The TWR-KL43Z microcontroller module is designed to
work either in standalone mode or as part of the Freescale
T ower System, a modular development platform that enables
rapid prototyping and tool re-use through reconfigurable
hardware. Take your design to the next level and begin
constructing your Tower System today by visiting
Freescale.com/Tower for additional Tower System MCU
modules and compatible peripherals. For TWR-KL43Z
specific information and updates, visit
Freescale.com/TWR-KL43Z.
Figure 2. Front side of TWR-KL46Z48M module (TWRPI device not attached)
5Reference documents
Reference the documents listed below for more information on the Kinetis family, Tower System, and
MCU modules. These can be found in the documentation section at Freescale.com/TWR-KL43Z or
Freescale.com/Kinetis.
The TWR-KL43Z is a T ower MCU Module featuring the MKL43Z256VLH4 — a Kinetis microcontroller
with USB 2.0 full-speed device controllers in a 64-LQFP package. It is intended for use in the Freescale
T ower System but can operate standalone. An on-board OpenSDA debug circuit provides a SWD interface
and a power supply input through a single USB mini-AB connector.
The block diagram of the TWR-KL43Z board is presented in Figure 3.
6.1Block diagram
Figure 3. Block diagram of TWR-KL43Z
6.2Microcontroller
The TWR-KL43Z is a T ower MCU module featuring the MKL43Z256VLH4 —a Kinetis microcontroller
with USB 2.0 full-speed device controller and segment LCD controller in a 64 LQFP package. It is
intended for use in the Freescale Tower System but can operate standalone. An on-board debug circuit,
OpenSDA, provides a SWD interface and a power supply input through a single USB mini-AB connector ,
as well as serial to USB and CDC class compliant UART interface.
Table 1. Features of MKL43Z256VLH4
FeatureDescription
Ultra-low-power- 10 low-power modes with power and clock gating for optimal peripheral activity and
recovery times. Stop current s of <190 nA (VLLS0), run currents of <280 uA/MHz, 4 s wake-up
from Stop mode
- Full memory and analog operation down to 1.71V for extended battery life
- Low-leakage wake-up unit with up to eight internal modules and eight pins as wake-up
sources in low-leakage stop (LLS)/very low-leakage stop (VLLS) modes
- Low-power timer for continual system operation in reduced power states
Flash, SRAM, ROM- 256 KB flash featuring fast access times, high reliability, and four levels of security
protection. No user or system intervention to complete programming and erase functions and
full operation down to 1.71V.
- 32 KB of SRAM
- 16 KB of ROM with Kinetis bootloader included (UART, SPI, I
Mixed-signal capability- SAR 16-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC)
- High-speed comparator (CMP) with internal 6-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC)
- 12-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC)
- VREF module 1,2V output
Performance- 48 MHz ARM Cortex-M0+ core
- Up to four channel DMA for peripheral and memory servicing with reduced CPU loading and
faster system throughput
- Cross bar switch enables concurrent multi-master bus accesses, increasing bus bandwidth
- Independent flash banks allowing concurrent code execution and firmware updating with no
performance degradation or complex coding routines
- Bit manipulation engine (BME) allows execution of single-instruction atomic bit-modify-write
operations on the peripheral address space
Timing and control- Three timer/PWM modules – one with six channel, and two with two channels
- Low-power timer
- Real-time clock
- Two-channel 32-bit periodic interrupt timer provides time base for RTOS t ask scheduler or
trigger source for ADC conversion, provides lifetime timer capability
2
C, USB)
Human-machine interface- Segment LCD controller up to 4x32 or 8x28 segments
- General-purpose input/output up to 54
Connectivity and
communications
- USB full-speed slave controller with on-chip transceiver and 5V to 3.3V regulator,
supporting crystal-less recovery
- USB low-voltage regulator supplies up to 120 mA off chip at 3.3 volts to power external
components from 5-volt input
- Two 16-bit SPI modules
- One UART module supporting ISO7816
- Two LPUART modules
2
- Two I
- One I2S (SAI) module
- One FlexIO module
C modules supporting up to 1 Mbit/s
6.3Clocking
The Kinetis MCUs start up to the default reset clock for core/system clock, which is 8 MHz from IRC8M.
Software can enable the main external oscillator (EXTAL0/XTAL0), or to high frequency internal
reference (HIRC) 48 MHz if desired. The external oscillator/resonator can range from 32.768 KHz up to
a 32 MHz. An 8 MHz crystal is the default external source for the MCG lite oscillator inputs
(XTAL/EXTAL). A 32.768 KHz oscillator is connected to the real-time clock in input.
6.4System power
When installed into a Tower System, the TWR-KL43Z can be powered from either an on-board source or
from another source in the assembled Tower System.
In standalone operation, the main power source (5.0V ) for the TWR-KL43Z48M module is derived from
either the OpenSDA USB micro-AB connector or the KL43 USB micro-AB connector (J5). Two
low-dropout regulators provide 3.3V and 1.8V supplies from the 5.0V input voltage. Additionally, the
3.3V regulator built into the KL43 can be selected to power the 3.3V bus. All the user selectable options
can be configured using two headers, J35, J25 or J28.
6.5Real-time clock (RTC)
Y1 is a 32.768 kHz oscillator that can be connected to R TC_CLKIN via selection header J31. By enabling
the external clock input option in the RTC, it can be used as a highly precise time reference.
6.6Debug interface
There are two debug interface options provided: the on-board OpenSDA circuit and an external ARM
SWD connector.
6.6.1OpenSDA
An on-board MK20-OpenSDA circuit provides an SWD debug interface to the MKL43Z256. A standard
USB A male to micro-AB male cable (provided) can be used for debugging via the USB connector, J8.
The OpenSDA interface also provides a USB to serial bridge.
6.6.2Cortex Debug SWD connector
The Cortex Debug SWD connector is a standard 2x5-pin (0.05") connector providing an external debugger
cable with access to the SWD interface of the MKL43Z256.
UART2 can be connected to OpenSDA or TWR-Elevators through jumpers J3 and J5.
J3 UART2_TX_TGTMCU – PTE22/UART2_TX
J3 UART2_RX_TGTMCU – PTE23UART2_RX
Figure 4. UART2 connection to OpenSDA CDC serial/elevator
6.8Infrared port
Hardware description
An infrared transmit and receive interface is implemented as shown in Figure 5. The LPUART0_TX
(P TE20/ ADC0_DP0/LPUART0_TX) pin directly drives an infrared diode. The receiver uses an infrared
phototransistor connected to LPUART0_RX (PTE21/ ADC0_DM0/ UART0_RX) through a low-pass
filter.
Figure 5. Infrared circuit
6.9Accelerometer
An FXOS8700CQ 6-Axis Xtrinsic sensor with integrated linear accelerometer and magnetometer is
connected to the MKL43Z256VLH4 MCU through I
P TD7. The device can be configured to gene rate inertial wa ke-up interrupt signals from any combination
of the configurable embedded functions allowing the FXOS8700CQ to monitor events and remain in a
low-power mode during periods of inactivity. For more information on the FXOS8700CQ, visit the
FXOS8700CQ Product Summary Page at Freescale.com/FXOS8700CQ.
6.10General Purpose Tower Plug-in (TWRPI) socket
The TWR-KL43Z features a socket (J22 and J14) that can accept a variety of different Tower Plug-in
modules featuring sensors, RF transceivers, and more. The General Purpose TWRPI socket provides
access to I2C, SPI, IRQs, GPIOs, timers, analog conversion signals, TWRPI ID signals, reset, and voltage
supplies. The pinout for the TWRPI socket is defined in Table 3.
Ta bl e 3. General Purpose TWRPI socket pinout
J22J14
Pin Description Pin Description
1 5V VCC 1 GND
2 3.3 V VCC 2 GND
3 GND 3 I
4 3.3V VDDA 4 I
The TWR-KL43Z features two pushbutton switches connected to GPIO/interrupt signals, one pushbutton
connected to the master reset signal, four user-controllable LEDs, and a potentiometer connected to an
ADC input signal. Refer to Table 5 for information about which port pins are connected to these features.
6.12SLCD TWRPI interface
Table 4 shows TWRPI/TWRPI-SLCD pin-out and corresponding connection to GD-6363P LCD.
TWRPI-SLCD connector is also compatible with other TWRPIs. It can accept touch TWRPI daughter
cards that may feature keypads, rotary dials, sliders, etc. As MKL43Z256 MCU does not support TSI the
only software GPIO method provided in TSS can be used for touch events detection.
The MKL43Z256 features USB full-speed slave controller with on-chip transceiver and 5 V to 3.3 V
regulator, supporting crystal-less recovery. The TWR-KL43Z routes the USB D+ and D- signals from the
KL43Z256 MCU directly to the on-board USB connector (J21).
7TWR-KL43Z jumper options
NOTE:
Default configuration for power is OpenSDA USB with 3.3V voltage
selection.
Table 5. Jumper options
Jumper FunctionJumper
Board power selectionJ281-21-2 P5V_TRG_USB
J25
VREG input power selectionJ161-21-2 P5V_TRG_USB
J19Open1-2 P5V_KL43_USBP5V_VREGIN_K
Voltage level selectionJ351-21-2 3.3V
VREFH isolation (when onchip
VREF module enabled)
Digital part of MCU powerJ121-2Open - VDD isolated from
Analog part of MCU powerJ101-2Open - VDDA_HDR
Isolation between board and
MCU power
J38
J171-2Open - V_BRD isolated
Default
Position
Open1-2 P5V_KL43_USB
Open1-2 VREFH to VDDAVREFH
Jumper OptionKL43 Pin Name
2-3 VBUS_ELEV
2-3 VBUS_ELEV
2-3 1.8V
MCU_POWER
isolated from
MCU_POWER
from MCU_POWER
P5V_VREGIN_K
L43
L44
VDD1, VDD2
VDDA
Isolation between MCU
VOUT33 and MCU power
VLL3 to VDD enableJ36Open1-2 VLL3 to VDD enableVLL3
isolated
LED D5J181-2Open - LED Red PTA13 isolatedPTA13
LED D4J131-2Open - LED Green PTB0 isolatedPTB0
LED D3J71-2Open - LED Red PTB19 isolatedPTB19
IRDA TX isolationJ30Open1-2 PTE20 to IRDA (Tx)PTE20
IRDA RX isolationJ27Open1-2 TPE21 to IRDA (Rx)PTE21
Accelerometer SCL
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