDA port on the FRDM board. A new BOOTLOADER device should appear on the left pane of the file explorer

2. Drag and drop the file MSD-DEBUG-FRDM-KL25Z_Pemicro_v118.SDA into the BOOTLOADER drive. File should be located in the KL25Z firmware folder

3. Disconnect and reconnect the USB cable into the SDA port (this time without pressing the push button). A new device called FRDM_KL25Z is installed on the PC

4.6 Flashing the FlexGUI Firmware

If a new software or silicon release requires a firmware update on the FRDM-KL25Z FRDM board, use the following procedure to upgrade or downgrade the firmware of the FRDM board as needed.

Note: This procedure is needed only to update the firmware and may be skipped if no change is needed.

1. Connect the USB cable in the SDA port (without holding the push button)
2. Locate the ".bin" FlexGUI driver to be installed, for example flexgui-fw-kl25z-usb-hidpf8x00- v0.1.1.bin, and drag and drop the file into the FRDM_KL25Z driver

3. FRDM board firmware is successfully loaded