Getting Started with the PCA9959HN-ARD Arduino Shield Board

2.1 Board Features

• Combined Arduino port / Fuji connector for data and power
• Multiple board connection in stack architecture
• Onboard LEDs for all 24 outputs of the DUT IC
• Onboard jumpers for LED connection, and short tests
• Onboard connectors for external LEDs
• Fully compliant with IMXRT1050 EVK board, including GUI (Windows 10)
• Fully compliant with LPCXpresso55S69 development board, including GUI (Windows 10)
• Compliant with 8MMINILPD4-EVK board, including GUI for Windows 10 (see Note)

Note: i.MX Mini LPDDR4 EVK boards require the use of an IMX8MMINI-IARD interposer board between the EVK and PCA9959HN-ARDUINO daughter board (see IMX8MMINIIARD User Manual).

2.2 Board Description

The evaluation board is built around the PCA9959HN, a 24-channel SPI serial bus 63 mA / 5.5 V constant current LED driver produced by NXP Semiconductors. The evaluation board serves as a daughter card that can be connected through an Arduino port to various Arduino compatible (including original Arduino Uno R3) EVK / motherboards for testing and measuring the characteristics of the PCA9959HN Device Under Test (DUT).

The PCA9959HN-ARD daughter card communicates through the Arduino port with the host device via the high-speed SPI bus (up to 10 MHz clock frequency). The board is equipped with a pair of Fuji connectors that supports a SPI daisy chain scalable architecture. Thus, users can create a stack of similar boards that share SPI bus. The Fuji connectors are of the board-to-board type, allowing the user to attach the boards in a vertical stack instead of connecting link cables between the boards. Alongside the SPI bus, three additional digital lines allow the mother board to control the DUT through the Arduino port or the Fuji connectors.

Power is delivered from the mother board (EVK) through the Arduino port. The power rails are shared with the Fuji connectors, so the DUT can be powered either from the Arduino connectors or the Fuji connectors.

The board contains four RGB LEDs and 12 white LEDs allocated to all 24 outputs of the PCA9959HN DUT. The board also contains jumpers and connectors that allow users to disconnect the onboard LEDs, to perform short tests, and to connect external LEDs to PCA9959HN outputs.

2.3 Board Components

Overview of the PCA9959HN-ARD evaluation board.

3.1 Install Software

PCA9959HN-ARD evaluation board is designed and built as a daughter board able to work with a mother board equipped with an Arduino port. The board is built to be fully compatible with the following NXP evaluation boards:

• MIMXRT1050-EVK
• LPC55S69-EVK
• 8MMINILPD4-EVK

Each of the above evaluation/development boards is supported by firmware that can be downloaded from the NXP site. Before beginning to use a paired EVK – PCA9959HN-ARD configuration, the EVK motherboard must be programmed with the corresponding firmware package. Additionally, a GUI application (Windows 10) is available for download from the NXP site, allowing rapid testing and operation of the PCA9959HN-ARD daughter board in conjunction with the EVK. The GUI application is common for all three EVKs and for the PCA995x LED Controller development card family, manufactured by NXP (PCA9957, PCA9959, and PCA9955B ICs).

For details regarding installation of the EVK firmware and GUI host software, see UM11581, Arduino shields GUI and firmware installation manual .

Once the software is installed, the first step is to select the correct EVK from the graphical interface. The board can then be controlled from the GUI interface.

4.1 Using MIMXRT1050-EVK Board

The following figure shows the required hardware for operation of the PCA9959HN-ARD daughter board with MIMXRT1050-EVK.

The following hardware is necessary when working with this kit:

• One MIMXRT1050-EVK board
• One PCA9959HN-ARD daughter board
• One USB-A/USB Micro-B cable
• A PC with Windows 10 operating system

The MIMXRT1050-EVK mother board can be powered by one of the following three methods:

• Connecting an external 5 VDC power supply to the barrel power connector (J2) on the board
• Connecting a USB cable from the PC to the Micro-B USB connector (J9) on the board
• Connecting a USB cable from the PC to the USB connector (J28) on the board. When the PC is connected in this fashion, the USB port can simultaneously act as a debug interface. Therefore, by using a single USB cable connected to J28, the EVK can be powered and at the same time linked to the PC for data exchange

The older USB ports (from PC) are not able to deliver the necessary current (500 mA), before establishing the communication, use an external power supply (connected to J2).

From J1 on the EVK board, the user can select the power configuration for the mother board. For more details, see i.MX RT1050 Evaluation Kit.

To configure the hardware and workstation, complete the following procedure:

• On the MIMXRT1050-EVK board, populate R278, R279, R280, R281 with zero-ohm resistors (0402 package) to link the SPI lines to the Arduino connector
• Configure the suitable power configuration of EVK (J1). If using J28 for power supply, the J1 jumper shall be placed in position 5-6. If using an external power supply (connected to J2), the jumper J1 is placed in position 1-2
• Insert the PCA9959HN-ARD daughter card into the Arduino connector on the EVK
• Using USB connector J28, connect the EVK board to a USB port on the computer
• Install the IMXRT1050 target firmware (download from NXP site and see UM11581  for step-by-step instructions)
• Install GUI application on PC (see UM11581, Arduino shields GUI and firmware installation manual )
• Open the GUI application to operate the device from the PC. For details regarding GUI operation

4.2 Using LPCXpresso55S69 Development Board

The following figure shows the necessary hardware involved when using the PCA9959HN-ARD board with an LPCXpresso55S69 board. This configuration consists of:

• One LPCXpresso55S69 development board
• One PCA9959HN-ARD daughter board
• One USB-A/USB Micro-B cable
• A PC with Windows 10 operating system

The LPCXpresso55S69 development board is equipped with four USB Micro-B connectors: P5, P6, P9, and P10. The board can be powered through any USB port. Using P6 USB connector to connect the board to the PC simplifies the start-up operation because P6 is designated for debugging and the USB cable, thus accomplishing two tasks at the same time: powering the board, and serving as a data link between the EVK board and PC. For more details, see LPCXpresso55S69 Development Board.

The following steps describe how to assemble, power up, program, and operate the configuration:

• Insert the PCA9959HN-ARD daughter card to P16 – P19 connectors located on
• LPCXpresso55S69 development board (see the marked pins of P16 – P19)
• Connect the development board using port P6 USB port of PC
• Install the LPCXpresso55S69 target firmware (download from NXP site and see UM11581  for step-by-step instructions)
• Install GUI application on PC (see UM11581, Arduino shields GUI and firmware installation manual )
• Open the GUI application to operate the device from the PC

The following figure shows the two boards in operation.

4.3 Using i.MX 8M Mini LPDDR4 EVK

When 8MMINILPD4-EVK board is used with the PCA9959HN-ARD board, a third board (IMX8MMINI-IARD interposer board) must be used, especially designed and built as EVK – daughter board interconnection. The EVK board i.MX 8M Mini LPDDR4 is not equipped with an Arduino port; instead it has a 2 x 20 pin expansion connector (J1003, see i.MX 8M Mini LPDDR4 EVK user manual). J1003 is a multipurpose port, containing various digital I/O lines, including specialized I²C and SPI buses. Starting from the expansion connector pin chart, an Arduino port interposer board was developed, with the role of signal-to-signal bridge between the 2 x 20 connector pins on the i.MX 8M Mini LPDDR4 EVK and the mated connectors of the Arduino port present on the PCA9959HN-ARD daughter board.

The following figure shows how these three boards are connected. This configuration consists of:

• One 8MMINILPD4-EVK board
• One PCA9959HN-ARD board
• One IMX8MMINI-IARD interposer board
• One USB-A / USB-C cable
• One USB-A / USB Micro-B cable
• A PC with Windows 10 operating system

It is recommended to attach the PCA9959HN-ARD to the Arduino connectors of the IMX8MMINI-IARD interposer board first, and then the resulting assembly to the i.MX 8M Mini LPDDR4 EVK. This can be done by plugging J1 connector located on the interposer board to J1003 connector on the EVK.

To power up the EVK, an USB-C type cable connected to PORT 2 of the EVK is used. The power switch SW101 on the EVK board must be set to ON position to power up the setup. Data communication is achieved by routing a separate USB (Micro-B type) cable from a USB port on the PC to debug port (J901) on the EVK.

For more details regarding the power-up and operation of the setup assembly, see i.MX 8M Mini LPDDR4 EVK Board Hardware User's Guide (IMX8MMEVKHUG.pdf), and IMX8MMINI-IARD User Manual. The files can be downloaded from NXP site.

To configure the hardware and workstation, complete the following procedure:

• Insert the PCA9959HN-ARD onto the IMX8MMINI-IARD interposer board Arduino connectors (located on the top side)
• Attach IMX8MMINI-IARD connector J1 (located on the bottom of the board) into J1003 expansion board located on the top side of i.MX 8M Mini LPDDR4 EVK
• Power-up the EVK board using an USB Type C cable attached to Port 2
• Connect the EVK to the PC using a USB Micro-B cable attached to J901 debug port
• Place SW101 in the ON position to power-up the boards
• Install the MIMXRT1050 target firmware (download from NXP site and see UM11581 for step-by-step instructions)
• Install GUI application on PC (see UM11581, Arduino shields GUI and firmware installation manual)
• Open the GUI application to operate the device from the PC

4.4 Using with Another Device

The PCA9959HN-ARD daughter board can be operated with other EVK board, with an Arduino port. In this case, a firmware shall be developed according with PCA9959 specifications, and then attach PCA9959HN-ARD daughter board to the EVK to operate the board.

For non-Arduino devices, using the pin chart of Arduino connectors, make the necessary electrical connections (for power, SPI bus and control lines). Use PCA9959 data sheet for firmware development, according with IC specifications. Ensure accurate electrical connections and avoid data conflicts on the signal lines to prevent IC damage.