Low Power Application on SAM E54 Using Harmony v3 Peripheral Libraries: Step 7

Step 7.1: Build and Program the Application

1

Clean and build your application by clicking on the Clean and Build clean_build_icon.png button.

In case of compilation errors, recheck the steps and build the project again.

2

Program your application to the device by clicking on the Make and Program program_icon.png button.

3

Open the Tera Term application (or another terminal console) on your PC and navigate to File > New connection.

tera_term_new_connection.png

4

Navigate to the Serial box in the opened window and select the port number that corresponds to the Embedded Debugger (EDGB) Virtual COM Port of your connected SAM E54 Xplained Pro. Then, press OK to open a serial connection.

tera_term_new_connection_window.png

5

Open the Serial port configuration of Tera Term by navigating to Setup > Serial port.

tera_term_serial_port.png

6

In the Serial Port window, verify that the Baud Rate is set to 115200 and other elements are set as shown in the image, then press OK.

tera_term_serial_port_setup.png

7

Now that the serial console is configured, reset the board, and verify the application title message is displayed.

console_message_after_reset.png

8

Cover the light sensor on the I/O Xplained Pro board by placing your hand over it (or another element to put the light sensor in a dark environment) to print the temperature and message on the terminal. You should see the following messages (containing the temperature value in °F) on the terminal every 500 milliseconds for the duration the light sensor is covered:

console_message_after_covering_lightsensor.png

Step 7.2: Observe Current Consumption on Data Visualizer

Data Visualizer is a program to process and visualize data. The Data Visualizer can receive data from various sources such as the Embedded Debugger Data Gateway Interface (EDBG DGI) and COM ports. It is possible to track an application in run-time using a terminal graph or oscilloscope. It analyzes the power consumption of an application through the correlation of code execution and power consumption when used together with a supported probe or board.

To download and install the stand-alone Data Visualizer, click here.

1

Open the Data Visualizer application from your PC and select the connected SAM E54 Xplained Pro board on the DGI Control Panel, then click on Connect. The Data Visualizer will then start searching for protocols from the SAM E54 Xplained Pro board through the EDBG.

data_visualizer_dgi_control_panel_selection.png

2

Once the Data Visualizer is connected to the SAM E54 EDBG, different interfaces will appear. Select the Power interface and click on the Start button to start measuring the power consumption of the device.

data_visualizer_power_start_buttons.png

Ensure that the jumpers for Current Measurement on the SAM E54 Xplained Pro are set to MEASURE for the MCU and BYPASS for the I/Os.

current_measurement_hw_setup.png

The Power Analysis window will appear on the Data Visualizer tool interface.

data_visualizer_power_analysis_window.png

3

The image below shows the device in Standby mode with its measured power consumption. You can observe small peaks that illustrate the 500 milliseconds Real-Time Clock (RTC) timer expiry.

device_in_standby_mode.png

The average value is considered when measuring the power consumption of the device because the instant value is not stable. Then, the power consumption of the device in Standby mode is 225.0 µA.

4

Cover the light sensor on the I/O Xplained Pro board by placing your hand over it (or another element) to print the temperature on the terminal and observe the power consumption of the device.

device_wakes_up_and_print_temperature.png

The power consumption of the device in Active mode is 5.6 mA and the power consumption of the same device in Standby mode is 224.8 µA. This shows the device in Standby mode will consume less power.

5

Press the SW0 button to switch from Standby mode to Idle mode. The following image shows the transition of the power consumption from Standby mode to Idle mode.

standby_idle_transition.png

6

The following image shows the device in Idle mode with a measured power consumption of 1869.5 µA.

device_in_idle_mode.png

You can observe that the small peaks coming from RTC timer expiry disappeared because the power consumption in Idle mode is higher than the power required to start Analog-to-Digital (ADC) conversion.

7

Place your hand over the light sensor. The device will wake up on the next ADC window monitor interrupt, read and print data on serial, and then re-enter Standby mode. The following image shows the transition of the power consumption by switching from Idle mode to Standby mode.

transition_from_idle_to_standby.png

Note that the above results highlight the power consumption is lower in Standby mode than in Idle mode.

 Results

You successfully created a low power application using the SAM E54 Xplained Pro Evaluation Kit and I/O1 Xplained Pro Kit and experienced how, where, and which Low Power mode to use depending on the application requirements such as power and wake up response times.

 Analysis

In this lab, you have successfully created a project from scratch, added Peripheral Libraries (PLIBs), and learned how to use an Event System to drive events received from the peripherals without CPU intervention. You also learned how to configure a device to work in Sleep modes and measure wake up time.

 Conclusions

In this tutorial, you discovered how to configure the device to work in Sleep modes, this tutorial can be used as a reference when you develop a real-time application where the power and wake up response time plays a crucial role.

© 2024 Microchip Technology, Inc.
Notice: ARM and Cortex are the registered trademarks of ARM Limited in the EU and other countries.
Information contained on this site regarding device applications and the like is provided only for your convenience and may be superseded by updates. It is your responsibility to ensure that your application meets with your specifications. MICROCHIP MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WRITTEN OR ORAL, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, RELATED TO THE INFORMATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ITS CONDITION, QUALITY, PERFORMANCE, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR PURPOSE. Microchip disclaims all liability arising from this information and its use. Use of Microchip devices in life support and/or safety applications is entirely at the buyer's risk, and the buyer agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Microchip from any and all damages, claims, suits, or expenses resulting from such use. No licenses are conveyed, implicitly or otherwise, under any Microchip intellectual property rights.