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.
Trademarks and copyright
Digi, Digi International, and the Digi logo are trademarks or registered trademarks in the United
States and other countries worldwide. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the
property of their respective owners.
© 2019 Digi International Inc. All rights reserved.
Disclaimers
Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a
commitment on the part of Digi International. Digi provides this document “as is,” without warranty of
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
Contact Digi technical support: Digi offers multiple technical support plans and service packages.
Contact us at +1 952.912.3444 or visit us at www.digi.com/support.
Feedback
To provide feedback on this document, email your comments to

ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 3
[e-mail]
Include the document title and part number (ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware
Reference Manual, 90002295 2P) in the subject line of your email.

Contents
About the ConnectCore® 8X
Features and functionality 6
ConnectCore 8X module variants 9
Block diagrams 10
ConnectCore 8X module 11
NXP i.MX 8X application processor 12
The ConnectCore 8X System-on-Module
Power interfaces 12
System-on-Module input power supply 12
Internal Power Domains 13
Electrical characteristics 15
System power-up sequence 18
RTC power and coin cell charger 18
Reference power architecture scheme 19
Bootstrap 20
Wireless interfaces 21
WLAN IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 21
Bluetooth 27
MIMO 2x2 27
CryptoAuthentication device 27
The Micro Controller Assist™ hardware 27
About the Micro Controller Assist 27
Module lines related to the MCA 28
Reset control 30
IOs 31
Watchdog 33
Real-time clock 33
Power management 33
MCA firmware update 36
IOMUX
Module pinout 38
IOMUX table 39
Extended LGAVerson 56
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 4

ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 5
Module specifications
Environmental specifications 89

About the ConnectCore® 8X
The ConnectCore 8X delivers a secure and extremely cost-effective connected System-on-Module
platform that is slightly bigger than a postage stamp. 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 seamlessly integrates dual-Ethernet and pre-certified dual-band
Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac) with Bluetooth 4.2 dual mode 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, 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.
n8 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
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 it's 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 them support hardware flow control. One of the UARTs with
hardware flow control is used is used by the Bluetooth and it's not available for general
purposes.
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.
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).
l1x MQS (Medium Quality Sound).
l4x SPI.

About the ConnectCore® 8X ConnectCore 8X module variants
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 9
nArm Cortex-M0+ Micro Controller AssistTM (MCA) subsystem:
lCortex-M0+ core operates up to 48 MHz.
lPower and reset control.
lRTC.
lPeripherals:
o1x UART operating up to 1.5 Mbit/s.
o2x low-power UART modules supporting asynchronous operation in low-power modes.
o2x I2C modules supporting up to 1 Mbit/s.
o2x 16-bit SPI modules supporting up to 24 Mbit/s for SPI1 and 12 Mbit/s for SPI0.
o1x FlexIO module supporting emulation of additional UART, SPI, I2C, I2S, PWM and other
serial modules.
o1x 16-bit ADC module with high accurate internal voltage reference, up to 20 channels
and up to 818 ksps at equal to or less than 13-bit mode.
oHigh-speed analog comparator containing a 6-bit DAC for programmable reference
input.
ConnectCore 8X module variants
Smart part
number
Part
number
ConnectCore
8X SoM
variant Description CPU1eMMC LDPDR4
WiFi+
Bluetooth
CC-WMX-
JM7D-NN
55001984-
01
0x01 ConnectCore
8X
QuadXPlus
1.2GHz, 8GB
eMMC, 1GB
LPDDR4, -
40/+85C,
Wireless,
Bluetooth
QuadXPlus
Quad-core
Automotive
with
Cortex-M4,
VPU, GPU -
40ºC/125ºC
1.2GHz
8GB 1GB YES
CC-WMX-
JM8E-NN
55001984-
02
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
16GB 2GB YES

About the ConnectCore® 8X Block diagrams
ConnectCore® 8X System-on-Module Hardware Reference Manual 10
Smart part
number
Part
number
ConnectCore
8X SoM
variant Description CPU1eMMC LDPDR4
WiFi+
Bluetooth
CC-MX-
JM8D-ZN
55001984-
03
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
8GB 2GB NO
CC-WMX-
JN7D-NN
55001984-
04
0x04 ConnectCore
8X DualXPlus
1.2GHz, 8GB
eMMC, 1GB
LPDDR4, -
40/+85C,
Wireless,
Bluetooth
DualXPlus
Dual-core
Automotive
with
Cortex-M4,
VPU, GPU -
40ºC/125ºC
1.2GHz
8GB 1GB YES
CC-MX-
JN7D-ZN
55001984-
05
0x05 ConnectCore
8X DualXPlus
1.2GHz, 8GB
eMMC, 1GB
LPDDR4, -
40/+85C
DualXPlus
Dual-core
Automotive
with
Cortex-M4,
VPU, GPU -
40ºC/125ºC
1.2GHz
8GB 1GB NO
1CPU temperature is Tj (junction)
Block diagrams
The following figures show block diagrams of the ConnectCore 8X module and of the NXP i.MX 8X
application processor.