Digi ConnectCore 8X Quick user guide

ConnectCore® 8X
System-on-Module
Hardware Reference Manual

ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 2
Revision history—90002295
Revision Date Description
1P December
2018
Initial release
2P January
2019
Added backdrive caution.
3P May 2019 Updated entire manual, including entire MCAsection, some pin data, block
diagram, and assembly information.
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property of their respective owners.
© 2019 Digi International Inc. All rights reserved.
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any kind, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of fitness or
merchantability for a particular purpose. Digi may make improvements and/or changes in this manual
or in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this manual at any time.
Warranty
To view product warranty information, go to the following website:
www.digi.com/howtobuy/terms
Customer support
Gather support information: Before contacting Digi technical support for help, gather the following
information:
Product name and model
Product serial number (s)
Firmware version
Operating system/browser (if applicable)
Logs (from time of reported issue)
Trace (if possible)
Description of issue
Steps to reproduce
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ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 3
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Contents
About the ConnectCore® 8X
Features and functionality 6
Module variants 9
Block diagrams 9
ConnectCore 8X module 10
NXP i.MX 8X application processor 11
The ConnectCore 8X System-on-module
Power interfaces 11
Reference power architecture scheme 11
System-on-module power rails distribution 12
Electrical characteristics 15
System power-up sequence 18
RTC power and coin cell charger 18
Bootstrap 19
Wireless interfaces 20
WLAN IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 20
Bluetooth 26
PCI Express 26
CryptoAuthentication device 27
The Micro Controller Assist™ hardware 28
About the Micro Controller Assist 28
Reset control 29
IOs 29
Watchdog 31
Real-time clock 32
Pulse width modulation 32
Power management 33
MCA firmware update 36
IOMUX
Module pinout 38
IOMUX table 39
Extended LGAversion 57
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 4

ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 5
Module specifications
Environmental specifications 94
Assembly instructions
Moisture sensitivity and shelf life 96
Mounting 96
Coplanarity 96
Solder paste print 96
Stencil 96
SMT pick and place 97
SMT process parameter reference 97
Reflow profile 97

About the ConnectCore® 8X
The ConnectCore 8X is a secure and extremely cost-effective connected System-on-Module platform.
Its innovative Digi SMTplus™ (patent-pending) surface mount form factor allows you to choose
simplified design integration leveraging proven and easy-to-use edge-castellated SMT technology, or a
versatile LGA option for ultimate design flexibility with access to virtually all interfaces.
Built on the NXP i.MX 8X application processor, the module is the intelligent communication engine for
today’s secure connected devices. It integrates dual-Ethernet and pre-certified dual-band Wi-Fi
(802.11a/b/g/n/ac) with dual mode Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity.
Features and functionality
The ConnectCore 8X System-on-module is based on the i.MX 8X processor from NXP. This processor
offers a number of interfaces, some of them multiplexed and not available simultaneously. The module
has the following features:
ni.MX 8X dual/quad Arm Cortex-A35 and single Cortex-M4F cores:
lCortex-A35 cores operate up to 1.2 GHz and support Arm virtualization extensions.
lCortex-M4F core operates up to 266 MHz.
lAArch64 for 64-bit support.
lAArch32 for backward compatibility with Armv7.
nSystem Control Unit (SCU):
lPower control, clocks, and reset.
lBoot ROMs.
lPMIC interface.
lResource Domain Controller.
nGraphics Processing Unit (GPU):
l4x Vec4 shaders with 16 execution units.
lSupports OpenGL 3.0, 2.0; OpenGL EX 3.1, 3.0, 2.0 and 1.1: OpenCL 1.2 FP and 1.1; OpenVG
1.1; and Vulkan.
lHigh-performance 2D Blit Engine.
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 6

About the ConnectCore® 8X Features and functionality
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 7
nVideo Processing Unit (VPU):
lH.265 decode (4Kp30).
lH.264 decode (1080p60).
lVP6/VP8 decode (1080p60).
lMPEG-2 decode (1080p60).
lMPEG4, H263, Sorenson Spark decode (1080p).
lRealVideo decode (1080p).
lJPEG dec (64Kx64K image size).
lH.264 encode (1080p30).
nUp to 4 GB, 32-bit LPDDR4-1200 memory.
n16 GB, 8-bit eMMC memory. Higher density available depending on product variant.
nNXP PF8100 Power Management IC (PMIC):
l7x DC/DC buck converters.
l4x LDO regulators.
lOTP (one-time-programmable) memory.
lCoin cell charger.
nCryptoAuthentication device.
nSecurity accelerators:
lEnhanced High Assurance Boot (HAB) secure and encrypted boot.
lRandom Number Generator with a high-quality entropy source generator and NIST
certifiable HMAC-based DRBG.
lRSA up to 4096, Elliptic Curve up to 1023.
lAES-128/192/256, DES, 3DES, ARC4, MD5, SHA-1, SHA-224/256/384/512.
lDedicated Security Controller for Flashless SHE and HSM support, Trustzone, RTIC.
lBuilt-in ECDSA/DSA protocol support.
l10x tamper pins: up to 5 active or 10 passive.
lVoltage and temperature tamper detection to help prevent against side-channel style
attacks.
l64 kB Secure RAM (can be erased via tamper detection).
n2x2 MIMO IEEE802.11 a/b/g/n/ac.
nBluetooth 4.2.
nDebug interfaces:
lSystem JTAG controller.
lSingle Wired Debug (SWD) interface for the MCA.

About the ConnectCore® 8X Features and functionality
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 8
ni.MX 8X interfaces:
lPCIe 3.0 with L1 substate support. In wireless modules, this interface is used by the
Wireless MAC and is not available for general purposes.
l1x USBOTG 3.0 with PHY - USB 3.0 can be used as USB 2.0.
l1x USBOTG 2.0 (with PHY).
l2x Gb Ethernet with AVB.
l3x CAN/CAN-FD.
lMedia Local Bus (MLB25/50).
l6x UARTs:
o4x UARTs, three of which support hardware flow control. (One of the UARTs with
hardware flow control is used by the Bluetooth and is not available for general purposes
in wireless variants.)
o1x UART tightly coupled with Cortex-M4F cores.
o1x SCU (not available for general use).
l10x I2C. Note that I2C ports associated with a specific PHY (e.g. MIPI DSI) can be used
generally but require the PHY to be powered on even if the PHY itself is not used:
o4x I2C: High Speed, DMA support. One of them (I2C0) is used internally in the SoM and is
not available for general purposes.
o4x I2C: Low Speed, no DMA support.
o1x I2C: PMIC control (dedicated).
o1x I2C: Cortex M4F (dedicated).
l4x SAI:
oSAI0 and SAI1 are transmit/receive.
oSAI2 and SAI3 are receive-only.
l2x Quad SPI or 1x Octal SPI (FlexSPI).
l1x SD 3.0 card interface.
lDisplays:
o2x MIPI-DSI/LVDS.
o1x 24-bit parallel display up to WVGA.
lCameras:
o1x MIPI-CSI camera with 4 lanes.
o1x 8-bit parallel CSI.
l1x Enhanced Serial Audio Interface (ESAI).
l2x ASRC (Asynchronous Sample Rate Converter).
l1x SPDIF.
lMPEG-2 Transport Stream.
l1x 12-bit, 6 channel ADC converter.
l3.3 V/1.8 V GPIO.
l4x PWM channels.
l1x 4x4 KPP (Key Pad Port).

About the ConnectCore® 8X Module variants
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 9
l1x MQS (Medium Quality Sound).
l4x SPI.
nArm Cortex-M0+ Micro Controller AssistTM (MCA) subsystem:
lCortex-M0+ core operates up to 48MHz.
lPower and reset control.
lReal time clock (RTC).
l19 general purpose IOs (GPIOs), all IRQ capable with debouncing configuration.
l9 analog to digital converters (ADCs), all with comparator capabilities.
lWatchdog.
lTamper detection, both digital and analog.
l8 bytes of non volatile storage (NVRAM).
l3 UARTs, with optional hardware handshake.
l10 pulse width modulators (PWMs).
Module variants
Part number Variant Description CPU1eMMC LDPDR4
WiFi+
Bluetooth
CC-WMX-JM8E-NN 0x02 ConnectCore 8X
QuadXPlus 1.2GHz,
16GB eMMC, 2GB
LPDDR4, -40/+85C,
Wireless, Bluetooth
QuadXPlus
Quad-core
Automotive with
Cortex-M4, VPU,
GPU -
40ºC/125ºC
1.2GHz
16 GB 2 GB YES
CC-MX-JM8D-ZN 0x03 ConnectCore 8X
QuadXPlus 1.2GHz,
8GB eMMC, 2GB
LPDDR4, -40/+85C
QuadXPlus
Quad-core
Automotive with
Cortex-M4, VPU,
GPU -
40ºC/125ºC
1.2GHz
8 GB 2 GB NO
1CPU temperature is Tj (junction)
Note Contact your Digi salesperson for information on other variant configurations.
Block diagrams
The following figures show block diagrams of the ConnectCore 8X module and of the NXP i.MX 8X
application processor.

About the ConnectCore® 8X Block diagrams
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 10
ConnectCore 8X module

The ConnectCore 8X System-on-module Power interfaces
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 11
NXP i.MX 8X application processor
The ConnectCore 8X System-on-module
This section describes the functionality of the ConnectCore 8X System-on-module.
Power interfaces
Reference power architecture scheme
The following diagram represents the full power architecture distribution of the ConnectCore 8X
module in a typical application with the coin cell charger functionality supported:

The ConnectCore 8X System-on-module Power interfaces
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 12
System-on-module power rails distribution
The ConnectCore 8X requires three primary power supply inputs: VSYS, VSYS2, and VCC_MCA:
nVSYS and VSYS2 are the input power supplies to the on-module NXP PF8100 Power
Management IC (PMIC), as well as to most of its regulators. Some PMIC regulators are
internally dedicated to powering the module, while others power external circuitry.
nVCC_MCA is the input power supply of the on-module Micro Controller Assist.
Two additional linear dropout regulators (LDO3 and LDO4), which have a dedicated input power line,
are available to power carrier board external circuitry. These additional regulators are not mandatory.
The following table summarizes the PMIC regulators of the ConnectCore 8X SOM:

The ConnectCore 8X System-on-module Power interfaces
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 13
PMIC
regulator
SoM power rail
name
Input
power
supply
Internally
used
Externally
available Comments
SW1 - VSYS2 YES NO
SW2 - VSYS2 YES NO
SW3 - VSYS2 YES NO
SW4 - VSYS2 YES NO
SW5 - VSYS2 YES NO
SW6 1V8 VSYS2 YES YES General purpose 1.8V power
rail for external circuitry. Also
used internally in the SoM.
SW7 3V3 VSYS YES YES General purpose 3.3V power
rail for external circuitry. Also
used internally in the SoM.
LDO1 VCC_SCU_1V8 VSYS2 YES YES Power supply for the i.MX 8X
System Control Unit (SCU).
Digi recommends not using
this power rail externally
unless otherwise noted.
LDO2 VDD_EMMC0 VSYS2 YES YES Used for powering the
internal eMMC0 memory. Digi
recommends not using this
power rail externally unless
otherwise noted.
LDO3 LDO3 LDO3IN NO YES
LDO4 LDO4 LDO4IN NO YES
VSNVS VCC_SNVS_
LDO_1V8
VSYS / VCC_
LICELL
YES YES An always-on power domain
of the CPU that powers
some core functionality of
the SoM. Do not use this
power rail externally.
Note VCC_LICELL is the input power for the PMIC VSNVS regulator, which is normally used to power
the CPU in low-power mode (RTC). This pin also supports coin cell charger functionality for Li-ion
rechargeable batteries or supercapacitors. However, RTC mode in the ConnectCore 8X is supported
by the ConnectCore 8X MCA, not by the i.MX 8X. Therefore, in order to supply the RTC of the system,
do not use VCC_LICELL as an input power rail. Instead, follow the configuration explained in RTC
power and coin cell charger.
In addition to the input power supplies of the PMIC, other power domains of the SoM must also be set
externally. This allows power management flexibility so you can adapt the input voltage of the
different interfaces. The following table lists the input power rails that must be powered externally to
the SoM together with the devices/power domains they power:

The ConnectCore 8X System-on-module Power interfaces
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 14
Input rail
Device
being
powered
Internal power domains being
powered Description
VCC_MCA Micro
Controller
Assist
Full device Input power supply
for the ConnectCore
8X MCA. This power
domain is
mandatory.
VDD_USDHC1 i.MX 8X CPU VDD_USDHC1_1P8_3P3 Input power supply
for the USDHC1
interface. This
interface is typically
connected to a
microSD socket,
which also allows
booting from the
microSD card. Digi
recommends that
this power domain
be connected to a
flexible power
supply (LDO3/4) so
it can work at its
highest speed by
adjusting input
voltage level.
VDD_MIPI_DSI_DIG i.MX 8X CPU VDD_MIPI_DSI_DIG_1P8_3P3 Input power supply
for DSI0 and DSI1
dedicated GPIOs
and I2C buses.
VDD_ENET0 i.MX 8X CPU nVDD_ENET0_VSELECT_1P8_2P5_3P3
nVDD_ENET0_1P8_2P5_3P3
nVDD_ENET_MDIO_1P8_3P3
Input power supply
for the ENET0
interface, including
the MDIO bus.
Because all ENET0-
related CPU blocks
are powered from
the same power
rail, 2.5V
configuration is not
available. (The MDIO
bus does not work
at this voltage.)
VDD_ESAI_SPDIF i.MX 8X CPU VDD_ESAI_SPDIF_1P8_2P5_3P3 Input power supply
for ESAI0 and
SPDIF0 interfaces.

The ConnectCore 8X System-on-module Power interfaces
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 15
Input rail
Device
being
powered
Internal power domains being
powered Description
VDD_SPI_SAI i.MX 8X CPU VDD_SPI_SAI_1P8_3P3 Input power supply
for SAI0, SAI1, SPI0
and SPI2 interfaces.
VDD_QSPI0B i.MX 8X CPU VDD_QSPI0B_1P8_3P3 Input power supply
for QSPI0B
interface.
VDD_CSI i.MX 8X CPU nVDD_TMPR_CSI_1P8_3P3
nVDD_CSI_1P8_3P3
Input power supply
for CSI interface.
USB_OTG1_VBUS i.MX 8X CPU USB_OTG1_VBUS Input power supply
for the USB1
interface VBUS.
Two additional power domains of the CPU are connected to the module LGA pads:
nVDD_PCIE_DIG
nNVCC_MIPI_CSI_DSI
These power domains are powered internally in the SoM and must not be connected to external
circuitry unless otherwise noted.
Electrical characteristics
Input power rails
The following table lists the electrical specifications of all input power rails for the ConnectCore 8X:
Device SoM power rail Input voltage (V)
Minimum Typical Maximum
PMIC
VSYS TBD
(2.7)
- 5.5
VSYS2 TBD
(3.0)
- 5.5
LDO3IN 2.51- 5.5
LDO4IN 2.51- 5.5
MCA VCC_MCA 2.4 - 3.6
1When VLDOx > 2.5V, minimum input voltage for the LDOs will be the nominal output voltage plus
0.25V.

The ConnectCore 8X System-on-module Power interfaces
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 16
Device SoM power rail Input voltage (V)
Minimum Typical Maximum
CPU
VDD_USDHC1
VDD_MIPI_DSI_DIG
VDD_ENET0
VDD_SPI_SAI
VDD_QSPI0B
VDD_CSI
1.8V mode 1.65 1.8 1.95
3.3V mode 3.00 3.30 3.60
VDD_ESAI_SPDIF
1.8V mode 1.65 1.8 3.60
2.5V mode 2.40 2.50 2.60
3.3V mode 3.00 3.30 3.60
USB_OTG1_VBUS 4.4 - 5.5

The ConnectCore 8X System-on-module Power interfaces ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 17
Output power rails
The following table lists the electrical specifications of all output power rails for the ConnectCore 8X:
Device SoM power rail Used
internally
in the
SoM
Output voltage (V) Accuracy (%) Max
output
current
(mA)1
Turn-on time
(us)
Turn-off time
(us)
Min Typ Max Min Typ Max Min Typ Max Min Typ Max
PMIC
SW6 1V8 YES - 1.80 - -2.0 - 2.0 2500 36 160 279 - - -
SW7 3V3 YES - 3.30 - -2.0 - 2.0 2500 - - 200
2
- - -
LD01 VCC_SCU_1V8 YES - 1.80 - -3.0 - 3.0 400 - - 500 - - 2500
LD02 VDD_EMMC0 YES - 3.30 - -3.0 - 3.0 400 - - 500 - - 2500
LD03 LDO3 NO 1.5 - 5.0 -3.0 - 3.0 400 - - 500 - - 2500
LD04 LDO4 NO 1.5 - 5.0 -3.0 - 3.0 400 - - 500 - - 2500
VSNVS VCC_LICELL
(coin cell
charger)
2.6 V
to
3.6 V
YES
1.8
- 3.6 -3.0 - 3.0
0.060
1.8 V
to
2.5 V
YES -4.0 - 4.0
1Note that the maximum output current involves both external and internal circuitry. For those regulators that are used internally in the SOM, the
current available outside it will be lower.
2Turn-on time for this regulator is specified for VSW7 = 1.8 V. In the ConnectCore 8X this regulator is configured to work at 3.3V, so a higher turn-on time
may be observed.
Note For a complete description of the electrical characteristics of the different output power rails (PMIC regulators), see the NXP PF8x00 datasheet.

The ConnectCore 8X System-on-module Power interfaces
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 18
System power-up sequence
When the power supply is connected to the ConnectCore 8X module, the PMIC and the MCA are the
first components to be powered up. VSYS and VSYS2 are PMIC supplies, while VCC_MCA is the Micro
Controller Assist input power line. The system power-up sequence is as follows:
1. The MCA starts to run as soon as it is powered up. After a certain programmable time, it will
release the PWRON line of the PMIC(PMIC power on/off).
2. Once the PMIC is switched on, it starts an initialization process as determined by its OTPs.
Finally the CPU reset line, which is controlled by both the PMIC and the MCA, is released.
The following time diagram shows the power-up sequence.
RTC power and coin cell charger
The VCC_LICELL pin supports coin cell charger functionality. This pin is also the input power supply for
an always-on regulator of the PMIC (VSNVS) that feeds the low-power mode circuitry of the CPU. In
the ConnectCore 8X module, the low-power modes of the system (RTC) are supported by the on-
module MCA, not by the i.MX 8X CPU. Therefore, in order to reduce the static power consumption of
the SoM, do not power the VSNVS regulator in low power mode. The coin cell should only power the
VCC_MCA power domain through the diode configuration as shown in the following diagrams.
If the coin-cell charger functionality is mandatory, place a reverse diode between VCC_LICELL and the
coin cell.

The ConnectCore 8X System-on-module Bootstrap
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 19
RTC connection without coin cell charger
RTC connection with coin cell charger
Note This hardware configuration has been validated with the Panasonic DB2J31400L diode, which
has a low reverse leakage current (300nA) that is ideal for this low-power mode application.
Bootstrap
The ConnectCore 8X module can be configured to boot from different devices and interfaces as
determined by the Boot ROM. The configuration of the booting process of the CPU is done through the
SCU (System Control Unit) boot mode.
The BOOT_MODE is initialized by the SCU at the rising edge of POR_B, when it latched the SCU_
BOOT_MODE lines. Once these lines are sampled, the subsequent state does not affect the content of
the BOOT_MODE, which is tracked by the SCU.
The following table describes the eight boot modes that are supported by the ConnectCore 8X
module:
BOOT_MODE
[3]
BOOT_MODE
[2]
BOOT_MODE
[1]
BOOT_MODE
[0] Boot mode
0 0 0 0 Boot from eFuses

The ConnectCore 8X System-on-module Wireless interfaces
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 20
BOOT_MODE
[3]
BOOT_MODE
[2]
BOOT_MODE
[1]
BOOT_MODE
[0] Boot mode
0 0 0 1 USB Serial Download
0 0 1 0 USDHC Boot: eMMC0
0 0 1 1 USDHC Boot: USDHC1
0 1 0 0 NAND Boot: 128 pages in
Block
0 1 0 1 NAND Boot: 32 pages in Block
0 1 1 0 FlexSPI Boot: 3B read
0 1 1 1 FlexSPI Boot: Hyperflash 3.0
These BOOT_MODE lines are referred to the VCC_SCU_1V8 power domain. By default, none of them
are configured inside the module. To configure the desired boot mode, they must be driven low or high
in the carrier board in the following way:
nTo set high level, place a 4.7K pull-up to VCC_SCU_1V8.
nTo set low level, place a 100K pull-down to GND.
Wireless interfaces
The ConnectCore 8X System-on-module combines a wireless local area network (WLAN) and Bluetooth
dual solution to support MIMO 2x2 IEEE802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WLAN standards and Bluetooth 4.2, enabling
seamless integration of WLAN/Bluetooth and Low Energy technology.
The following sections include specifications for the wireless interfaces available on the ConnectCore
8X module.
WLAN IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
The 2.4 GHz band on the ConnectCore 8X module supports 20/40 MHz bandwidths, and the 5 GHz
band supports 20/40/80 MHz bandwidths. The following sections specify the performance of the WLAN
IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac interface on the ConnectCore 8X module.
Modulation and data rates
The following tables list modulation values for the ConnectCore 8X module, which supports the
following WLAN standards: