The Atmel® SAM D21 Xplained Pro evaluation kit is a hardware platform to
evaluate the ATSAMD21J18A microcontroller.
Supported by the Atmel Studio integrated development platform, the kit provides
easy access to the features of the Atmel ATSAMD21J18A and explains how to
integrate the device in a custom design.
The Xplained Pro MCU series evaluation kits include an on-board Embedded
Debugger, and no external tools are necessary to program or debug the
ATSAMD21J18A.
The Xplained Pro extension kits offers additional peripherals to extend the
features of the board and ease the development of custom designs.
6. Document Revision History ................................................... 15
7. Evaluation Board/Kit Important Notice .................................. 16
Atmel SAM D21 Xplained Pro [USER GUIDE]
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1.Introduction
1.1Features
●Atmel ATSAMD21J18A microcontroller
●Embedded debugger (EDBG)
●USB interface
●Programming and debugging on board SAM D21 through Serial Wire Debug (SWD)
●Virtual COM-port interface to target via UART
●Atmel Data Gateway Interface (DGI) to target via SPI and TWI
●Four GPIOs connected to target for code instrumentation
●Digital I/O
●Two mechanical buttons (user and reset button)
●One user LED
●Three extension headers
●Three possible power sources
●External power
●Embedded debugger USB
●Target USB
●32kHz crystal
●USB interface, device and reduced host mode
●8Mbit Serial Flash
1.2Kit Overview
The Atmel SAM D21 Xplained Pro evaluation kit is a hardware platform to evaluate the Atmel ATSAMD21J18A.
The kit offers a set of features that enables the ATSAMD21J18A user to get started using the ATSAMD21J18A
peripherals right away and to get an understanding of how to integrate the device in their own design.
Atmel SAM D21 Xplained Pro [USER GUIDE]
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Figure 1-1. SAM D21 Xplained Pro Evaluation Kit Overview
Atmel SAM D21 Xplained Pro [USER GUIDE]
42220A-MCU-02/2014
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2.Getting Started
2.1Quick-start
3 Steps to start exploring the Atmel Xplained Pro Platform
●Download and install Atmel Studio
●Launch Atmel Studio
●Connect a Micro-B cable to the DEBUG USB port
2.2Connecting the Kit
When connecting Atmel SAM D21 Xplained Pro to your computer for the first time, the operating system will do
a driver software installation. The driver file supports both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft® Windows
XP and Windows 7.
Once connected the green power LED will be lit and Atmel Studio will autodetect which Xplained Pro
evaluation- and extension kit(s) that's connected. You'll be presented with relevant information like datasheets
and kit documentation. You also have the option to launch Atmel Software Framework (ASF) example
applications. The target device is programmed and debugged by the on-board Embedded Debugger and
no external programmer or debugger tool is needed. Refer to the Atmel Studio user guide2 for information
regarding how to compile and program the kit.
1
®
2.3Design Documentation and Related Links
The following list contains links to the most relevant documents and software for SAM D21 Xplained Pro.
1. Xplained Pro products 3 - Atmel Xplained Pro is a series of small-sized and easy-to-use evaluation kits
for 8- and 32-bit Atmel microcontrollers. It consists of a series of low cost MCU boards for evaluation and
demonstration of features and capabilities of different MCU families.
2. SAM D21 Xplained Pro User Guide 4 - PDF version of this User Guide.
3. SAM D21 Xplained Pro Design Documentation 5 - Package containing schematics, BOM, assembly
drawings, 3D plots, layer plots etc.
4. EDBG User Guide 6 - User guide containing more information about the onboard Embedded Debugger.
5. Atmel Studio 7 - Free Atmel IDE for development of C/C++ and assembler code for Atmel
microcontrollers.
6.
IAR Embedded Workbench® 8 for ARM®. This is a commercial C/C++ compiler that is available for ARM.
There is a 30 day evaluation version as well as a code size limited kick-start version available from their
website. The code size limit is 16KB for devices with M0, M0+ and M1 cores and 32KB for devices with
other cores.
7. Atmel sample store 9 - Atmel sample store where you can order samples of devices.
Xplained Pro is an evaluation platform that provides the full Atmel microcontroller experience. The platform
consists of a series of Microcontroller (MCU) boards and extension boards that are integrated with Atmel
Studio, have Atmel Software Framework (ASF) drivers and demo code, support data streaming and more.
Xplained Pro MCU boards support a wide range of Xplained Pro extension boards that are connected through
a set of standardized headers and connectors. Each extension board has an identification (ID) chip to uniquely
identify which boards are mounted on a Xplained Pro MCU board. This information is used to present relevant
user guides, application notes, datasheets and example code through Atmel Studio. Available Xplained Pro
MCU and extension boards can be purchased in the Atmel Web Store1.
3.1Embedded Debugger
The SAM D21 Xplained Pro contains the Atmel Embedded Debugger (EDBG) for on-board debugging. The
EDBG is a composite USB device of three interfaces; a debugger, Virtual COM Port and Data Gateway
Interface (DGI).
In conjunction with Atmel Studio, the EDBG debugger interface can program and debug the ATSAMD21J18A.
On the SAM D21 Xplained Pro, the SWD interface is connected between the EDBG and the ATSAMD21J18A.
The Virtual COM Port is connected to a UART port on the ATSAMD21J18A (see section “Embedded Debugger
Implementation” on page 13 for pinout), and provides an easy way to communicate with the target
application through simple terminal software. It offers variable baud rate, parity and stop bit settings. Note that
the settings on the target device UART must match the settings given in the terminal software.
The DGI consists of several physical data interfaces for communication with the host computer. See section
“Embedded Debugger Implementation” on page 13 for available interfaces and pinout. Communication
over the interfaces are bidirectional. It can be used to send events and values from the ATSAMD21J18A, or
as a generic printf-style data channel. Traffic over the interfaces can be timestamped on the EDBG for more
accurate tracing of events. Note that timestamping imposes an overhead that reduces maximal throughput. The
DGI uses a proprietary protocol, and is thus only compatible with Atmel Studio.
The EDBG controls two LEDs on SAM D21 Xplained Pro, a power LED and a status LED. Table 3-1, “EDBG
LED Control” on page 6 shows how the LEDs are controlled in different operation modes.
Table 3-1. EDBG LED Control
Operation modePower LEDStatus LED
Normal operationPower LED is lit when power is
applied to the board.
Bootloader mode (idle)The power LED and the status LED blinks simultaneously.
Bootloader mode (firmware
The power LED and the status LED blinks in an alternating pattern.
upgrade)
For further documentation on the EDBG, see the EDBG User Guide2.
3.2Hardware Identification System
All Xplained Pro compatible extension boards have an Atmel ATSHA204 CryptoAuthentication™ chip mounted.
This chip contains information that identifies the extension with its name and some extra data. When an
Xplained Pro extension board is connected to an Xplained Pro MCU board the information is read and sent
to Atmel Studio. The Atmel Kits extension, installed with Atmel Studio, will give relevant information, code
examples and links to relevant documents. Table 3-2, “Xplained Pro ID Chip Content” on page 6 shows the
data fields stored in the ID chip with example content.