ARTERY AT-START-F403A User manual

AT-START-F403A User Manual
2020.12.15 1 Rev 1.20
www.arterytek.com
Getting started with AT32F403AVGT7
Introduction
AT-START-F403A is designed to help you explore the high-performance features of the 32-bit
microcontroller, AT32F403A embedded with ARM Cortex®-M4F with FPU, and help develop your
applications.
AT-START-F403A is an evaluation board based on AT32F403AVGT7 chip with LED indicators,
buttons, an USB micro-B connector, ArduinoTM Uno R3 extension connector and an expanded 16
MB SPI Flash memory. This evaluation board embeds debugging/programming tool AT-Link-EZ
without the need of other development tools.

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Contents
1Overview................................................................................................................. 5
1.1 Features................................................................................................................... 5
1.2 Definition of terms .................................................................................................... 5
2Quick start.............................................................................................................. 6
2.1 Get started................................................................................................................6
2.2 Toolchains supporting AT-START-F403A..................................................................6
3Hardware and layout ............................................................................................. 7
3.1 Power supply selection............................................................................................. 9
3.2 IDD........................................................................................................................... 9
3.3 Programming and debugging.................................................................................10
3.3.1 Embedded AT-Link-EZ...............................................................................................10
3.3.2 20-pin ARM® standardJTAG connector.....................................................................10
3.4 Boot mode selection................................................................................................11
3.5 External clock source ..............................................................................................11
3.5.1 HSE clock source.......................................................................................................11
3.5.2 LSE clock source........................................................................................................11
3.6 LED indicators........................................................................................................ 12
3.7 Buttons...................................................................................................................12
3.8 USB device.............................................................................................................12
3.9 Connect to Bank3 of Flash memory via SPIM interface..........................................12
3.10 0 Ω resistors ...........................................................................................................13
3.11 Extension connectors............................................................................................. 14
3.11.1 ArduinoTM Uno R3 extension connector.....................................................................14
3.11.2 LQFP100 I/O extension connector.............................................................................15
4Schematic............................................................................................................. 16
5Revision history................................................................................................... 20

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List of tables
Table 1. Boot mode selection jumper setting..................................................................................... 11
Table 2. GPIO and SPIM jumper setting............................................................................................12
Table 3. 0 Ω resistor setting...............................................................................................................13
Table 4. ArduinoTM Uno R3 extension connector pin definition.........................................................14
Table 5. Document revision history....................................................................................................20

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List of figures
Figure 1. Hardware block diagram ......................................................................................................7
Figure 2. Top layer...............................................................................................................................8
Figure 3. Bottom layer .........................................................................................................................8
Figure 4. Schematic (AT-Link-EZ).....................................................................................................16
Figure 5. Schematic (microcontroller)................................................................................................17
Figure 6. Schematic (power supply and peripherals)........................................................................18
Figure 7. Schematic (extension connectors).....................................................................................19

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1 Overview
1.1 Features
AT-START-F403A has the following characteristics:
AT-START-F403A has an on-board AT32F403AVGT7 microcontroller that embeds ARM
Cortex®-M4F, 32-bit processor, 1024 KB Flash memory and 96+128 KB SRAM, LQFP100
packages.
On-board AT-Link connector:
−The on-board AT-Link-EZ can be used for programming and debugging (AT-Link-EZ is a
simplified version of AT-Link, and does not support offline mode)
−If AT-Link-EZ is separated from this board by bending over along the joint, AT-START-
F403A can be connected to an independent AT-Link for programming and debugging
On-board 20-pin ARM standard JTAG connector (with a JTAG/SWD connector for
programming/debugging)
16 MB SPI Flash EN25QH128A is used as an expanded Flash memory Bank 3
Various power supply methods:
−Through the USB bus of AT-Link-EZ
−Through the USB bus (VBUS) of AT-START-F403A
−External 7~12 V power supply (VIN)
−External 5 V power supply (E5V)
−External 3.3 V power supply
4 x LED indicators:
−LED1 (red) used for 3.3 V power-on
−3 x user LED indicators: LED2 (red)，LED3 (yellow) and LED4 (green)
2 x buttons (user button and reset button)
8 MHz HSE crystal
32.768 kHz LSE crystal
USB micro-B connector
Various extension connectors can be quickly connected into a prototype board and easy to
explore:
−ArduinoTM Uno R3 extension connector
−LQFP100 I/O extension connector
1.2 Definition of terms
Jumper JPx ON
Jumper installed
Jumper JPx OFF
Jumped not installed
Resistor Rx ON
Short by solder or 0Ω resistor
Resistor Rx OFF
Open

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2 Quick start
AT-START-F403A is a low-cost and easy-to-use development kit that is designed for quickly
evaluating and using the high-performance AT32F403A microcontrollers to develop applications.
2.1 Get started
Configure the AT-START-F403A board in the following order to start the application:
1. Check the Jumper position on the board:
JP1 is connected to GND or OFF (BOOT0 is 0, and BOOT0 has an pull-down resistor in the
AT32F403AVGT7);
JP4 optional or OFF (BOOT1 is in any state);
JP8 one-piece jumper is connected to I/O on the right.
2. Connect the AT-START-F403A board to the PC through an USB cable (Type A to micro-B),
and the board will be powered via AT-Link-EZ USB connector CN6. LED1 (red) is always on,
and the other three LEDs (LED2 to LED4) start to blink in turn.
3. After pressing the USER button (B2), the blink frequency of three LEDs are changed.
2.2 Toolchains supporting AT-START-F403A
ARM®Keil®: MDK-ARM™
IAR™: EWARM

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3 Hardware and layout
AT-START-F403A board is designed around an AT32F403AVGT7 microcontroller in LQFP100
package.
Figure 1 shows the connections between AT-Link-EZ, AT32F403AVGT7 and their peripherals
(buttons, LEDs, USB, SPI Flash memory and extension connectors)
Figure 2 and Figure 3 show these features on the AT-Link-EZ and AT-START-F403A board.
Figure 1. Hardware block diagram
AT32F403AVGT7
I/O
I/O
I/O
I/O
NRST
Reset
button
User
button
Arduino extension connector
Arduino extension connector
LQFP100 I/O port extension connector
LQFP100 I/O extension connector
20-pin ARM standard
JTAG connector
AT-Link
connector
AT-Link-EZ
User LEDs
LED2~LED4
Micro-USB
Micro-USB
SPI Flash
Bank3
SPIM

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Figure 2. Top layer
Figure 3. Bottom layer
External 7~12V power User LED
SPI Flash memory
AT32F403AVGT7
Arduino Uno extension connector
LQFP100 I/O extension connector
USART1 connector
HSE 8 MHzcrystal
Arduino Uno extension
connector
USB micro-B connector
LSE 32.768 kHz crystal
Arduino Uno extension connector
LQFP100 I/O extension connector
I/O and USB jumperUser button
Reset
button
AT-Link connector
Power LED
IDD
measurement
jumper
AT-Link-EZ
20-pin ARM
standard JTAG
connector
Boot mode
selection
jumper

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3.1 Power supply selection
The 5 V power supply of AT-START-F403A can be provided through a USB cable (either through
the USB connector CN6 on the AT-Link-EZ or USB connector CN1 on the AT-START-F403A), or
through an external 5 V power supply (E5V), or by an external 7~12 V power supply (VIN) via 5V
voltage regulator (U1) on the board. In this case, the 5 V power supply provides the 3.3 V power
required by the microcontrollers and peripherals by means of the 3.3 V voltage regulator (U2) on
the board.
The 5 V pin of J4 or J7 can also be used as an input power source. The AT-START-F403A board
must be powered by a 5 V power supply unit.
The 3.3 V pin of J4 or the VDD pin of J1 and J2 can also be directly used as 3.3 V input power
supply. AT-START-F403A board must be powered by a 3.3 V power supply unit.
Note: Unless 5 V is provided through the USB connector (CN6) on the AT-Link-EZ, the AT-Link-EZ will
not be powered by other power supply methods.
When another application board is connected to J4, the VIN, 5 V and 3.3 V pins can be used as
output power; J7 5V pin used as 5 V output power; the VDD pin of J1 and J2 used as 3.3 V output
power.
3.2 IDD
In the event of JP3 OFF (symbol IDD) and R13 OFF, it is allowed to connect an ammeter to
measure the power consumption of AT32F403AVGT7.
JP3 OFF, R13 ON:
AT32F403AVGT7 is powered. (Default setting and JP3 plug is not mounted before shipping)
JP3 ON, R13 OFF:
AT32F403AVGT7 is powered.
JP3 OFF, R13 OFF:
An ammeter must be connected to measure the power consumption of AT32F403AVGT7 (if
there is no ammeter, the AT32F403AVGT7 cannot be powered).

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3.3 Programming and debugging
3.3.1 Embedded AT-Link-EZ
The evaluation board embeds Artery AT-Link-EZ programming and debugging tool for users to
program/debug the AT32F403AVGT7 on the AT-START-F403A board. AT-Link-EZ supports SWD
interface mode and supports a set of virtual COM ports (VCP) to connect to the
USART1_TX/USART1_RX (PA9/PA10) of AT32F403AVGT7. In this case, PA9 and PA10 of
AT32F403AVGT7 will be affected by AT-Link-EZ as follows:
PA9 is weakly pulled up to high level by the VCP RX pin of AT-Link-EZ;
PA10 is strongly pulled up to high level by the VCP TX pin of AT-Link-EZ
The user can set R9 and R10 OFF, then the use of PA9 and PA10 of AT32F403AVGT7 is not
subject to the above restrictions.
Please refer to AT-Link User Manual for complete details on the operations, firmware upgrade and
precautions of AT-Link-EZ.
The AT-Link-EZ PCB on the evaluation board can be separated from AT-START-F403A by
bending over along the joint. In this case, AT-START-F403A can still be connected to the CN7 of
AT-Link-EZ through CN2 (not mounted before shipping), or can be connected with another AT-Link
to continue the programming and debugging on the AT32F403AVGT7.
3.3.2 20-pin ARM® standardJTAG connector
AT-START-F403A also reserves JTAG or SWD general-purpose connectors as
programming/debugging tools. If the user wants to use this interface to program and debug the
AT32F403AVGT7, please separate the AT-Link-EZ from the board or set R41, R44 and R46 OFF,
and connect the CN3 (not mounted before shipping) to the programming and debugging tool.

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3.4 Boot mode selection
At startup, three different boot modes can be selected by means of the pin configuration.
Table 1. Boot mode selection jumper setting
Jumper
Boot mode selection
pins
Setting
BOOT1
BOOT0
JP1 connected to GND or OFF;
JP4 optional or OFF
X
0
Boot from the internal Flash memory
(Factory default setting)
JP1 connected to VDD
JP4 connected to GND
0
1
Boot from the system memory
JP1 connected to VDD
JP4 connected to VDD
1
1
Boot from SRAM
3.5 External clock source
3.5.1 HSE clock source
The 8 MHz crystal on the board is used as HSE clock source.
3.5.2 LSE clock source
There are three hardware modes to set the external low-speed clock sources:
On-board crystal (default setting):
The 32.768 kHz crystal on the board is used as LSE clock source. The hardware setting must
be: R6 and R7 ON, R5 and R8 OFF
Oscillator from external PC14:
External oscillator is injected from the pin-3 of J2. The hardware setting must be: R5 and R8
ON, R6 and R7 OFF.
LSE not used:
PC14 and PC15 are used as GPIO. The hardware setting must be: R5 and R8 ON, R6 and R7
OFF.

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3.6 LED indicators
Power LED1
Red indicates that the board is powered by 3.3 V
User LED2
Red, connected to the PD13 pin of AT32F403AVGT7
User LED3
Yellow, connected to the PD14 pin of AT32F403AVGT7
User LED4
Green, connected to the PD15 pin of AT32F403AVGT7
3.7 Buttons
Reset button B1:
Connected to NRST to reset AT32F403AVGT7
User button B2:
It is, by default, connected to the PA0 of AT32F403AVGT7, and alternatively used as a wake-
up button (R19 ON, R21 OFF); or connected to PC13 and alternatively used as TAMPER-RTC
button (R19 OFF, R21 ON)
3.8 USB device
AT-START-F403A board supports USB full-speed device communication through an USB micro-B
connector (CN1). VBUS canbe used as 5 V power supply of AT-START-F403A board.
3.9 Connect to Bank3 of Flash memory via SPIM interface
The SPI Flash EN25QH128A on the board is connected to the AT32F403AVGT7 via SPIM
interface and used as Bank 3 of expanded Flash memory.
When using the Bank 3 of the Flash memory via SPIM interface, the JP8 one-piece jumper, as
shown in Table 2, should select the left SPIM side. In this case, PB1, PA8, PB10 PB11, PB6 and
PB7 are not connected to the external LQFP100 I/O extension connector. These 6 pins are marked
by adding [*] after pin name of extension connector on the PCB silkscreen.
Table 2. GPIO and SPIM jumper setting
Jumper
Settings
JP8 connected to I/O
Use I/O function (Default setting before shipping).
JP8 connected to SPIM
Use the SPIM function

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3.10 0 Ωresistors
Table 3. 0 Ωresistor setting
Resistors
State(1)
Description
R13
(Microcontroller power
consumption measurement)
ON
When JP3 is OFF, 3.3V is connected to the microcontroller
to provide power supply
OFF
When JP3 is OFF, 3.3V allows an ammeter to be connected
to measure the power consumption of microcontroller
(if no ammeter, the microcontroller cannot be powered)
R4
(VBAT power supply)
ON
VBAT must be connected to VDD
OFF
VBAT can be powered by the pin_6 VBAT of J2
R5, R6, R7, R8
(LSE)
OFF, ON, ON, OFF
LSE clock source uses crystal Y1 on the board
ON, OFF, OFF, ON
LSE clock source is from external PC14 or PC14 and PC15
are used as GPIO.
R17
(VREF+)
ON
VREF+ is connected to VDD
OFF
VREF+ is connected to the J2 pin_21 or of ArduinoTM
connector J3 AREF
R19, R21
(USER button B2)
ON, OFF
User button B2 is connected to PA0
OFF, ON
User button B2 is connected to PC13
R29, R30
(PA11, PA12)
OFF, OFF
When PA11 and PA12 are used as USB, they are not
connected to pin_20 and pin_21 of J1.
ON, ON
When PA11 and PA12 are not used as USB, they can be
connected to pin_20 and pin_21 of J1.
R31, R32, R33, R34
(ArduinoTM A4, A5)
OFF, ON, OFF, ON
ArduinoTM A4 and A5 are connected to ADC_IN11 and
ADC_IN10
ON, OFF, ON, OFF
ArduinoTM A4 and A5 are connected to I2C1_SDA and
I2C1_SCL
R35, R36
(ArduinoTM D10)
OFF, ON
ArduinoTM D10 is connected to SPI1_SS
ON, OFF
ArduinoTM D10 is connected to PWM (TMR4_CH1)
R9
(USART1_RX)
ON
USART1_RX of AT32F403AVGT7 is connected to VCP TX
of AT-Link-EZ
OFF
USART1_RX of AT32F403AVGT7 is disconnected from
VCP TX of AT-Link-EZ
R10
(USART1_TX)
ON
USART1_TX of AT32F403AVGT7 is connected to VCP RX
of AT-Link-EZ
OFF
USART1_TX of AT32F403AVGT7 is disconnected from
VCP RX of AT-Link-EZ
(1) The factory default Rx state is shown in BOLD.

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3.11 Extension connectors
3.11.1 ArduinoTM Uno R3 extension connector
Female plug J3~J6 and male J7 support standard ArduinoTM Uno R3 connectors. Most of the
daughter boards designed around ArduinoTM Uno R3 are suitable for AT-START-F403A.
Note 1: The I/O ports of AT32F403AVGT7 are 3.3 V compatible with ArduinoTM Uno R3, but 5V
incompatible.
Note 2: Set R17 OFF if it is needed to supply power through the J3 pin_8 AREF of AT-START-F403A to
the VREF+ of AT32F403AVGT7 by means of ArduinoTM Uno R3 daughter board.
Table 4. ArduinoTM Uno R3 extension connector pin definition
Connector
Pin
number
Arduino
pin name
AT32F403A
pin name
Functions
J4
(Power supply)
1
NC
-
-
2
IOREF
-
3.3V reference
3
RESET
NRST
External reset
4
3.3V
-
3.3V input/output
5
5V
-
5V input/output
6
GND
-
Ground
7
GND
-
Ground
8
VIN
-
7~12V input/output
J6
(Analog input)
1
A0
PA0
ADC123_IN0
2
A1
PA1
ADC123_IN1
3
A2
PA4
ADC12_IN4
4
A3
PB0
ADC12_IN8
5
A4
PC1 or PB9(1)
ADC123_IN11 or I2C1_SDA
6
A5
PC0 or PB8(1)
ADC123_IN10 or I2C1_SCL
J5
(Logic input/output
low byte)
1
D0
PA3
USART2_RX
2
D1
PA2
USART2_TX
3
D2
PA10
-
4
D3
PB3
TMR2_CH2
5
D4
PB5
-
6
D5
PB4
TMR3_CH1
7
D6
PB10
TMR2_CH3
8
D7
PA8(2)
-
J3
(Logic input/output
high byte)
1
D8
PA9
-
2
D9
PC7
TMR3_CH2
3
D10
PA15 or PB6(1)(2)
SPI1_NSS or TMR4_CH1
4
D11
PA7
TMR3_CH2 or SPI1_MOSI
5
D12
PA6
SPI1_MISO
6
D13
PA5
SPI1_SCK
7
GND
-
Ground
8
AREF
-
VREF+ input/output
9
SDA
PB9
I2C1_SDA

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Connector
Pin
number
Arduino
pin name
AT32F403A
pin name
Functions
10
SCL
PB8
I2C1_SCL
J7
(Others)
1
MISO
PB14
SPI2_MISO
2
5V
-
5V input/output
3
SCK
PB13
SPI2_SCK
4
MOSI
PB15
SPI2_MOSI
5
RESET
NRST
External reset
6
GND
-
Ground
7
NSS
PB12
SPI2_NSS
8
PB11
PB11
-
(1) 0 Ωresistor setting is shown in Table 3.
(2) SPIM must be disabled and JP8 one-piece jumper must select I/O side, otherwise PA8 and PB6 cannot be
used.
3.11.2 LQFP100 I/O extension connector
The extension connector J1 and J2 can connect the AT-START-F403A to external
prototype/packing board. The I/O ports of AT32F403AVGT7 are available on these extension
connectors. J1 and J2 can also be measured with the oscilloscope, logic analyzer or voltmeter
probe.
Note 1: Set R17 OFF if it is necessary to supply power through the J2 pin_21 VREF+ of AT-START-F403A
with an external power supply,

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4 Schematic
Figure 4. Schematic (AT-Link-EZ)

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Figure 5. Schematic (microcontroller)

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Figure 6. Schematic (power supply and peripherals)

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Figure 7. Schematic (extension connectors)

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5 Revision history
Table 5. Document revision history
Date
Revision
Changes
2020.2.14
1.0
Initial release
2020.4.22
1.1
Modified LED3 to yellow
2020.12.15
1.20
1. Updated the revision code of this document to 3 digits, with the first two
for AT-START version, and the last one for the document version.
2. Updated AT-Link-EZ hardware to V1.2. Support SWO debug, added the
SWO description; and adjusted the CN7 signals, and corrected silkscreen in
accordance with Artery development tools.
3. Modified CN2 silkscreen.
4. Added GND test ring to facilitate measurement.