Documentation

3D View

 

Applications:

• Industrial automation
• Internet of Things
• Human Interface Device

 

Module specifications

As stated above, this module sports a Renesas S7G2 microcontroller, the controller at the high end of the Synergy Series.

This module can be powered by either a 3V3 supply or by a 2V8 one in order to improve power performance. It’s able to control any class 2 or 3 Rhomb.io motherboard with up to 3 module sockets, plus it has networking, memory and video capabilities.

In order to manage all GPIOs in Rhomb.io sockets, this module includes a GPIO Expander IC driven by the main controller via I2C interface. This adds 8 GPIO signals that are used to manage sockets 2 and 3 of the Rhomb.io standard.

It has two built-in 4-channel analog switches that allow the user to switch between a SDIO interface or a QSPI one, which adds a lot of flexibility for potential projects.

Interface	I2C	SDIO	QSPI	USB	OTG	SPI	IrDa	CAN	RGB	RMII	I2S	UART
Nº of buses	2	11	11	12	12	1	1	1	1	1	1	2

¹User can switch between SDIO or QSPI I/F by setting the level of a GPIO.
²User can choose where the USB I/F is connected in the module, either to the USB pins of the module connectors, or the OTG pins by setting the level of a GPIO.

…The following figure identifies the main Integrated Circuits (IC) onboard.

The next figure shows the Block Diagram for the Renesas Synergy Master Module.

 

Microcontroller	Renesas Synergy S7G2 R7FS3A3xxx/R7FS3A7xxx 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 & FPU, up to 240 MHz & 32 KHz
Internal Memory	4 MB Flash, up to 640 KB SRAM, up to 64 KB Data Flash
Encryption Memory	16 Keys/ECDSA/ECDH/SHA-256/SMAC/NIST
ID Memory	64-bit Unique-ID Memory with 112 B User EEPROM (Optional)
Others	Native USB OTG & USB switch
MCU Security	Unique ID/TRNG/AES/GHASH/3DES*/ARC4*/RSA*/DSA*/SHA*
rhomb.io Configuration	2xUSB / 3xUART / SPI / 2xI2C / SDIO / QSPI / SAI / CAN / 7xINT / 4xPWM / up to 35xGPIO / 10xAD / 2xDAC* / ETHERNET / 24-bit RGB*
MCU I/O	up to 172xI/O (10xPWM / up to 28xADC / up to 53xINT / CAN / SDIO / SAI / QSPI / RMII / RGB)
Op. Voltage	2.8 V / 3.3 V
Op. Temperature	-40 ºC to +85 ºC

 

 

User Interfaces

The user can choose wether this master module is supplied by a 3.3V or a 2.8V source simply by closing or opening the solder jumpers at the top-right corner of the module. 2.8V supply is recommended for applications requiring a lower power consumption.

There is a LED controlled by a PWM output pin of the controller for whatever the user might need, debugging, visual validation…

 

GPIO Expander

A GPIO Expander IC is used in this module so that all GPIO needed for Rhomb.io standard can be fullfilled. This IC is managed by the Renesas Synergy S7G2 through I2C1 I/F.

 

SDIO/QSPI Switching

Users can choose between SDIO or QSPI interfaces being active simply by setting P711 signal from the controller HIGH or LOW.

 

USB/OTG Switching

Users can choose between having the USB connected to the OTG or USB0 pins simply by setting P407 signal from the controller HIGH or LOW.

 

Connections

 

GPIO

The following table summarizes the GPIOs used on the Renesas Synergy master module.

Rhomb.io pinout	Port	Device
IO0	P801	Renesas MCU
IO1	P800	Renesas MCU
IO2	P604	Renesas MCU
IO3	P603	Renesas MCU
IO4	P605	Renesas MCU
IO5	P614	Renesas MCU
IO6	P612	Renesas MCU
IO7	P712	Renesas MCU
IO8	P0_7	I/O Expander
IO9	P0_6	I/O Expander
IO10	P0_5	I/O Expander
IO11	P0_4	I/O Expander
IO12	P0_3	I/O Expander
IO13	P0_2	I/O Expander
IO14	P0_1	I/O Expander
IO15	P0_0	I/O Expander
IO16	P1_0	I/O Expander
IO17	P1_1	I/O Expander
IO18	P1_2	I/O Expander
IO19	P1_3	I/O Expander
IO20	P1_4	I/O Expander
IO21	P1_5	I/O Expander
IO22	P1_6	I/O Expander
IO23	P1_7	I/O Expander

I/O signals managed by the I/O Expander can be controlled by the Renesas MCU through the I2C1 bus. I/O Expander P/N is PCAL6416AHF.

ANALOG

The following table summarizes the analog ports used on the Renesas Synergy master module.

Rhomb.io pinout	Signal (module)	Port
ADC
AD0	AN003 (ADC12)	P008
AD1	AN101 (ADC12)	P005
AD2	AN100 (ADC12)	P004
AD3	AN102 (ADC12)	P006
AD4	AN000 (ADC12)	P000
AD5	AN002 (ADC12)	P002
AD6	AN004 (ADC12)	P009
AD9	AN001 (ADC12)	P001
DAC
DAC0	DA0/IVREF3 (DAC12)	P014
DAC1	DA1/IVCMP1 (DAC12)	P015
COMP0
COMP0+	PGAVSS100 (ADC12)	P007
COMP0-	PGAVSS000 (ADC12)	P003

PWM

The following table summarizes the PWM signals used on the Renesas Synergy master module.

Rhomb.io pinout	Signal (module)	Port	MUXED
PWM0	GTIOC2A_B (GPT)	P713	No
PWM11	GTIOC4B_A (GPT)	P301	Yes
PWM21	GTIOC7B_A (GPT)	P303	Yes
PWM31	GTIOC7A_A (GPT)	P304	Yes
IO72	GTIOC2A_B (GPT)	P712	Yes

¹PWM[1..3] are muxed, with LCD_G5, LCD_G7 and LCD_R0 respectively. In order to have them available, R9, R10 and R21 must be assembled. Special care must be taken when operating the board with this configuration.
²IO7 is routed and used as a standard GPIO, but it can actually be used as a PWM output.

INTERRUPTS

The following table summarizes the INTERRUPTS used on the Renesas Synergy master module. Please note that interrupts used in this module are not hardware interrupts, as all ports capable of being used hardware interrupt are in use under several different capabilities and interfaces.

Rhomb.io pinout	Port
INT0	P710
INT1_MOD1	P312
INT2_MOD2	P611
INT3_MOD3	P613
INT4	P6131
INT5	P6131
INT6	P6131

¹INT4, INT5 and INT6 are connected to INT3_MOD3 through independent 100k resistors due to not having enough IO ports available for interrupt use.

Serial interfaces

The following table indicates the available serial interfaces on the Rhomb.io standard and which of them are in use. The table also shows the nomenclature used on the Rhomb.io standard and its corresponding on the schematic.

Signal (Rhomb.io)	Signal (module)	Port	Signal (Rhomb.io)	Signal (module)	Port
I2C0			SPI0
I2C0_SDA	SDA3_A (SCI3)	P409	SPI0_MISO	MISOA_B (SPI)	P410
I2C0_SCL	SCL3_A (SCI3)	P408	SPI0_MOSI	MOSIA_B (SPI)	P411
I2C1			SPI0_SCK	RSPCKA_B (SPI)	P412
I2C1_SDA	SDA2 (I2C)	P511	SPI0_CS	SSLA0_B (SPI)	P413
I2C1_SCL	SCL2 (I2C)	P512	SPI0_CS1	SSLA1_B (SPI)	P414
UART0			SPI0_CS2	SSLA2_B (SPI)	P415
UART0_RXD	RXD7_A (SCI7)	P402	USB01
UART0_TXD	TXD7_A (SCI7)	P401	USB0_N	USB_DM (Through switch)	USB_DM
UART1			USB0_P	USB_DP (Through switch)	USB_DP
UART1_RXD	RXD9_A (SCI9)	P202	OTG1
UART1_TXD	TXD9_A (SCI9)	P203	OTG_N	USB_DM (Through switch)	USB_DM
QSPI2			OTG_P	USB_DP (Through switch)	USB_DP
QSPI0_IO0	QIO0 (QSPI)	P502	CAN0
QSPI0_IO1	QIO1 (QSPI)	P503	CAN0_RX	CRX1_A (CAN)	P110
QSPI0_IO2	QIO2 (QSPI)	P504	CAN0_TX	CTX1_A (CAN)	P109
QSPI0_IO3	QIO3 (QSPI)	P505	IrDa
QSPI0_CLK	QSPCLK (QSPI)	P500	IrDa_RX	RXD1_B (SCI1)	P708
QSPI0_CS0	QSSL (QSPI)	P501	IrDa_TX	TXD1_B (SCI1)	P709
I2S0
I2S0_SDI	SSIDATA1_A3 (SSI)	P206	I2S0_SDO	SSIDATA1_A3 (SSI)	P206
I2S0_SCLK	SSISCK_A (SSI)	P204	I2S0_LRCK	SSIWS1_A (SSI)	P205
I2S0_CDCLK	AUDIO_CLK (SSI)	P400

¹USB can be connected to the OTG or USB0 pins simply by setting P407 signal from the controller HIGH for OTG or LOW for USB0. Default: LOW
²QSPI can be alternated with SDIO by changing the state of P711 signal that actuates the analog switches splitting them to their respective connector’s pins. LOW state for SDIO, HIGH for QSPI. Default: LOW.
³SSIDATA1_A can be routed to either SDI or SDO depending on the assembly of R11 and R12. Default: SDO

The I2C pull-ups resistors should be mounted on the bus, otherwise, the I2C bus will not work. For more details, look at the module specifications for the Rhomb.io standard.

SDIO

The next table shows the nomenclature used on the schematic and its corresponding on the rhomb standard for the Secure Digital Input Output (SDIO) interface.

SDIO01
Signal (Rhomb.io)	Signal (module)	Port
SDIO0_CMD	SD1CMD (SDHI)	P501
SDIO0_CDn	SD1CD (SDHI)	P506
SDIO0_CLK	SD1CLK (SDHI)	P500
SDIO0_DATA0	SD1DAT0 (SDHI)	P502
SDIO0_DATA1	SD1DAT1 (SDHI)	P503
SDIO0_DATA2	SD1DAT2 (SDHI)	P504
SDIO0_DATA3	SD1DAT3 (SDHI)	P505

¹SDIO can be alternated with QSPI by changing the state of P711 signal that actuates the analog switches splitting them to their respective connector’s pins. LOW state for SDIO, HIGH for QSPI. Default: LOW.

For more details, look at the module specifications for the Rhomb.io standard.

VIDEO

The next table shows the nomenclature used on the schematic and its corresponding on the rhomb standard for the video interface.

LCD
Signal (Rhomb.io)	Signal (module)	Port	Signal (Rhomb.io)	Signal (module)	Port
Control signals			15-8 bit / Green data
LCD_HSYNC/HST/8bE	LCD_TCON1_A (GLCDC)	P103	LCD_G0	LCD_DATA08_A (GLCDC)	P115
LCD_CLK/VCK	LCD_CLK_A (GLCDC)	P101	LCD_G1	LCD_DATA09_A (GLCDC)	P114
LCD_VSYNC/VST/8bRS	LCD_TCON3_A (GLCDC)	P105	LCD_G2	LCD_DATA10_A (GLCDC)	P113
LCD_DEN/8bRW	LCD_TCON0_A (GLCDC)	P102	LCD_G3	LCD_DATA11_A (GLCDC)	P112
LCD_EXTCLK	LCD_EXTCLK_A (GLCDC)	P100	LCD_G4	LCD_DATA12_A (GLCDC)	P111
			LCD_G5	LCD_DATA13_A (GLCDC)	P301
			LCD_G6	LCD_DATA14_A (GLCDC)	P302
			LCD_G7	LCD_DATA15_A (GLCDC)	P303
23-16 bit / Red data			7-0 bit / Blue data
LCD_R0	LCD_DATA16_A (GLCDC)	P304	LCD_B0	LCD_DATA00_A (GLCDC)	P106
LCD_R1	LCD_DATA17_A (GLCDC)	P305	LCD_B1	LCD_DATA01_A (GLCDC)	P107
LCD_R2	LCD_DATA18_A (GLCDC)	P306	LCD_B2	LCD_DATA02_A (GLCDC)	P600
LCD_R3	LCD_DATA19_A (GLCDC)	P307	LCD_B3	LCD_DATA03_A (GLCDC)	P601
LCD_R4	LCD_DATA20_A (GLCDC)	P308	LCD_B4	LCD_DATA04_A (GLCDC)	P602
LCD_R5	LCD_DATA21_A (GLCDC)	P309	LCD_B5	LCD_DATA05_A (GLCDC)	P610
LCD_R6	LCD_DATA22_A (GLCDC)	P310	LCD_B6	LCD_DATA06_A (GLCDC)	P609
LCD_R7	LCD_DATA23_A (GLCDC)	P311	LCD_B7	LCD_DATA07_A (GLCDC)	P608

Networking

The Rhomb.io Renesas Synergy master module has a 50MHz RMII interface available, which very interesting for potential projects that make use of networks, such as IoT applications.

The next table shows the nomenclature used on the schematic and its corresponding on the rhomb standard for the video interface.

RMII
Signal (Rhomb.io)	Signal (module)	Port
RMII_MDC	ET1_MDC (RMII)	P403
RMII_MDIO	ET1_MDIO (RMII)	P404
RMII_TXD1	RMII1_TXD1 (RMII)	P406
RMII_TXD0	RMII1_TXD0 (RMII)	P700
RMII_RX_CLK	REF50CK1 (RMII)	P701
RMII_RXD0	RMII1_RXD0 (RMII)	P702
RMII_RXD1	RMII1_RXD1 (RMII)	P703
RMII_TX_EN	RMII1_TXD_EN (RMII)	P405
RMII_RX_DV	RMII1_CRS_DV (RMII)	P705
RMII_RX_ER	RMII1_RX_ER (RMII)	P704

Debug

Debugging is to be done by using the SWD interface, with the signals SWDIO and SWDCLK.

Rhomb.io pinout	Signal (module)	Port
JTAG.TMS/SWDIO	SWDIO	P108
JTAG.TCK/SWCLK	SWCLK	P300

Power

As per the supply lines used on the board, there is a summary on the next table.

Signal (Rhomb.io)	Signal (module)	Voltage (V)
Buck8	2V8	2.8
Buck9	3V3	3.3
VDD	VDD1	2.8 / 3.3
VIO_OUT	VIO_OUT2	2.8 / 3.3
AREF0	VREFH03	External
AREF1	VREFH3	External

¹VDD voltage level can be selected through the solder jumpers on the board, 2.8V and 3.3V can be selected. It is the voltage at which the whole module is powered. 2.8V level recommenden for power efficient applications.
²VIO_OUT is a power output pin that sets the voltage level for slave modules to this master module. VIO_OUT level is the same as VDD.
³AREF0 and AREF1 are external power inputs that set the high voltage reference level of the analog converters.

For more details, look at the module specifications for the Rhomb.io standard.

Other signals

On the following table it is shown the remaining signals from the Rhomb.io module connectors standard,and other module-specific signals.

Signal (Rhomb.io)	Signal (module)	Port
CLK_32KHz	XCIN1	XCIN
RESET_OUT	Reset Output2	P311
NMI	MD/NMI3	P200/P201
RESET_IN	Reset Input	RES
1-WIRE/SWP	1-Wire Eeprom4	Non-MCU
USB_SW	USB Analog switch selector5	P407
AS_1	SDIO/QSPI Analog switch selector6	P711
IOEXP_RST	I/O Expander Reset signal7	P207
IOEXP_INT	I/O Expander Interrupt8	P313

¹This external 32.768kHz can be used on the module if instead of C1,C2 and Y1, R30 is assembled.
²GPIO assigned to output reset signal to any slave modules interfaced to this master module.
³Non-maskable interrupt request and mode setting pin. Pulled up by default for normal use, should be pulled down for SCI/USB boot mode.
⁴1-Wire interface in order to read information from the on-module Eeprom memory.
⁵Setting USB_SW HIGH directs the USB bus to the OTG module pins, setting it LOW directs it to the USB0 module pins.
⁶Set AS_1 LOW state for SDIO interface, HIGH for QSPI interface. Software must be adapted so that the analog switch position matches the interface in use..
⁷GPIO assigned to output reset signal to I/O Expander IC interfaced to the Renesas MCU via I2C1 bus.
⁸GPIO assigned to read interrupt signal from the I/O Expander IC.

For more details, look at the module specifications for the Rhomb.io standard.

Getting started

Renesas, through its Synergy Gallery web platform (https://synergygallery.renesas.com), offers a wide variety of utilities, IDEs, documentation and everything you need to get started. You must create a (free) user account to access Synergy Gallery.

In this guide we will use the e2 Studio of Renesas, an Eclipse-based IDE, to make a basic example of blink (hello, world!). We will use a Helios board with a Renesas Synergy S7 module. You will also need a JTAG cable like the Segger J-Link or compatible.

Required hardware & software

• 1x Helios board (or any other Rhomb.io Class II/III board) (buy here)
• 1x Rhomb.io Synergy S7 Master Renesas Module (buy here)
• 1x JTAG cable type J-link by Segger
• 4x Jumper Wires (with Helios: 2x male-female and 2x male-male)
• Windows OS (tested with W8 and W10)
• e2 Studio >= 6.2
• SSP Framework (Synergy Software Package) >= 1.3.0
• JTAG drivers for windows

At the time of writing this tutorial, the Synergy platform does not offer official support for development from Linux/Mac systems or other editors than e2 Studio. In our case we have used Virtualbox on Debian 8 without major problems.

We will not use any USB cable to power the board, we will get the 5v power directly from the JTAG.

Caution! Do not attempt to USB-power a Rhomb.io board from Standard I with the Renesas modules, which meet Standard II. You can seriously damage the microcontroller.

Software Setup

Log in to renesas.com and create a free user account to download all the software (e2 Studio and SSP Framework) and generate a license file.

Renesas offers a PDF document called Basics of Renesas Synergy Platform that includes detailed information about the e2 Studio installation process, as well as lots of other information about the Synergy platform. It’s almost essential that you read it to understand the entire Renesas Synergy ecosystem.

After installation e2 Studio may has selected an incorrect version of the GNU Tools ARM Embedded. e2 Studio needs the 4.9 X and by default you may have the 5.4 X. Use the preferences (Window menu -> Preferences) to enable v4.9.

Clean the project every time you change the preferences (menu Project -> Clean).

Hardware Setup

To upload the code into the Synergy S7 we have used a Segger J-link with an ARM 20-PIN JTAG type connector (during this tutorial we will refer to this specific JTAG). Beware, not all JTAGs use the same connector with the same pin configuration. Make sure your JTAG uses the same combination of pins as shown below, or else find the equivalencies.

Look at this image to see the JTAG connection with the Helios Board.

The above image corresponds to the end of the JTAG cable connected to the J-Link. The pin configuration will be reversed at the other end of the JTAG, where we will connect the cables to the Helios board.

It will not be necessary to connect the USB cable of the board, the voltage is given by the JTAG. Remember, Renesas modules use Rhomb.io Standar II and should not be connected to PCBs with Standar I.

Create a new e2 Studio project

Open e2 Studio and create a new project of type Synergy C. The following window will appear:

We must select the specific model of our Synergy by Rhomb.io module. You can see the model number written on the silicon itself (with magnifying glass), probably corresponding to one of the following:

• Synergy S7 -> R7FS7627H2
• Synergy S5 -> R7FS5D97E2
• Synergy S3 -> R7FS3A77C2

The siliciums that mount the rhomb.io modules are 145 pins

In the next screen we are asked to select the initial configuration of the project, we will use the BSP to create a blank project.

Our project has been created and to continue you must select the Synergy perspective, if you have not done so when creating the project (a dialog asks you) you can do it by clicking the following button in the upper right corner of e2 Studio.

The Threads Configuration window of the Synergy perspective corresponds to the configuration.xml file in the project’s file explorer.

The module with the Rhomb.io Synergy S7 includes a led on pin 713 (port 7, pin 13). By default almost all pins are disabled, this means that if we try to give a HIGH/LOW pulse we will not get any results, for this we first have to configure that pin. In our case we want the 713 to be active as output (it doesn’t matter if HIGH or LOW). To do this we look for the PIN713 in the package window, double click on it and in the Pins tab we configure it as Output.

Before you continue, look for the “Generate Project Content” button inside the Threads Configuration window of the configuration.xml file to apply the changes we have made to pin 713.

Happy Coding!

Let’s add the code part that will make our blink. In the file explorer search for the src/hal_entry.c file, this file represents the main Thread of our application, called HAL/Common. We will add the following code:

#include "hal_data.h"
void hal_entry (void) {
    bool enable = true;
    while (1) {
        // Pin 713 = IOPORT_PORT_07_PIN_13.
        // On C++, pinWrite doesn't allow a boolean param as sencod
        // argument (requires a data type ioport_level_t).
        // g_ioport is available here because our thread has that
        // component (r_ioport) added by default. See components tab in
        // the configuration.xml file.
        g_ioport.p_api->pinWrite(IOPORT_PORT_07_PIN_13, enable);
        isOn =! isOn;
        for (int i = 0; i < 1E6; i++) { }
    }
}

The above example has been simplified, but obviously this code would work better with a timer. Alternatively you can also use `tx_thread_sleep(1000);` to insert a delay instead of the for loop.

We can add more threads to our application from the configuration.xml file, and each thread will have its input file. Threads, thanks to the synergy RTOS model, are tasks that run in parallel, this means, roughly speaking, that your single core microcontroller will be able to do 2 or more things at a time (at human-eye sight).

Compile the code with the hammer button . Once done, use the debug button to load the code into the microcontroller. This will give us a debug view of Eclipse. Once it is loaded you will see that the microcontroller does nothing, press the button a couple of times in this same perspective to finish the loading process. Once done, the LED should flash. To exit debug view, press the button and then press the button to switch to Synergy perspective.

Conclusions

The Synergy platform works with Logic Express’s RTOS ThreadX operating system as well as his own libraries (SSP). The possibilities of ThreadX along with the Renesas libraries are enormous and could fill hundreds of books.

Renesas, with its e2 Studio, includes the ThreadX system through a graphical interface inside the Eclipse (e2 Studio). This same GUI also generates the necessary code for our application depending on what we want to do. There are probably people who don’t like the idea that a graphical interface generates the source code, we included, but in our tests we have been able to verify that the GUI of e2 Studio is really useful and very stable, and of course you can always work writting code instead of using the GUI.

 

 

Mechanical specifications

Board

Warranty

• Precaution against Electrostatic Discharge. When handling Rhomb.io products, ensure that the environment is protected against static electricity. Follow the next recommendations:

1. The users should wear anti-static clothing and use earth band when manipulating the device.
2. All objects that come in direct contact with devices should be made of materials that do not produce static electricity that would cause damage.
3. Equipment and work table must be earthed.
4. Ionizer is recommended to remove electron charge.

• Contamination. Be sure to use semiconductor products in the environment that may not be exposed to dust or dirt adhesion.

• Temperature/Humidity. Semiconductor devices are sensitive to environment temperature and humidity. High temperature or humidity may deteriorate semiconductor devices characteristics. Therefore avoid storage or usage in such conditions.

• Mechanical Shock. Care should be exercised not to apply excessive mechanical shock or force on the connectors and semiconductors devices.

• Chemical. Do not expose semiconductor device to chemical because reaction to chemical may cause deterioration of device characteristics.

• Light Protection. In case of non-EMC (Epoxy Molding Compound) package, do not expose semiconductor IC to strong light. It may cause devices malfunction. Some special products which utilize the light or have security function are excepted from this specification.

• Radioactive, Cosmic and X-ray. Semiconductor devices can be influenced by radioactive, cosmic ray or X-ray. Radioactive, cosmic and X-ray may cause soft error during device operation. Therefore semiconductor devices must be shielded under environment that may be exposed to radioactive, cosmic ray or X-ray.

• EMS (Electromagnetic Susceptibility). Note that semiconductor devices characteristics may be affected by strong electromagnetic waves or magnetic field during operation.

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