NXP Semiconductors UM11483 User manual

UM11483
Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M
Quad EVK Running Linux OS
Rev. 2 — 21 January 2021 User manual
Document information
Information Content
Keywords i.MX 8M Quad Evaluation Kit (EVK), 88W8987-based wireless module,
88W8997-based wireless module
Abstract Details the bring-up of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on NXP-based wirelesss modules
connected with i.MX 8M Quad EVK running on Linux OS

NXP Semiconductors UM11483
Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
Rev Date Description
v.1 20201015 Initial version
v.2 20210121 Modifications
•Extended the scope to 88W8987- and 88W8997-based wireless modules
•Updated the document title and overall document structure
Revision history
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Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
1 About this document
1.1 Purpose and scope
This document details the enabling of wireless solutions on i.MX 8M Quad evaluation
kit. The i.MX 8M Quad EVK is powered by Linux and the NXP Linux drivers are used for
NXP-based wireless modules. The manual covers the bring-up of i.MX 8M Quad EVK,
the configurations for the BSP image and the hardware connection with NXP-based
wireless modules. The later chapters describe how to bring up the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
interfaces.
This document specifies the hardware interconnection and software support for the i.MX
8M Quad evaluation kit and AzureWave AW-CM358-uSD, AW-CM358MA, and AW-
CM276MA modules to enable Wi-Fi/Bluetooth functionality. Note that the Azurewave
module AW-CM358-uSD only supports Wi-Fi with the i.MX 8M Quad EVK.
Once you have enabled the Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth interfaces, refer to the user manual
UM11490 that details the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth features and configurations for i.MX 8M
Quad EVK.
Note: This document does not provide a detailed description of the i.MX 8M Quad BSP
nor how to generate an image and rootfs as these are covered in i.MX Yocto Project
User's Guide.
1.2 References
Reference type Description
Datasheet NXP - DS - 88W8987 - 2.4/5 GHz Dual-Band 1x1 Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5 Solution (link)
Datasheet AzureWave - AW-CM358SM - IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WLAN with Bluetooth 5 Combo Stamp LGA
Module (link)
Datasheet AzureWave - AW-CM276MA-PUR - IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wireless LAN 2T2R and Bluetooth 5.0
Combo Module (M.2 2230) (link)
Fact sheet NXP - FS - 88W8997-802.11ac wave 2 2x2 Wi-Fi Dual-band with Bluetooth 5 SoC (link)
Fact sheet NXP - Evaluation Kit Based on i.MX 8M Quad Application Processors (link)
User guide AzureWave - AW-CM358-uSD - uSD-1212 Adapter Board for AW-AM281-uSD and AW-CM358-uSD
(link)
User manual NXP - UM - i.MX Yocto Project User's Guide (link).
User manual NXP - UM - i.MX Linux® User's Guide (link).
User manual NXP - UM11490 - Feature Configuration Guide for NXP-based Modules with i.MX 8M Quad EVK (link)
Web page NXP - 88W8987: 2.4/5 GHz Dual-Band 1x1 Wi-Fi® 5 (802.11ac) + Bluetooth® 5 Solution (link)
Web page NXP - 88W8997: 2.4/5 GHz Dual-Band 2x2 Wi-Fi® 5 (802.11ac) + Bluetooth® 5 Solution (link)
Table 1. References
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NXP Semiconductors UM11483
Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
2 i.MX 8M Quad evaluation kit (EVK)
2.1 I.MX 8M Quad EVK overview
NXP i.MX 8M Quad Evaluation Kit (EVK) provides a platform for rapid evaluation of the
i.MX 8MQuad, i.MX 8MDual and i.MX 8MQuadLite application processors, utilizing dual
to quad Arm Cortex-A53s and single Cortex-M4 cores.
The EVK includes the hardware design files, tools and board support packages (BSPs)
for Linux where:
•The i.MX 8M Quad Linux Board Support Package (BSP) supports the Linux Operating
System (OS) on the i.MX 8M Quad application processors. The purpose of this
software package is to enable Linux support on the i.MX 8M Quad family of Integrated
Circuits (ICs) and their associated platforms. It provides the necessary software to
interface the standard open-source Linux kernel to the i.MX 8M Quad hardware.
•The i.MX 8M Quad BSP is based on the latest long-term stable (LTS) version of
the Linux kernel, which is enhanced with the features provided by NXP and can be
accommodate customized Linux kernel configurations.
2.2 i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board
The i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board is based on the NXP i.MX 8M Quad application
processor. The i.MX 8M Quad processor features an advanced implementation of
the Quad Arm Cortex-A53+ ARM Cortex-M4 core which operates at speeds up to
1.5 GHz and 266 MHz respectively. The i.MX 8M Quad features an integrated power
management module that reduces the complexity of an external power supply and
simplifies the power sequencing. Each processor provides a 32-bit LVDDR3L/DDR4/
LPDDR4 memory interface and other interfaces to connect peripherals such as HDMI,
LCD, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and camera sensors.
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NXP Semiconductors UM11483
Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
Figure 1. i.MX 8M Quad EVK block diagram
For more information about the application processor, please refer to the data sheet and
reference manual on www.nxp.com.
Table 2 lists the features of i.MX 8M Quad EVK.
Features Features (continued)
i.MX 8M Quad applications processor with five cores (4×Arm
® Cortex ® -A53 and 1× Cortex-M4)
M.2 connector for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth (PCIe, USB, UART, I2C
and I2S)
3 GB, 32-bit LPDDR4 with 1.6 GHz clock USB3.0 Type-A connector
eMMC 5.0, 16 GB HDMI2.0a Type-A connector
32 MB Octal SPI NOR flash 1 Gbit/s Ethernet
Micro SD card connector Mini-SAS MIPI-DSI connector
USB3.0 Type-C connector with PD support 2x mini-SAS MIPI-CSI connectors for Camera
USB to serial converter for debug Infrared receiver LEDs for power indication and general-
purpose use
3.5 mm audio jack for amplified speakers JTAG 10-pin connector
Table 2. Features of i.MX 8M Quad
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Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
2.3 i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board interfaces
Figure 2 shows the front view of i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board with pointers to the
interfaces.
Figure 2. i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board interfaces - Front view
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Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
Figure 3 shows the back view of i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board with pointers to the
interfaces.
Figure 3. i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board interfaces - Back view
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Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
2.4 i.MX 8M Quad switch settings
Figure 4 shows the two switches on i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board. The Boot Device
Switch is used to select the boot drive while the Boot Mode Switch is used to set the boot
mode.
Figure 4. Boot device switch and boot mode switch on i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board
Table 3 shows the settings of the boot mode switch.
D1 D2 Boot mode
0 1 Serial downloader
1 0 Internal boot
Table 3. Boot mode switch settings
Table 4 shows the settings of the boot device switch to boot from eMMC.
D1 D2 D3 D4
OFF OFF ON OFF
Table 4. Switch settings to boot from eMMC
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Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
3 NXP-based wireless modules
This document revision addresses 88W8987-based and 88W8997-based wireless
modules.
• 88W8987: refer to 88W8987 short datasheet and 88W8987 product overview on NXP
website.
• 88W8997: refer to 88W8997 fact sheet and 88W8997 product overview on NXP
website.
3.1 Interface with i.MX 8M Quad application processor
Figure 5 shows the high-level block diagram of i.MX 8M Quad application processor with
the Wi-Fi (SDIO/PCIe) and Bluetooth (UART) hardware interfaces used to communicate
with NXP-based wireless module.
Figure 5. Interface between the i.MX 8M Quad application processor and NXP-based wireless module
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Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
3.2 Wi-Fi layer interfaces
The wireless module requires a kernel driver loaded on the i.MX 8M Quad host system
and a firmware running on 88W8987/88W8997 SoC. The MLAN module downloads
the firmware binary to the SD8987/PCIE8997 adapter when the SDIO/PCIe bus driver
detects the SDIO/PCIe interface of the module. The kernel driver (SD8987/PCIE8997) is
loaded between the bus driver and the network stack from the cfg80211 subsystem in the
kernel. NXP kernel driver includes a set of controls and configurations to communicate
with the user space through one of the following interfaces:
•Input/output control (IOCTL)
•Wireless Extension (Wext)
•CFG80211
The IOCTL provides a path to the user space applications iwconfig and iwpriv
whereas cfg80211 interface provides a different path to the user space applications
wpa_supplicant, hostapd and iw.
Figure 6 illustrates the Wi-Fi layer interface.
Figure 6. Wi-Fi layer interface
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Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
3.3 Bluetooth layer interfaces
Figure 7 illustrates the layers between the user applications and the NXP-based
Bluetooth module. The NXP-based wireless module requires a kernel driver loaded on
the i.MX 8M Quad host system and a firmware running on NXP SoC. The Wi-Fi driver
loads the combo firmware. The hci_uart driver provides the HCI interface between the
firmware and user application.
Figure 7. Bluetooth layer interface
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Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
3.4 88W8987-based Azurewave AW-CM358-uSD module
Azurewave provides a micro-SD card interface adapter (uSD-1212) with AW-CM358SM
module that is compatible with the i.MX 8M Quad EVK. The AW-CM358-uSD supports
Wi-Fi through a uSD device interface that conforms to the industry SDIO Full-Speed
card specification and allows a host controller using the SDIO bus protocol to access
the Wireless SoC device. The AW-CM358-uSD acts as the device on the SDIO bus, and
features the following:
•SDIO 3.0 standard
•On-chip memory used for CIS
•Supports 1-bit SDIO and 4-bit SDIO transfer modes
•Special interrupt register for information exchange
3.4.1 Recommended antenna part
MAG.LAYERS: MSA-4008-25GC1-A2
3.4.2 Supported I/O signal level
•SDIO (3.0/2.0) supports 1.8V for I/O signal
3.4.3 Supported RF standard
I/O voltage level Wi-Fi Bluetooth
AW-CM358-uSD 1x1 Wi-Fi 5 (2.4/5 GHz) 5.0
Table 5. Supported RF standard
3.4.4 Supported Wi-Fi features
AW-CM358-uSD and AW-CM358MA modules share the same Wi-Fi feature set. Refer to
Azurewave AW-CM358SM Datasheet.
Note: Azurewave AW-CM358-uSD supports both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth RF standards. But
as i.MX 8M Quad EVK does not include the FFC connector for Bluetooth interface, only
Wi-Fi is supported for i.MX 8M Quad platform with AW-CM358-uSD module combination.
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Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
3.4.5 Azurewave AW-CM358-uSD Wi-Fi module interface
Figure 8. AzureWave AW-CM358-uSD module interface
3.4.6 Azurewave AW-CM358-uSD module jumpers and power supply
This section provides the jumper settings to configure the module with 1.8V SDIO voltage
level for Wi-Fi. Connect the jumper J2 between the 1 and 2 header pins to select the
SDIO module power source and connect the jumper J4 between the 1 and 2 header pins
for 1.8V SDIO voltage as shown in Figure 9.
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Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
Figure 9. AzureWave AW-CM358-uSD module header positions
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Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
3.4.7 AW-CM358-uSD module setup with i.MX 8M Quad
Plug AW-CM358-uSD module into the SDIO card slot of the i.MX 8M Quad board.
[ 3632.632050] mmc1: new ultra high speed SDR104 SDIO card at address
0001
Connect the antenna.
Use a Micro USB to USB cable to connect i.MX 8M Quad EVK to the host computer
running on Linux OS.
Figure 10. AzureWave AZ-CM358-uSD module and i.MX 8M Quad EVK setup
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Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
3.5 88W8987-based AzureWave AW-CM358MA module
The AW-CM358MA module supports a SDIO device interface that conforms to the
industry standard SDIO Full-Speed card specification and allows a host controller using
the SDIO bus protocol to access the Wireless SoC device.
The AW-CM358MA is a Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5 combo stamp module with the M.2
adaptor board that features:
•SDIO 3.0 standard
•On-chip memory used for CIS
•1-bit SDIO and 4-bit SDIO transfer modes
•A special interrupt register for information exchange
3.5.1 Recommended antenna part
MAG.LAYERS: MSA-4008-25GC1-A2
3.5.2 Supported RF standards
Part number Wi-Fi Bluetooth
AW-CM358MA 1x1 Wi-Fi 5 (2.4/5GHz) 5.0
Table 6. AW-CM358MA supported RF standards
3.5.3 Supported Wi-Fi features
Refer to Azurewave AW-CM358SM Datasheet.
3.5.4 Supported Bluetooth features
Refer to Azurewave AW-CM358SM Datasheet.
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Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
3.5.5 AW-CM358MA module view
Figure 11. AzureWave AW-CM358MA module
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Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
3.5.6 i.MX 8M Quad rework for SDIO support on M.2
The M.2 connector on AW-CM358MA wireless module supports SDIO interface for Wi-
Fi whereas the i.MX 8M Quad M.2 connector supports PCIe interface by default. This
section shows how to rework i.MX 8M Quad resistors to support SDIO on M.2 connector
for the AW-CM358MA module.
Note: The hardware rework instructions reroute the SDIO interface from the SD card
connector to the M.2 connector. A software change is also required to enable the
rerouted SDIO interface. Please refer to Section 4.5.3 "Enabling SDIO on M.2 (AW-
CM358MA module only)" to enable the SDIO interface on the M.2 connector using a DTB
file. Note that the SDIO on the Micro SD card slot will be disabled after the rework.
•Silkscreen of PCBA SCH-38820 / PCBA SCH-29615
•Remove the following 0Ω 0402 resistors: R1603, R1617, R1618, R1619, R1620 and
R1621 (micro SD card J1601)
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Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
Figure 12. MicroSD Card J1601 resistors
•Install the following 0Ω 0402 resistors: R1429, R1430, R1431, R1432, R1433, R1434,
R1435 and R1436 (M.2 J1401)
Figure 13. M.2 J1401 resistors
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Getting Started with NXP-based Wireless Modules on i.MX 8M Quad EVK Running Linux OS
3.5.7 AW-CM358MA module setup with iMX 8M Quad
Connect AW-CM358MA module into the M.2 connector of the i.MX 8M Quad board and
screw.
Figure 14. Azurewave AW-CM358MA module plugged into i.MX 8M Quad bottom side M.2 connector
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