ambiq micro Apollo3 Blue EVB User manual

Apollo3 Blue EVB Quick Start Guide
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Apollo3 Blue EVB
Board Revision 1.0
Quick Start Guide
Doc. ID: QS-A3B-1p00
Document Revision 1.0

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Table of Content
Introduction ................................................................................................................. 5
Document Revision History......................................................................................... 5
Overview of the Apollo3 Blue EVB.............................................................................. 6
Debug Interface .......................................................................................................... 8
Software Development Tools.................................................................................... 11
Power Supply Options and Measuring Current......................................................... 12

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List of Figures
Apollo3 Blue EVB, Revision 1.0.................................................................................. 6
Apollo3 Blue EVB Parts Location................................................................................ 6
Apollo3 Blue EVB using On-board J-Link Debugger .................................................. 8
Apollo3 Blue EVB’s Cortex DEBUG IN Header (J1) ................................................... 9
Apollo3 Blue EVB’s DEBUG OUT Header (J2)......................................................... 10
Voltage Selection on Header P19............................................................................. 12
Header P19 Configured for 3.3V Operation - No Current Measurement .................. 13
Header P19 Configured for 3.3V Operation - With Current Measurement ............... 13

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List of Tables
Document Revision History......................................................................................... 5
Jumper Configuration for Power Selections.............................................................. 12

Apollo3 Blue EVB Quick Start Guide
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1. Introduction
This document provides guidance in setting up the Apollo3 Blue Evaluation Board (EVB), part number
AMA3BEVB, revision 1.0, to get started executing code examples, measuring power consumption in
various configurations, and beginning software development.
2. Document Revision History
Rev # Date Description
1.0 Jul 2018 Document initial public release
Table 1: Document Revision History

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3. Overview of the Apollo3 Blue EVB
The Apollo3 Blue EVB features Arduino-compatible headers and an integrated J-Link debugger:
Figure 1. Apollo3 Blue EVB, Revision 1.0
Figure 2. Apollo3 Blue EVB Parts Location
Segger
J-Link
Adapter

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The EVB has these additional features:
▪Low power reference design
▪Apollo3 Blue MCU in the BGA package (AMA3B1KK-KBR)
▪Multiple power/clock options
▪Micro USB connector for power/download/debug
▪On-board chip antenna (A1)
▪RF switch/connector (J1 - Murata MM8430-2610RA1) for BLE PHY testing without removing chip
antenna
▪Segger J-Link debugger
▪Debugger-in / debugger-out ports
▪Five user-controlled LEDs
▪Three push buttons for application use, plus a reset push button
▪Power slide switch with LED power indicator
▪Five 8-12 pin Arduino-style headers for pin/power access to shield board(s)
▪Multiple test points for power measurements
▪CE Mark and RoHS compliant
3.1 Secure Boot on the Apollo3 Blue MCU
Apollo3 Blue MCU parts from the Ambiq Micro factory are preprogrammed with a Secure Bootloader and
an uninitialized Customer InfoSpace, referred to as INFO0. Initial provisioning of the part would include
programming a valid INFO0 and programming the main firmware image in the flash. The Apollo3 Blue EVB
is shipped with the INFO0 configuration preprogrammed with optimal settings for the EVB layout.
For your reference, the following settings are programmed into INFO0 on the Apollo3 Blue MCU resident
on the EVB:
▪Simo Buck is enabled, which provides lowest Apollo3 power consumption in both active and sleep
modes.
▪Secure Bootloader (SBL) interface is configured to UART using GPIO22 and GPIO23, which allows
secure boot to be performed over the J-Link COM interface of the EVB.
▪SBL override pin is configured to GPIO16 which is BTN1 on the EVB.
▪All Flash and Debugger protection features are disabled.
For information on changing the INFO0 settings as well as using the Secure Bootloader, please refer to the
Apollo3 Blue Getting Started Guide, which can be found in the Ambiq Micro SDK documentation and
example scripts located in the \tools\apollo3_scripts folder. This folder contains a number of python scripts
to demonstrate generation of INFO0 settings, customer main images, and the creation of images for the
Wired Update protocol over UART.

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4. Debug Interface
Figure 3 shows the Apollo3 Blue EVB set up for standard debug using the on-board J-Link debugger and
on-board power supply configured for 3.3V.
Figure 3. Apollo3 Blue EVB using On-board J-Link Debugger
The debug interface is supported by standard J-Link drivers from Segger. Please refer to “Software
Development Tools” on page 11 for more details on J-Link debug support.
Segger
J-Link
Adapter

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4.1 Use of External Debugger
This EVB also supports the use of an external Cortex SWD debug interface through a standard 10-pin
debug header (DEBUG IN - J1) as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Apollo3 Blue EVB’s Cortex DEBUG IN Header (J1)
No jumper changes are required to use an external debug adapter. Simply connect the external debug
adapter with a 10-pin ribbon cable connector to the “DEBUG IN” header.

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4.2 Use of J-Link Adapter as an External Target Board Debugger
The EVB also offers the ability to be used as a J-Link debug adapter for any target board that has an
Apollo family MCU.
Figure 5. Apollo3 Blue EVB’s DEBUG OUT Header (J2)
To utilize this functionality, use a 10-pin low-pitch standard debug connector to connect the “DEBUG OUT”
header (J2) on the EVB to the debug header on the target board. The EVB will automatically detect when
the “DEBUG OUT” header is connected to another target board and reconfigure the integrated J-Link to
connect to this external board rather than the on-board Apollo3 Blue.
Note: A voltage on pin 1 of the J2 header is required for the above mentioned automatic switch to occur.
Also, if the target VDD doesn't match the on-board voltage (either 3.3V or 1.8V), and to avoid possible
voltage level conflicts on the debug I/O port, VDDIO of the J-Link processor may need to be changed to the
target voltage by cutting SB5 and shorting SB6.
.

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5. Software Development Tools
The standard Segger J-Link debug interface is used on the Apollo3 Blue EVB. Please install the latest Beta
Segger J-Link software, and configure your preferred development IDE (Keil, IAR, or Eclipse) to use J-Link
debug interface.
Links to development tools that support Apollo3 Blue (AMA3B1KK-KBR):
▪SEGGER J-Link Software (6.33h Beta or later): https://www.segger.com/downloads/jlink
▪KEIL uVision (MDK523 or later): https://www.keil.com/demo/eval/arm.htm
▪New Keil Pack (Also used by Eclipse): http://www.keil.com/dd2/pack/#/third-party-download-dialog
▪IAR Version 7.80.4 (8.10.1 or later): https://www.iar.com/iar-embedded-workbench/tools-for-arm/arm-
cortex-m-edition/
▪GCC 5.3.1: https://gcc.gnu.org
Regardless of preferred IDE, please install the Segger J-Link software. All of the above development
environments support J-Link, but you must have the latest J-Link software installed. Most alternate
development environments also are supported by J-Link.
Please refer to the AmbiqSuite Getting Started Guide (AMSDKGS) at https://ambiqmicro.com/wp-content/
uploads/2017/09/AMSDKGS-v1_1.pdf for more details on setting up development IDEs to use J-Link.

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6. Power Supply Options and Measuring Current
There are three power supply options for the Apollo3 Blue EVB:
▪Operate at 3.3V as provided by the on-board power supply
▪Operate at 1.8V as provided by the on-board power supply
▪Provide externally supplied power
Figure 6 shows header P19 which is used to select a power configuration through jumper installations, as
well as the option to measure the supply current to the MCU with an ammeter. Solder bridge SB15 can be
filled instead of jumpering from pin 1 to pin 2 if current measuring is of no interest.
Figure 6. Voltage Selection on Header P19
Table 2: Jumper Configuration for Power Selections
As an example for setting the jumpers on P19, Figure 7 shows the EVB configured for 3.3V operation with
jumper across VDD_PS and VDD_MCU for no current measurement.
Jumper
1-2
Jumper
3-4
Jumper
5-6 Power Source
In In In 1.8V operation from internal regulator
Out In Out Intended for current measuring across pins 1 and 2
during 3.3V operation from internal regulator
Out In In Intended for current measuring across pins 1 and 2
during 1.8V operation from internal regulator
In Out Out Externally-provided supply voltage within the allowable
range (1.755-3.60V) on pin 3 or 5
Out Out Out
Intended for current measuring across pins 1 and 2
during externally-provided supply voltage within the
allowable range (1.755-3.60V) on pin 3 or 5
_1.8V

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Figure 7. Header P19 Configured for 3.3V Operation - No Current Measurement
Figure 8 shows the EVB configured for 3.3V operation with current measuring leads across VDD_PS and
VDD_MCU for current measurement.
Figure 8. Header P19 Configured for 3.3V Operation - With Current Measurement

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Contact Information
Address Ambiq Micro, Inc.
6500 River Place Blvd.
Building 7, Suite 200
Austin, TX 78730-1156
Phone [phone]
Website https://ambiqmicro.com/
Sales [e-mail]
Technical Support https://support.ambiqmicro.com
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