Avnet SMARC MSC SM2S-IMX8MINI User manual

SMARC™Module
MSC SM2S-IMX8MINI
SMARC Rev. 2.0 Standard
30.04.2021 Rev. 1.4
User Manual

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User Manual
Preface
Copyright Notice
Copyright © 2021 MSC Technologies GmbH. All rights reserved.
Copying of this document, and providing to others and the use or communication of the contents thereof, is forbidden without
express authority of MSC Technologies GmbH. Offenders are liable to the payment of damages.
All rights are reserved in the event of the grant of a patent or the registration of a utility model or design.
Important Information
This documentation is intended for qualified audiences only. The product described herein is not an end user product. It was
developed and manufactured for further processing by trained personnel.
Disclaimer
Although this document has been generated with the utmost care no warranty or liability for correctness or suitability for any
particular purpose is implied. The information in this document is provided “as is” and is subject to change without notice.
EMC Rules
This unit has to be installed in a shielded housing. If not installed in a properly shielded enclosure, and used in accordance with
the instruction manual, this product may cause radio interference in which case the user may be required to take adequate
measures at his or her owns expense.
Trademarks
All used product names, logos or trademarks are property of their respective owners.

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Certification
MSC Technologies GmbH is certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001:2000 standards.
Life-Cycle-Management
MSC products are developed and manufactured according to high quality standards. Our life-cycle-management assures long
term availability through permanent product maintenance. Technically necessary changes and improvements are introduced if
applicable. A product- change-notification and end-of-life management process assures early information of our customers.
Product Support
MSC engineers and technicians are committed to provide support to our customers whenever needed.
Before contacting Technical Support of MSC Technologies GmbH, please consult the respective pages on our web site at
https://www.msc-technologies.eu/support/boards.html for the latest documentation, drivers and software downloads.
If the information provided there does not solve your problem, please contact our Avnet Integrated /MSC Technical Support:
Phone: +49 - 8165 906 - 200
Email: [e-mail]

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Contents
1INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................................................................11
1.1 Key Features .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................11
1.2 Block Diagram ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................16
1.3 Power Supply.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................17
1.4 Power Consumption ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................17
1.4.1 Use Cases.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................17
1.4.2 Hardware used..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................18
1.4.3 Measurement Results ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................18
1.5 Mechanical Dimensions.................................................................................................................................................................................................................19
1.6 Mechanical Distortion of PCB........................................................................................................................................................................................................20
2THERMAL SPECIFICATIONS..............................................................................................................................................................................21
2.1 Thermal Definitions........................................................................................................................................................................................................................21
3MODULE CONNECTOR PINOUT........................................................................................................................................................................23
4MODULE CONNECTOR SIGNAL DESCRIPTION...............................................................................................................................................27
4.1 I²S ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................27
4.2 Ethernet .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................28
4.3 PCI Express...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................30
4.4 USB................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................30
4.5 Camera..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................32
4.6 LVDS..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................33
4.7 SPI Bus..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................35
4.8 CAN ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................37
4.9 GPIO..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................38
4.10 SDIO..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................39
4.11 UART.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................40
4.12 I²C Bus...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................41
4.13 Watchdog.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................43
4.14 System Management.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................43
4.15 Boot Options..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................45
5FUNCTIONS ON MODULE ..................................................................................................................................................................................47
5.1 CPU Options..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................47
5.2 Power-Up Behaviour......................................................................................................................................................................................................................47
5.2.1 Power-On Sequencing ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................48
5.2.2 Reset Sequencing.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................49
5.3 Memory..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................50

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5.3.1 SDRAM .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................50
5.3.2 eMMC............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................50
5.3.3 EEPROM.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................51
5.4 Trusted Platform Module ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................51
5.5 WiFi/Bluetooth ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................52
5.6 MicroSD Card Socket....................................................................................................................................................................................................................52
5.7 Debug Options...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................52
5.7.1 Debug Connector..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................52
5.7.2 JTAG Connector............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................54
6BUS AND ADDRESS MAPPING..........................................................................................................................................................................56
6.1 I²C Devices ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................56
6.2 SPI Devices ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................57
7BOARD SUPPORT PACKAGE (BSP).................................................................................................................................................................58
7.1 General information .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................58
7.2 MSC-LDK (Yocto)..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................58
7.2.1 MSC-LDK Terms...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................58
7.2.2 Getting Started..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................58
7.2.3 Setup the MSC-LDK build environment.........................................................................................................................................................................................................60
7.2.4 Generate images...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................68
7.2.5 Image Deployment ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................71
7.3 Running an Image .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................71
7.3.1 Booting SPL (secondary program loader)/U-Boot.........................................................................................................................................................................................71
7.3.2 Booting OS....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................74
7.3.3 Login to FS....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................80
7.3.4 SMARC GPIO access...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................80
7.3.5 Bug Reporting ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................81
7.4 Hotfixes and updating MSC-LDK...................................................................................................................................................................................................85
8TROUBLESHOOTING .........................................................................................................................................................................................87
8.1 Known issues and limitations.........................................................................................................................................................................................................87
8.1.1 Issue 1. SPI interfaces not available on MSC SM2S-IMX8MINIQC-14N0261I variant Both CAN transceivers drive SPI[0:1]_DIN signals low even though not selected by
chip select signal. ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................87
8.2 Support ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................87

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Figure 1-1: Block Diagram.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................16
Figure 1-2: Module Dimensions.................................................................................................................................................................................................................19
Figure 1-3: Overall height without heat spreader of the SMARC™ Module..............................................................................................................................................19
Figure 1-4: Distance between mounting holes..........................................................................................................................................................................................20
Figure 2-1: Defined Temperature Point.....................................................................................................................................................................................................22
Figure 5-1: Start-up Sequence ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................48
Figure 5-2: Power-On Timings ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................48
Figure 5-3: Reset Sequencing...................................................................................................................................................................................................................49
Figure 5-4: Reset Timings .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................49
Figure 5-5: Module top side with debug UART FFC connectors marked in red*.......................................................................................................................................53
Figure 5-6: Module top side with MSC UART debug adapter...................................................................................................................................................................53
Figure 5-7: Module bottom side with JTAG FFC connectors marked in red*............................................................................................................................................55
Figure 5-8: Module bottom side with MSC JTAG debug adapter..............................................................................................................................................................55
Figure 7-1. RSA key generation................................................................................................................................................................................................................59
Figure 7-2. Clone base MSC-LDK repo.....................................................................................................................................................................................................61
Figure 7-3. Initial content of the root MSC-LDK directory..........................................................................................................................................................................61
Figure 7-4. Create build directory..............................................................................................................................................................................................................62
Figure 7-5. Base directory content after setup build directory...................................................................................................................................................................62
Figure 7-6. Enter build directory................................................................................................................................................................................................................63
Figure 7-7. Prepare docker container for MSC-LDK. Part 1......................................................................................................................................................................64
Figure 7-8. Prepare docker container for MSC-LDK. Part 2......................................................................................................................................................................64
Figure 7-9. Prepare docker container for MSC-LDK. Part 3......................................................................................................................................................................65
Figure 7-10. Start and enter the MSC-LDK container. ..............................................................................................................................................................................65
Figure 7-11. Leave the MSC-LDK container. ............................................................................................................................................................................................66
Figure 7-12. Re-start and re-enter the MSC-LDK container.....................................................................................................................................................................66
Figure 7-13. Stop the MSC-LDK container and release its resources. .....................................................................................................................................................67
Figure 7-14. Building msc-image-qt5 image..............................................................................................................................................................................................69
Figure 7-15. Content of ‘version_layer’ file. ...............................................................................................................................................................................................70
Figure 7-16. SPL boot selector on EP1 carrier board (S2801)..................................................................................................................................................................71
Figure 7-17. Forced SPL boot from carrier SD card..................................................................................................................................................................................72
Figure 7-18. SPL boot selector on EP1 carrier board (S2801). eMMC flash boot mode (default)............................................................................................................72
Figure 7-19. SPL boot from module eMMC flash......................................................................................................................................................................................73
Figure 7-20. Booting OS (linux) from on-carrier SD card..........................................................................................................................................................................74
Figure 7-21. Booting OS (linux) from on-module eMMC flash. .................................................................................................................................................................75
Figure 7-22. Preparing U-Boot environment for net boot..........................................................................................................................................................................76
Figure 7-23. Booting OS (linux) from network...........................................................................................................................................................................................78
Figure 7-24. Booting OS (linux) from USB device (pen drive)...................................................................................................................................................................79
Figure 7-25. Bug report. Main page...........................................................................................................................................................................................................81
Figure 7-26. Bug report. User message editor..........................................................................................................................................................................................82
Figure 7-27. Bug report. Viewer page. ......................................................................................................................................................................................................83
Figure 7-28. Bug report. Zip archive content selector. .............................................................................................................................................................................84

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Figure 7-29. Bug report. Target partition selector. ....................................................................................................................................................................................85
Table 1: Module Power Inputs...................................................................................................................................................................................................................17
Table 2: Modules used for Power Consumption Measurement ................................................................................................................................................................18
Table 3: Typical Power Consumption Measurement * ...............................................................................................................................................................................18
Table 4: Temperature Range ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................22
Table 5: Module Connector Pinout............................................................................................................................................................................................................23
Table 6: I²S Signal Description..................................................................................................................................................................................................................27
Table 7: Ethernet Signal Description.........................................................................................................................................................................................................28
Table 8: PCIe Signal Description...............................................................................................................................................................................................................30
Table 9: USB Signal Description...............................................................................................................................................................................................................31
Table 10: HDMI Signal Description ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................32
Table 11: LVDS Signal Description ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................34
Table 12: SPI Signal Description...............................................................................................................................................................................................................36
Table 13: CAN Signal Description* ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................37
Table 14: GPIO Signal Description............................................................................................................................................................................................................38
Table 15: SDIO Signal Description............................................................................................................................................................................................................39
Table 16: UART Signal Description...........................................................................................................................................................................................................41
Table 17: I²C Signal Description................................................................................................................................................................................................................42
Table 18: Watchdog Signal Description ....................................................................................................................................................................................................43
Table 19: System Management Signal Description ..................................................................................................................................................................................43
Table 20: Boot Options Control Signal Description...................................................................................................................................................................................45
Table 21: Boot Options..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................46
Table 22: Available SDRAM options .........................................................................................................................................................................................................50
Table 23: Available eMMC devices ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................50
Table 24: I²C Interfaces Overview.............................................................................................................................................................................................................56
Table 25: SPI Interfaces Overview............................................................................................................................................................................................................57
Table 26: Available images .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................68
Table 27: Carrier SD Card Boot Mode ......................................................................................................................................................................................................74
Table 28: eMMC Boot Mode......................................................................................................................................................................................................................75
Table 29: Network Boot Mode...................................................................................................................................................................................................................76
Table 30: USB Boot Mode.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................78
Table 31. Available DT-blobs. ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................79
Table 32. Available user accounts.............................................................................................................................................................................................................80
Table 33. Available SMARC GPIOs ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................80

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Revision History
Rev.
Date
Description
1.0
July 31, 2020
First Release
1.1
September 16, 2020
Added comment in section EEPROM
1.2
February 10, 2021
Bug fix
1.3
March 17, 2021
Fix USB Boot option and Section 2.1
1.4
April 30, 2021
Corrected Section 4.5 Camera

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Reference Documents
[1] SMARC™Specification
Revision 2.0
Last update: June 2nd 2016
http://www.sget.org
[2] IEEE Std. 802.3-2002
802.3-2002.pdf
http://www.ieee.org
[3] i.MX8 Series of Application Processors
IMX8MMIEC.pdf
http://www.nxp.com
[4] Module Datasheet
MSC-SM2S-IMX8MINI.pdf
https://www.msc-technologies.eu/products-solutions/products/boards/smarc/msc-sm2s-imx8mini.html
[5] i.MX Yocto Project User’s Guide
i.MX_Yocto_Project_User's_Guide.pdf
Rev. L4.19.35_1.1.0, 11/2019
http://www.nxp.com
[6] i.MX Reference Manual.
i.MX_Reference_Manual.pdf
Rev. L4.19.35-1.1.0, 11/2019
http://www.nxp.com
[7] i.MX Linux User’s Guide
i.MX_Linux_User's_Guide.pdf
Rev. L4.19.35_1.1.0, 11/2019
http://www.nxp.com
[8] i.MX Porting Guide
i.MX_Porting_Guide.pdf
Rev. L4.19.35_1.1.0, 11/2019
http://www.nxp.com

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[9] Docker documentation
https://docs.docker.com/

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1Introduction
SMARC™modules are compact, highly integrated Single Board
Computers.
Typically a SMARC™module consists of a CPU, chipset, memory,
Ethernet controller and USB controller. Interface controllers or
connectors (e.g. RJ45) are implemented on a base board on to which
the SMARC™module can be mounted.
In addition to the power supply PCIe, USB, etc. interfaces are present
on the connector.
Due to the standardized mechanics and interfaces the system can be
scaled arbitrarily. Despite the modular conceptthe system design is very
flat and compact.
SMARC™modules require a carrier board to build a working system.
For evaluation purposes MSC recommends the MSC SM2-MB-EP1
Evaluation Board.
1.1Key Features
SoC:
•NXP™i.MX8M Mini ARM® CORTEX™-A53
Assembly options for i.MX8M Mini single, dual or quad-core
SDRAM:
•Up to 4GB LPDDR4
Video:
•Dual Channel LVDS 18-bit/24-bit (1920x1080 max.) or 1x Single Channel LVDS (1366x768 max.) or 1x MIPI-DSI 4 lane (1920x1080 max.)
Audio:
•2x I²S links for audio codec connection

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Camera Interface:
•1x MIPI CSI-2 2 Lane or 1x MIPI CSI-2 4 Lane *
PCI Express Interface:
•Up to 1x PCIe x1 Gen.2 *
Network:
•Up to 2x 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet *
•Optional: H&D Wireless™Module SPB209A with 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.2 with BLE support *
USB:
•1x USB2.0 Host Port with device Interface capability and on-the-go (OTG) support
•1x USB2.0 Host Port or 4x USB2.0 Host Ports (with additional USB hub populated on module)
GPIO:
•12x GPIO configurable as input or output (push-pull or open-drain).
SPI:
•2x SPI with 2 chip selects each *

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I²C Bus:
•1x I²C for power Management functions
•1x I²C bus for general purposes
•1x I²C bus for display interface
•1x I²C bus for camera interface
UART:
•2x UART without RTS/CTS support
•2x UART with RTS/CTS support
Flash:
•Up to 64GByte eMMC NAND flash
•Optional: 32Mbit QSPI NOR Flash
Storage Interface:
•1bit/4bit SD/SDIO/MMC Interface
•Optional: on module microSD Card Socket *
EEPROM:
•64Kbit EEPROM for module information and user applications
CAN:
•Optional: 2x CAN 2.0B (up to 1Mbps) *

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Real-time Clock:
•High accuracy RTC
•Optional RTC with temperature compensated DTCXO
Watchdog:
•Module provides a watchdog connected to the SMARC™ connector
Security Device:
•Advanced Security, Safety, and Reliability integrated in the SOC
•Optional Trusted Platform Module 2.0 (TPM): Infineon™SLB9673 or STMicroelectronics™ST33TPHF20I2C
Environment Temperature:
•0° … 70°C (all components commercial temp. or better)
•-40° … 85°C (all components industrial temp.)
•-40° … 85°C (storage)
Environment Humidity:
•5 … 95% (operating)
•5… 95% (storage)
*NOTES:
- the second Ethernet interfaces makes use of the PCIe interface, so the PCIe Lane is not available when second Ethernet is populated (mutually exclusive
assembly option)
microSD card socket and Wireless/BT module are mutually exclusive assembly options.
CSI 2-Lane and CSI 4-Lane are mutual exclusive assembly options.

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The SPI interface(s) are used to implement the optional CAN interface(s) and so are mutually exclusive options. If two CAN controllers are used then the
two SPI buses are not available.

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1.2Block Diagram Figure 1-1: Block Diagram

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1.3Power Supply Table 1: Module Power Inputs
Power Rail
Description
VDD_IN
Primary power input
Nominal
+5V
Voltage Range
+4.75V ... +5.25V
Max. Input Ripple
±100mV
Max. Rate of Voltage Rise
< 250V/s
VDD_RTC
May be sourced from a Lithium cell or a Super Cap.
Nominal
+3V
Voltage Range
+1.5V ... +5.5V
Max. Input Ripple
±20mV
Current
0.18µA typ. @ VDD = 3V
(1µA max.)
GND
Power and signal return path. All available GND
connector pins shall be connected and tied to Carrier
Board GND plane.
1.4Power Consumption
1.4.1 Use Cases
•Uboot Idle: Ethernet link established, no display used, no USB devices
•Linux Idle: Ethernet link established, no display used, no USB devices
•Linux Heavy Load: CPU load 100% on each core, memory tester, LVDS display, Ethernet traffic generated with iperf
•Deep Sleep: wake on power button press

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1.4.2 Hardware used
Table 2: Modules used for Power Consumption Measurement
Order
Number
Reference
CPU
RAM
Temp. Range
78402
MSC SM2S-IMX8MINIQC-14N0261I PCBFTX
i.MX8M Mini Quad, Quad-Core Cortex-A53 at 1.8GHz
2G LPDDR4
-40°C to +85°C
78370
MSC SM2S-IMX8MINIQC-13N4200I PCBFTX
i.MX8M Mini Quad, Quad-Core Cortex-A53 at 1.8GHz
2G LPDDR4
-40°C to +85°C
79649
MSC SM2S-IMX8MINIQC-03N0840E PCBFTX
i.MX8M Mini Quad, Quad-Core Cortex-A53 at 1.8GHz
1G LPDDR4
-25°C to +85°C
78368
MSC SM2S-IMX8MINIDC-03N4200I PCBFTX
i.MX8M Mini Dual, Dual-Core Cortex-A53 at 1.8GHz
1G LPDDR4
-40°C to +85°C
78404
MSC SM2S-IMX8MINISC-03N4210I PCBFTX
i.MX8M Mini Solo, Single-Core Cortex-A53 at 1.8GHz
1G LPDDR4
-40°C to +85°C
78406
MSC SM2S-IMX8MINISCL-03N0880I PCBFTX
i.MX8M Mini Solo Lite, Single-Core Cortex-A53 at 1.8GHz
1G LPDDR4
-40°C to +85°C
1.4.3 Measurement Results
Table 3: Typical Power Consumption Measurement*
Order
Number
Reference
Uboot Idle [W]
Linux idle [W]
Linux Heavy
Load [W]
Deep Sleep [W]
78402
MSC SM2S-IMX8MINIQC-14N0261I PCBFTX
2.045
1.790
4.650
0.315
78370
MSC SM2S-IMX8MINIQC-13N4200I PCBFTX
2.030
1.780
4.610
0.315
79649
MSC SM2S-IMX8MINIQC-03N0840E PCBFTX
1.950
1.710
4.320
0.140
78368
MSC SM2S-IMX8MINIDC-03N4200I PCBFTX
1.905
1.615
3.820
0.350
78404
MSC SM2S-IMX8MINISC-03N4210I PCBFTX
1.810
1.580
3.050
0.310
78406
MSC SM2S-IMX8MINISCL-03N0880I PCBFTX
1.925
1.660
3.046
0.140
*NOTE: Unless stated otherwise, all measurements were taken at room temperature approx 23°C.

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1.5Mechanical Dimensions Figure 1-2: Module Dimensions
Figure 1-3: Overall height without heat spreader of the SMARC™ Module
The overall height is dependent on the MXM3 connector used on the baseboard.
Carrier PCB
Module PCB 1.2mm
BOT Side –Component 1.3mm max
TOP Side –Component 3.0mm max
1.5mm min
5.7mm min

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1.6Mechanical Distortion of PCB
For thermal heat dissipation the heat sink needs to have a good mechanical contact to the CPU housing which means the heat sink should be mounted
such that there is some mechanical stress applied. The higher the force applied the better the thermal resistance and consequently the better the
thermal cooling. This pressure may result in a slight mechanical bending of the SMARC module PCB.
Production tolerance, material deviation and thermal expansion lead to a range of possible pressure range and bending. A negative pressure with an
air gap between the heat spreader and the chip case needs to be avoided and likewise too much distortion.
Component types and their distance to the heat spreader mounting holes need to be considered.
Referring to data sheets of the relevant parts and referring to AEC-Q200 the bending needs to be less than 1mm over 90mm. (1.11%) →0.75mm
Figure 1-4: Distance between mounting holes
68mm