Getting Started with the PCA9957HN-ARD Evaluation Board

Get to Know the Hardware

2.1 Board Features

• Combined Arduino port / Fuji connector for data and power
• Multiple board connections in stack architecture
• On-board LEDs for all 24 outputs of the DUT
• On-board jumpers for LED connection, and short tests
• On-board connectors for external LEDs
• Fully compliant with IMXRT1050 EVK board, including GUI (Windows 10)
• Fully compliant with LPCXpresso55S69 dev. board, including GUI (Windows 10)
• Compliant with i.MX Mini LPDDR4 EVK board, including GUI for Windows 10

Note: i.MX Mini LPDDR4 EVK Boards require the use of an IMX8MMINI-IARDinterposer board between the EVK and PCA9957HN-ARDUINO expansion board (see IMX8MMINI-IARD User Manual).

2.2 Board Description

The evaluation board is built around the PCA9957HN, a 24-channel SPI serial bus 32 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 / mother boards for the purpose of testing and measuring the characteristics of the PCA9957HN Device Under Test (DUT).

The PCA9957HN host device communicates through the Arduino port with the LED driver via the high-speed SPI bus (up to 10MHz 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 the same 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. Three additional digital lines in the SPI bus 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 twelve white LEDs allocated to all twenty-four outputs of the PCA9957HN DUT. The board also contains jumpers and connectors that allow users to connect external LEDs to PCA9957HN outputs.

2.3 Board Components

Overview of the PCA9957HN-ARD evaluation board

Install Software

PCA9957HN-ARD evaluation board is designed and built as a expansion 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 – PCA9957HNARD 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 PCA9957HN-ARD expansion board in conjunction with the EVK.

The GUI application is common for all three EVKs and for the PCA9xxx 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.

3.1 Additional Software Support

Refer to UM11579, PCA9957HN-ARD evaluation board and UM11581, Arduino shields GUI and firmware installation manual for additional software details.

Configure the Hardware

4.1 Using PCA9957HN-ARD with MIMXRT1050-EVK Board

Figure 1 shows the required hardware for operation of the PCA9957HN-ARD expansion board with MIMXRT1050-EVK.

• One MIMXRT1050-EVK board
• One PCA9957HN-ARD expansion board
• One USB-A / USB Micro-B cable
• 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 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.

Be aware that older USB ports (USB 1.1) on the PC might not be able to deliver the 500 mA current needed before establishing communication. In this case, the user must use an external power supply (connected to J2).

From J1 on the EVK board (see Figure 1) the user can select the power configuration for the mother board. For further details, download the IMXRT1050 EVK Board Hardware User Guide (MIMXRT1050EVKHUG.pdf) available at i.MX RT1050 Evaluation Kit.

Figure 1. PCA9957HN-ARD expansion board and MIMXRT1050-EVK board

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

1. 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
2. Using jumper J1, select the suitable power configuration for the EVK.
3. To select USB J28 as the power supply, place a jumper in the 5–6 position on jumper J1.
4. To select an external power supply connected to the barrel power connector J2, place a jumper in position 1–2 on jumper J1.
5. Insert the PCA9957HN-ARD daughter card on the Arduino port of the EVK (see Figure 1)
6. Using USB connector J28, connect the EVK board to a USB port on the computer
7. Install the IMXRT1050 target firmware (download from NXP site and see UM11581 for step-by-step instructions).
8. Install GUI application on PC (see UM11581, Arduino shields GUI and firmware installation manual)
9. Open the GUI application to operate the device from the PC

Figure 2. PCA9957HN-ARD expansion board / MIMXRT1050-EVK board assembly

4.2 Using PCA9957HN-ARD with LPC55S69-EVK Board

Figure 3 shows the required hardware for operation of the PCA9957HN-ARD and LPC55S69-EVK board.

• One LPC55S69-EVK board
• One PCA9957HN-ARD expansion board
• One USB-A / USB Micro-B cable
• PC with Windows 10 operating system

The LPC55S69-EVK board is equipped with four USB Micro-B connectors: P5, P6, P9 and P10. The board can be powered through any USB port. However, using the 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 accomplishes 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.

Figure 3. PCA9957HN-ARD expansion board and LPC55S69-EVK mother board

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

1. Insert the PCA9957HN-ARD daughter card to P16 – P19 connectors located on LPC55S69-EVK development board (see the marked pins of P16 – P19, Figure 3).
2. Connect the development board using port P6 USB port of PC
3. Install the LPCXpresso55S69 target firmware (download from NXP site and see UM11581 for step-by-step instructions).
4. Install GUI application on PC (see UM11581, Arduino shields GUI and firmware installation manual).
5. Open the GUI application to operate the device from the PC.

Figure 4. PCA9957HN-ARD expansion board / LPC55S69-EVK board assembly

4.3 Using PCA9957HN-ARD with 8MMINILPD4-EVK Board

When 8MMINILPD4-EVK board is used with the PCA9957HN-ARD board, a specially designed EVK expansion board—the IMX8MMINI-IARD board—must be mounted as an interposer between the 8MMINILPD4-EVK board and the PCA9557HNARD. This is because the 8MMINILPD4-EVK uses a 2 x 20-pin expansion connector (J1003) instead of an Arduino connector.

Connector J1003 on the 8MMINILPD4-EVK board is a multipurpose port containing digital I/O lines, including specialized I²C and SPI buses. The IMX8MMINI-IARD pins on the PCA9957HD-ARD board and the 2 x 20 connector pins on the 8MMINILPD4-EVK board.

Figure 5 shows how these three boards are connected. This configuration consists of:

1. One 8MMINILPD4-EVK board
2. One PCA9957HN-ARD board
3. One IMX8MMINI-IARD interposer board
4. One USB-C cable
5. One USB Micro-B cable

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

Attach the expansion board by plugging the PCA9957HN-ARD board into the Arduino connector of the IMX8MMINI-IARD interposer and then plugging the IMX8MMINI-IARD interposer into the expansion connector (J1003) located on the i.MX8MMINI EVK board. See Figure 5 for the location of all referenced connectors and switches.

For more details regarding the power-up and operation of the setup assembly, see 8MMINILPD4-EVK user manual and IMX8MMINI-IARD User Manual. The files can be downloaded from NXP site.

Figure 5. PCA9957HN-ARD expansion board, IMX8MMINI-IARD interposer board and 8MMINILPD4-EVK board assembly

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

1. Insert the PCA9957HN-ARD onto the IMX8MMINI-IARD interposer board Arduino connectors (located on the top side)
2. Attach IMX8MMINI-IARD connector J1 (located on the bottom of the board) into J1003 expansion board located on the top side of 8MMINILPD4-EVK (see Figure 5)
3. Power up the EVK board using a USB Type C cable attached to Port 2.
4. Connect the EVK to the PC, using a USB Micro-B cable, attached to J901 debug port.
5. Place SW101 in On position to power up the boards.
6. Install the MIMXRT1050 target firmware (download from NXP site and see UM11581 for step-by-step instructions).
7. Install GUI application on PC.
8. Open the GUI application to operate the device from the PC.

Figure 6. PCA9957HN-ARD expansion board / 8MMINILPD4-EVK board operation