The Microchip® SAM L10 and SAM L11 Xplained Pro evaluation kits are hardware platforms for
evaluating the SAM L10/L11 microcontrollers (MCUs). Each kit is supported by the Atmel Studio
integrated development platform, which provides an easy access to the features of the microcontroller.
The Xplained Pro MCU series evaluation kits include an on-board embedded debugger, hence external
tools are not required to program or debug the microcontroller. The Xplained Pro extension kit offers
additional peripherals to extend the features of the board and ease the development of custom designs.
–Symbolic debug of complex data types, including scope information
–Programming and debugging, including power measurements
–Data Gateway Interface: SPI, I2C, four GPIOs
–Virtual COM port (CDC)
•Embedded current measurement circuitry with Atmel Data Visualizer support for data visualization
•USB powered
Introduction
1.2 Kit Overview
The Microchip SAM L10 and SAM L11 Xplained Pro Evaluation kits are hardware platforms for the
evaluation of the Microchip SAM L10/L11 devices.
The Evaluation kit part numbers are as follows:
•SAM L10 Xplained Pro: DM320204
•SAM L11 Xplained Pro: DM320205
The kit offers a set of features that enables the user to get started with the microcontroller peripherals
immediately and to obtain an understanding of how to integrate the device in their required design.
Follow these steps to explore the Microchip Xplained Pro platform:
1.Download Atmel Studio.
2.Launch Atmel Studio.
3.Connect the debug USB port on the kit to the computer using a USB cable (Standard-A to Micro-B
or Micro-AB).
When the Xplained Pro MCU kit is connected to the computer for the first time, the operating system will
install the software driver. The driver file supports both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft
Windows®XP, Windows Vista®, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.
When the Xplained Pro MCU board is powered, the power LED (green) will glow and Atmel Studio will
autodetect the specific Xplained Pro MCU and extension boards that are connected to it. Atmel Studio will
present relevant information, such as datasheets and kit documentation.
The SAM L10/L11 devices are programmed and debugged by the on-board embedded debugger,
therefore, no external programmer or debugger tool is required.
The Xplained Pro is an evaluation platform that provides the full Microchip microcontroller experience.
The platform consists of a series of Microcontrollers (MCUs) and extension boards. These are integrated
with Atmel Studio, which contains Advanced Software Framework (ASF) drivers, demo code, support
data streaming, and so on.
The Xplained Pro MCU boards support a wide range of Xplained Pro extension boards, and are
connected through a set of standardized headers and connectors. Each extension board has an
identification (ID) chip to uniquely identify which boards are connected to an Xplained Pro MCU board.
This information is used to present relevant user guides, application notes, data sheets, and example
code through Atmel Studio.
3.1 Embedded Debugger
The Xplained Pro contains the Microchip Embedded Debugger (EDBG) for on-board debugging. The
EDBG is a complex USB device with three interfaces, such as a debugger, virtual COM port, and a data
gateway interface (DGI). Together with Atmel Studio, the EDBG debugger interface can program and
debug the microcontroller. On the SAM L10/SAM L11 Xplained Pro, the SWD interface is connected
between the EDBG and the microcontroller.
Xplained Pro
The virtual COM Port is connected to a UART on the microcontroller and provides a straightforward way
to communicate with the target application through terminal software. It offers variable baud rate, parity,
and stop bit settings. Note that the settings on the microcontroller must match the settings given in the
terminal software.
Note: The virtual COM port in the EDBG requires the terminal software to set the data terminal ready
(DTR) signal to enable the UART pins connected to the microcontroller. If the DTR signal is not enabled,
the UART pins on the EDBG is kept in high-z (tristate), rendering the COM port unusable. The DTR signal
is set automatically by some terminal software, but it must be manually enabled in the terminal.
The DGI consists of several physical interfaces for communication with the host computer.
Communication over the interfaces is bidirectional. It can be used to send events and values from the
microcontroller or as a generic printf-style data channel. Traffic over the interfaces can be time stamped
on the EDBG for accurate tracing of events. Timestamping imposes an overhead that reduces maximum
throughput. The Atmel Data Visualizer Extension, installed with Atmel Studio, is used to send and receive
data through DGI.
The EDBG controls two LEDs on the SAM L10/SAM L11 Xplained Pro: a power LED and a status LED.
The following table provides 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.
Activity indicator, LED flashes
when any communication
happens to the EDBG.
Bootloader Mode (idle)The power LED and the status LED blink simultaneously.
The power LED and the status LED blink in an alternating pattern.
User Guide
DS70005359B-page 6
For further documentation on the EDBG, refer to the Microchip EDBG User Guide.
3.2 Xplained Pro Analog Module
3.2.1 Overview
The Xplained Pro Analog Module (XAM) extends the embedded debugger with high dynamic range
current measurement, and this enables the power profiling of the target system.
Figure 3-1. Xplained Pro Analog Module (XAM)
Xplained Pro
The XAM consists of these following key features:
•Calibration circuitry
•Voltage reference
•Analog frontend
–Shunt resistors with a range selection switch
–Pre-amplifier
–Two active filters with gain
•Control MCU
–Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC)
–Signal processing
–Control/communication interface to the EDBG
The current measurement frontend is a high-side shunt measurement with a pre-amplifier, and a second
active filter stage with gain. The wide dynamic range is achieved by four measurement ranges which are
defined by two shunts, and the two parallel second stage active filters with gain.
3.2.2 EDBG Interface
The Xplained Pro Analog Module (XAM) is connected to the EDBG with the following interfaces:
•I2C: This is used to control and configure the XAM.
•SPI: Current measurement data is streamed to the EDBG through this interface. This is a one-way
data transfer channel from the XAM to the EDBG.
•SWD: The MCU in the XAM is programmed through SWD from the EDBG.
•GPIO: At least one GPIO, that is connected to the EDBG from the target MCU, is also connected to
the current measurement unit to enable the user to sync current measurements with their
application.
•Clock sync: Synchronization signal to synchronize ADC measurements with EDBG.
3.2.3 Sample Rate
The raw sampling rate of the Xplained Pro analog module (XAM) is up to 250 kHz and with the default
averaging configuration (average of 16 samples). The actual output of the XAM is 16.67 kSPS, and the
XAM output sample rate is not an integer fraction of the raw sampling.
3.2.4 Measurement Ranges and Accuracy
The Xplained Pro analog module has four measurement ranges. These are defined by two shunt
resistors and two gain stages.
Table 3-2. Xplained Pro Analog Module Measurement Ranges and Accuracy
Xplained Pro
Measurement
Range
Range 1Low-current shunt and
Range 2Low-current shunt and
Range 3High-current shunt and
Range 4High current shunt and
The ranges are switched automatically by the XAM to achieve best measurement results and the current
active range is visualized in the Microchip Data Visualizer frontend tool. The maximum voltage drop over
the shunt resistor is 100 mV, and the XAM will switch the range automatically before this limit is reached.
HardwareResolution Accuracy Comments
high-gain stage
low-gain stage
high-gain stage
low gain stage
3.3 Hardware Identification System
All Xplained Pro compatible extension boards have one Microchip ATSHA204 CryptoAuthentication
chip. This chip contains information that identifies the extension with its name and some extra data.
20 nA1 LSB ±1% Below 1 µA the error will
increase. Typical error for 300
nA is 1 LSB ±10%
150 nA1 LSB ±1% -
10 μA1 LSB ±1% -
100 μA1 LSB ±1% Above 100 mA the error will
increase to 1 LSB ±5% at 400
mA. Maximum current is 400
mA
™
When Xplained Pro extension is connected to the Xplained Pro MCU board, the information is read and
sent to Atmel Studio.
The Microchip Kits extension, installed with Atmel Studio, will give relevant information, code examples,
and links to relevant documents.
The following table provides the data fields stored in the ID chip with example content.
Product Serial NumberASCII string1774020200000010’\0’
Minimum Voltage [mV]uint16_t3000
Maximum Voltage [mV]uint16_t3600
Maximum Current [mA]uint16_t30
3.4 Power Sources
The SAM L10/SAM L11 Xplained Pro kits can be powered by several power sources as listed in the
following table.
Xplained Pro
Table 3-4. Power Sources for SAM L10/SAM L11 Xplained Pro
Power InputVoltage RequirementsCurrent RequirementsConnector
External Power4.3V to 5.5V .Recommended maximum is 2A due
Embedded
Debugger
The kit will automatically detect the available power sources and choose which one to use according to
the following priority:
•External power
•Embedded debugger USB
Note: External power is required when 500 mA from a USB connector is not sufficient to power the
board with possible extension boards.
4.4V to 5.25V (according to
USB specifications).
3.5 Xplained Pro Headers and Connectors
3.5.1 Xplained Pro Standard Extension Header
All Xplained Pro kits have many dual row, 20-pin, 100 mil extension headers. The Xplained Pro MCU
boards have male headers, while Xplained Pro extensions have their female counterparts. All pins are not
always connected, and the connected pins follow the defined pin-out descriptions given in the following
table.
to the input protection maximum
current specification.
500 mA (according to USB
specifications)
Marking
PWR
DEBUG USB
The extension headers can be used to connect a variety of Xplained Pro extensions to Xplained Pro MCU
boards, or to access the pins of the target MCU on Xplained Pro MCU boards directly.