ambiq micro Apollo4 Blue Plus User manual

QUICK START GUIDE
Apollo4 Plus EVB Display Kit
(Shield Board Revision 1)
Ultra-low Power Apollo SoC Family
Doc. ID: QS-A4PDK-1p0
Doc. Revision: 1.0, September 2022

Apollo4 Plus Display Kit Quick Start Guide
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Table of Content
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................... 6
2. Document Revision History ................................................................................... 7
3. Reference Documents and Software .................................................................... 8
4. Quick Start ............................................................................................................ 9
5. Overview of the Apollo4 Display Kit .................................................................... 10
6. Software Development Tools .............................................................................. 14
7. Graphics Development Tools .............................................................................. 15
8. Hardware Configuration Options ......................................................................... 16
9. Ordering Information ........................................................................................... 18

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List of Figures
Apollo4 Plus Display Kit .............................................................................................. 6
Apollo4 Plus Display Kit Block Diagram - MSPI0 Hex to PSRAM Only .................... 10
Apollo4 Plus Display Kit Block Diagram - MSPI0/MSPI1 Octal to PSRAM/Flash..... 11
Apollo4 Plus Display Shield Parts Locations ............................................................ 12
PSU page of the Display Shield schematic............................................................... 16
GPIO79 Pin Connection Options .............................................................................. 17

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List of Tables
Document Revision History......................................................................................... 7
EVB / Shield Ordering Information............................................................................ 18
MCU Ordering Information........................................................................................ 18

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1. Introduction
This document provides guidance in setting up the Display Kit hardware, part number AMAP4PDISP,
revision 1, on the Apollo4 Plus Evaluation Board (EVB), revision 2, to get started executing memory and
display examples and measuring power consumption in various configurations. The Apollo4 Plus Display
Kit is also intended to provide an introduction to the GUI Builder.
Figure 1. Apollo4 Plus Display Kit

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2. Document Revision History
Table 1: Document Revision History
Rev # Date Description
1.0 September 2022 Document initial public release

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3. Reference Documents and Software
The following items may be useful in understanding and using the EVB.
▪ EVB Schematic
▪ Apollo4 Plus SoC Datasheet
▪ Apollo4 Family Programmer’s Guide
▪ Apollo4 Plus Errata List
▪ AmbiqSuite SDK

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4. Quick Start
The Apollo4 Plus Display Kit comes with the following items:
▪ Apollo4 Plus Evaluation Board (EVB), revision 2
▪ Apollo4 Plus Display Shield, revision 1
▪ USB Type C cable
▪ Four adhesive-backed rubber feet
▪ Extra jumpers
Caution: The EVB has components loaded on the back of the board. Care should be taken to not damage
these components. The included rubber feet should be applied to the bottom of the board to prevent direct
contact between the components and a desk surface.
The EVB in the Apollo4 Plus Display Kit comes with jumpers pre-configured for default operation. Also, it
has been pre-programmed with the Binary Counter example program. To begin EVB program execution,
first carefully attach the Apollo4 Plus Display Shield to the Apollo4 Plus EVB if not already attached. To do
this, press the two boards together as evenly as possible until the display shield is fully seated on the
connectors of the EVB. Then connect the USB-C cable from a USB port on a PC to the J-Link USB
connector (J6) on the EVB, and make sure the power switch (SW4) has been turned on. The LEDs on the
bottom of the EVB should begin to count up in binary, from 0 to 7.
The AmbiqSuite SDK provides many example programs that may be run on the Display Kit. To run these
examples, download the SDK via the link provided above and select any of the pre-built examples in the
SDK at /boards/apollo4p_evb_disp_shield_rev2/examples.

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5. Overview of the Apollo4 Display Kit
The Apollo4 Plus Display Kit consists of two PCB assemblies:
1. The Apollo4 Plus EVB (AMAP4PEVB), revision 2 or later
2. The Apollo4 Plus Display Shield revision 1
Please note that the Apollo4 Plus Display Kit is only compatible with the (non-blue) Apollo4 Plus EVB, part
number AMAP4PEVB.
The combined features of the two-board assembly are shown in the block diagrams of Figure 2 and
Figure 3. When MSPI0 is used in hex mode (16-bit interface), MSPI1 cannot be used, as the MSPI0 upper
data lines use the same pins on the Apollo4 Plus that MSPI1 uses. An Apollo4 Plus GPIO pin, GPIO34, is
used to select between using this set of pins as MSPI1 connections or as the upper data lines of MSPI0 in
hex mode.
Figure 2 represents the two-board assembly’s feature set when connected to the APS256XXN PSRAM
device over MSPI0 in hex mode. MSPI1 is not used in this configuration.
Figure 2. Apollo4 Plus Display Kit Block Diagram - MSPI0 Hex to PSRAM Only
Apollo4
Plus
EVB
APS256XXN
PSRAM
THGBMNG5D1LBAIT
e-MMC
ADXL362
Accel
454*454
AMOLED
Display
EVB Headers
Hex-MSPI0
MIPI DSI
Quad-MSPI2
I2C
Touch
ALS
SDIF
SPI
J-Link
Debugger
USB
User LEDs
Power
Headers
Audio Jack
Debug
In/Out
Connectors
MCU USB
Connector
Apollo4
Plus
Display
Shield
MSPI1
not used

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Figure 3 represents the feature set and connections when using octal mode for both MSPI0 and MSPI1
connected to the APS256XXN PSRAM and IX25WX064 Flash device, respectively.
Figure 3. Apollo4 Plus Display Kit Block Diagram - MSPI0/MSPI1 Octal to PSRAM/Flash
Apollo4
Plus
EVB
APS256XXN
PSRAM
IS25WX064
FLASH
THGBMNG5D1LBAIT
e-MMC
ADXL362
Accel
454*454
AMOLED
Display
EVB Headers
Octal-MSPI0
Octal-MSPI1
MIPI DSI
Quad-MSPI2
I2C
Touch
ALS
SDIF
SPI
J-Link
Debugger
USB
User LEDs
Power
Headers
Audio Jack
Debug
In/Out
Connectors
MCU USB
Connector
Apollo4
Plus
Display
Shield

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Figure 4 identifies the major components on the Display Shield.
Figure 4. Apollo4 Plus Display Shield Parts Locations
The Display Kit has these additional features:
▪ Apollo4 Plus Display Shield
- 1.4" 454*454 Pixel MIPI AMOLED Display
- Display Laminated Capacitive Touch Sensor - TMA525C
- 256 Mb HexSPI Double-Data-Rate (DDR) Enabled PSRAM - APS256XXN
- 64Mb OctalSPI DDR Enabled Flash Memory - IS25WX064
- 4 GB x1/x4/x8 e-MMC Module - THGBMNG5D1LBAIT
- 3-Axis MEMS Accelerometer - ADXL362
▪ Apollo4 Plus AMAP4PEVB Evaluation Board
- USB Type C connector for power/download/debug
- USB Type C connector for power/data to Apollo4 Plus
- Segger J-Link debugger
- Debugger-in port (SWD or ETM)
- Three user-controlled LEDs
- Two push buttons for application use, plus a reset push button
- Power slide switch with LED power indicator
- 3.5 mm Audio Jack (SJ-435107) for evaluating low-power analog audio interface
For a full overview of the Apollo4 Plus EVB's offerings, please refer to the AMAP4PEVB Quick Start Guide,
which includes information about the debug interface.
Caution: The EVB has components loaded on the back of the board. Care should be taken to not damage
these components.
Touch and ALS
Signal Header
Load
Switch
NOR
Flash
Display signal
Header
MSPI1
Header
eMMC
Header
eMMC
Memory
MSPI0
Header
Accelerometer
1.4” AMOLED
Display

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5.1 Secure Boot on the Apollo4 SoC
Apollo4 Plus SoC parts from the Ambiq Micro factory are preprogrammed with a Secure Bootloader and an
uninitialized Customer Info Space, 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 Apollo4 Plus EVB
is shipped with the INFO0 configuration pre-programmed with optimal settings for the EVB layout:
1. Default boot to non-secure mode.
2. Enable Boot Override to Push Button on GPIO18 (OTP setting) - BTN0/SW1.
3. Enable wired updates over UART0.
A. UART0 is mapped to JLINK (OTP Setting).
B. Baud rate is 115200 bps, no-parity, 8-bit data length, no flow control.
C. Timeout is 3 seconds.
For your reference, the following settings are programmed into INFO0 on the Apollo4 Plus SoC resident on
the EVB:
▪ Simo Buck is NOT enabled.
▪ Secure Bootloader (SBL) interface is configured to UART using GPIO47 and GPIO60, which allows
secure boot to be performed over the J-Link COM interface of the EVB.
▪ SBL override pin is configured to GPIO18 which is BTN0/SW1 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
README.txt file, which can be found in the tools\apollo4b_scripts folder of the latest SDK release
supporting the Apollo4 Plus family. 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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6. Software Development Tools
The standard Segger J-Link debug interface is used on the Apollo4 Plus EVB. Please install the latest
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 Apollo4 Plus:
▪ SEGGER J-Link Software (6.96 or later): https://www.segger.com/downloads/jlink
▪ KEIL uVision 5 (MDK5.34 or later): https://www.keil.com/demo/eval/arm.htm
▪ Latest Keil Pack (Also used by Eclipse): http://www.keil.com/dd2/pack/#/third-party-download-dialog
▪ IAR Version (8.42.2 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.

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7. Graphics Development Tools
The Apollo4 Plus Display Kit supports the Nema®|GUI-Builder GUI Builder from Think Silicon (https://
www.think-silicon.com/?section=2183&language=en_US). The tool offers various color formatting, display
widgets, animations and other features written in the C programming language. The NEMA®|GUI-Builder
interfaces directly with the Apollo4 Plus's GPU and provides a software abstraction layer to organize and
employ drawing commands, while requiring minimum CPU/MCU usage and power consumption.
Required system resources are as follows:
▪OS: Windows® (10), Linux® (Ubuntu 32/64-bit)
▪Screen Resolution: 800×600 or higher
▪RAM: 256MB
▪Storage: 100MB available space
The Nema|Gui-Builder offers the following features.
Color Formats
▪ Support for multiple color formats for both source and destination textures
▪ 32-bit: RGBA8888 / BGRA8888 / ABGR8888
▪ 24-bit: RGB
▪ 16-bit: RGBA5551 / RGB565
▪ 8-bit: A8 / L8 / RGB332
▪ 4-bit: A4 / L4
▪ 2-bit: A2 / L2
▪ 1-bit: A1 / L1
▪ TSC (see GUI-Builder documentation for details)
Widgets
▪ Label button
▪ Icon button
▪ Radio button
▪ Horizontal slider
▪ Vertical slider
▪ Digital meter
▪ Icons
▪ Progress bar
▪ Gauge
▪ Circular progress
▪ Watch face
Transitions and Animations
▪ Alpha blending
▪ Programmable size, offset and format per layer
▪ Programmable stride/pitch enabling panning and clipping
Other Features
▪ Transparency
▪ Color keying
▪ Multi-function image processing

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8. Hardware Configuration Options
8.1 Power Supply Configuration
The Apollo4 Plus Display Shield is connected to the AMAP4PEVB hardware through each of the five GPIO
headers present on the EVB, as well as the high-speed connector, and as a result the display shield
derives its power supplies from the 5V USB supply of the EVB. The two derived power supplies are:
▪ VDD_1V9_PSU – Default 1.9V, configurable to 1.8V by shorting solder-bridge SB3
▪ VDD_3V3
The VDD_1V9_PSU rail is by default the source of power for the SHIELD_PSU rail, which is the supply for
each of the 1.9V on the display shield. However, by using solder bridges SB4 and SB5, the user can con-
figure the SHIELD_PSU rail to be supplied by an external supply, VDD_MCU of the Apollo4 EVB, or by the
default option of VDD_1V9_PSU.
▪ External Supply – Open SB4, Short SB5 on Display Shield, connect external supply to VDD_EXT on J3
of AMAP4PEVB.
▪ VDD_MCU of AMAP4PEVB – Open SB4, Short SB5, connect jumper between VDD_EXT and
VDD_MCU on J3 of AMAP4PEVB.
Figure 5. PSU page of the Display Shield schematic

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By using an external supply, or the on-board VDD_1V9_PSU rail, the user is able to take accurate current
measurements of the Apollo4 Plus under a variety of conditions offered by the Display Kit without extra
load on the Apollo4 Plus SoC rails. Please consult the AMAP4PEVB Quick Start Guide for details on taking
current measurements with the Apollo4 Plus EVB.
8.2 eMMC/SPI Solder-Bridge
Solder-bridges 1 and 2 are used to select between the SDIF_DAT4 (eMMC_D4) and DISP_SPI_SDI
(AP4_DISP_SDI) hardware connections for the GPIO79 pin. By default, the hardware is configured to
connect to the e-MMC device.
Figure 6. GPIO79 Pin Connection Options
8.3 Other Solder-bridge Options
For other solder-bridge options, please consult the Apollo4 Plus EVB Quick Start Guide.

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9. Ordering Information
Table 2: EVB / Shield Ordering Information
Table 3: MCU Ordering Information
Device Name Orderable
Part Number Board Revision SoC SoC Package Availability
Apollo4 Plus
Display Kita
a. Includes Apollo4 Plus EVB and Apollo4 Plus Display Shield
AMAP4PDISP EVB Rev. 2 /
Shield Rev. 1 Apollo4 Plus 5.0 x 5.0, 146-pin BGA 4Q2022
Device Name Orderable
Part Numbera
a. The silicon revision is identified by the first letter in the bottom row of the package's top marking.
MRAM RAM Package Packing
Operating
Temperature
Range
Availability
Apollo4 Plus MCU AMAP42KP-KBR 2 MB 2.75 MB 5.0 x 5.0,
146-pin BGA Tape and Reel –20 to 60°C Now

2022 Ambiq Micro, Inc. All rights reserved.
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QS-A4PDK-1p0
Version 1.0
September 2022