ams AG PCap04 User manual

Eval Kit Manual
DN[Document ID]
ams Eval Kit Manual
Page 1
[v1-02] 2017-Oct-20
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PCap04
Standard Board
PCAP04-EVA-KIT

PCap04 Standard Board
ams Eval Kit Manual
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[v1-02] 2017-Oct-20
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Content Guide
1Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 3
2Quick Start Guide................................................................................................................. 5
2.1 Install the Software............................................................................................................... 5
2.2 Install the Hardware: ............................................................................................................ 5
2.3 Quick Start for Initial Measurements.................................................................................... 6
3Hardware Description........................................................................................................... 9
3.1 Connecting Capacitors and Resistors.................................................................................. 9
3.2 Hardware Architecture ......................................................................................................... 9
3.2.1 PCAP04 BOARD.................................................................................................................. 9
3.2.2 Temperature Measurement ............................................................................................... 10
3.2.3 Pulse Code Generation...................................................................................................... 12
3.2.4 Motherboard....................................................................................................................... 12
4Software Description .......................................................................................................... 13
4.1 Initialization ........................................................................................................................ 13
4.2 Graphical User Interface .................................................................................................... 13
4.2.1 Front Panel......................................................................................................................... 13
4.2.2 Front Panel Menus............................................................................................................. 26
4.2.3 Special Windows................................................................................................................ 30
4.2.4 Linearize............................................................................................................................. 37
4.2.5 Assembler .......................................................................................................................... 42
4.3 Scaling Results .................................................................................................................. 42
4.4 Scaling PDM Output........................................................................................................... 44
5Schematics, Layers and BOM ........................................................................................... 45
6Ordering & Contact Information ......................................................................................... 49
7Copyrights & Disclaimer..................................................................................................... 50
8Revision Information .......................................................................................................... 51

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ams Eval Kit Manual
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1 Introduction
The PCAP04-EVA-KIT evaluation system provides a complete system for generally evaluating the
PCapØ4 IC. It is supplied with a main board, a plug-in board, a Windows based evaluation
software, assembler software and the PICOPROG V3.0 programming device. The PCapØ4
evaluation board is connected to the PC‘s USB interface through the PICOPROG V3.0
programming device. The previous generation PICOPROG V2.0 programming device may also be
used with the PCAP04-EVA-KIT.
Figure 1: Kit Content
1 & 2
3
4
5
6
Pos.
Item
Comment
1
PCapØ1-MB
Motherboard
2
PCapØ4-EVA-BOARD
Plug-in board based on PCapØ4 in QFN24
package
3
PICOPROG V3.0
Programmer and interface box
4
USB cable
Connects PICOPROG V3.0 to PC
5
High density DSUB15 cable
Connecting Evaluation board to programmer
(optionally)
6
Wall power supply unit
9 V
The evaluation kit offers user-friendly operation of the PCapØ4 single-chip solution for capacitance
measurement. This kit can be used to evaluate the capacitance measurement, temperature
measurement and the pulse generation capabilities of the PCapØ4 chip. The kit also includes a CD-

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ams Eval Kit Manual
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ROM containing software and data sheets. However, it is strongly recommended to use the latest
data sheets and GUI software or get them on request.

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ams Eval Kit Manual
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2 Quick Start Guide
In this section, we described how to set up quickly the PCAP04-EVA-KIT and establish basic
operation and make measurements.
2.1 Install the Software
It is crucial to install the software before connecting the evaluation kit to your computer. A default
driver loading of your OS may interfere with correct installation.
Download the latest zipped software installation package to the desired directory.
Unzip the package to the desired directory.
Open “setup.exe” from the unzipped directory.
Follow the instructions on the screen.
2.2 Install the Hardware:
Install the software before
proceeding with this step!
Connect your computer with the
PICOPROG V3.0 using USB
cable.
Connect PICOPROG V3.0 and the
evaluation kit motherboard using
the DB15 interfaces
Mount the plug-in board on the
corresponding socket on the
motherboard.
Set the power supply unit to 7.5 V
output.
Connect the motherboard to
power via the power supply unit.
The green LED on the EVA kit
motherboard should be on.
Figure 2: Connected PCAP04-EVA-KIT

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ams Eval Kit Manual
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2.3 Quick Start for Initial Measurements
From the “Start” menu, go to “All Programs” and then to the “acam” directory. Double click the
“PCap04 Frontpanel” icon to begin execution of the evaluation kit software. The following screen
should appear:
Figure 3: Setup page
Click the “Verify Interface” Button to confirm communication with PICOPROG V3.0 is working:
Figure 4: Verify Message
The PCap04 plug-in board is pre-assembled with ceramic capacitors to emulate capacitive sensors.
These capacitors, each 10 pF in value, are connected to the 6 ports PC0 to PC5.

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ams Eval Kit Manual
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To begin measurements using these preinstalled components, it is necessary to make the following
adjustments on the “CDC Frontend” tab:
1. “Capacitive Measurement Scheme” section should be set to “Floating | Single”.
2. All the capacitance ports should be turned on using the Cap. Port. Select buttons
3. The Stray Compensation setting should be set to “Both”.
The resulting settings under the CDC tab should look like this:
Figure 5: CDC Frontend page at the start

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ams Eval Kit Manual
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To begin measurements, on the right side of the window, click the following buttons in the order
listed:
1. “Power On Reset”
2. “Write Complete”
3. “Start Measurement”
Measurements should now be running and your screen should resemble the following:
Figure 6: CDC Frontend page in use
The C1 and C2 values should be continually updating but remain within a reasonably small
standard deviation as shown.
At this point if the above steps have been successfully completed basic operation of the EVA kit
should be achieved. The following sections provide a detailed description of the hardware and
software for advanced operation.

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ams Eval Kit Manual
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3 Hardware Description
3.1 Connecting Capacitors and Resistors
This evaluation kit can be used for evaluating capacitance measurement by connecting capacitive
sensors. Further, it can be used for evaluating temperature measurement by connecting external
temperature sensitive resistors or for generating quasi analog voltage (pulse width/density
modulated) that is dependent on the sensor connected to the system.
Depending on the purpose of evaluation, a modification has to be made to the same plug-in board.
Following is a picture of the Mother board with the plug-in board.
Figure 7: The evaluation kit’s motherboard and plug-in board
The following sections describe the modifications for each application in detail.
3.2 Hardware Architecture
3.2.1 PCAP04 BOARD
For the purpose of evaluating the capacitance measurement using PCapØ4, the plug-in board is
pre-assembled with ceramic capacitors to emulate capacitive sensors. These capacitors, each
10 pF in value, are connected to the 6 ports PC0 to PC5. They are connected as single sensors in
floating mode, i.e. each capacitor is connected between 2 ports, and hence there are 3 x 10 pF on-
board capacitors. Please refer to section 3 of the PCapØ4 data sheet for more information on how
to connect capacitors to the chip. In case using external reference, the capacitor connected
between ports PC0 and PC1 is taken as the reference capacitor.

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Figure 8: Details of the plug-in board (A=three C0G ceramic capacitors)
In the process of evaluation, when you are comfortable with interpreting the measurement results
from the chip, these fixed capacitors can be replaced with the actual capacitive sensors of your
application.
If you want to connect your capacitive sensors in grounded mode, then GND points are provided at
the two ends of the board, where the sensor ground connections ought to be soldered.
The typical value of the capacitive sensors that can be connected to the evaluation kit lies in the
range of 30 pF to 3.5 nF. The reference capacitor should be in the same order of magnitude as the
sensor. Depending on the value of the sensor, the value of the internal resistor for performing the
measurement has to be selected. For the pre-assembled 10 pF capacitors, an internal discharge
resistor of 90 kΩworks well. See section 3 of the PCapØ4 data sheet on how to select the value of
the internal discharge resistor.
3.2.2 Temperature Measurement
Temperature measurement or other resistive tasks may also be of interest for the user of this kit.
The evaluation kit offers this possibility through the RDC (resistive-to-digital converter) ports. An on-
chip thermistor coupled with an on-chip temperature-stable reference resistor made of polysilicon is
sufficient for observing the temperature measurement capability of the PCapØ4 chip.
Figure 9 Temperature sensor connection pads
A
C
B
D
A