AM2434: Initial programming of QSPI NOR Flash options

Hi Mathias,

You can check these flashing utilities supported by MCU+SDK: https://software-dl.ti.com/mcu-plus-sdk/esd/AM243X/11_02_00_24/exports/docs/api_guide_am243x/TOOLS_FLASH.html 

Best Regards,
Meet.

Hi,

Meanwhile you check for the tools, could you share the QSPI Flash Part number which the customer is planning to use on their custom DUT?

Regards,

Vaibhav

Hi Meet,

Thank you for the link. As far as I understand the process, accessing the external QSPI flash is possible in case the device can be booted in DEV mode, right? And is it possible to just load a NUL SBL into the first flash section without application or XIP image?

In the SDK example an older CCS is used. Is the process the same with CCS 20.x?

Best regards,
Mathias

Hi Vaibhav,

We plan to use one of the following flash devices:

• IS25WJ064
• GD25LQ64E
• W25Q64JW

They're all 64Mbit / 1.8V types and according to our own HW dev team compatible with the AM2434. Do you have any concerns?

Best regards,
Mathias

Hi Mathia,

I have the configurations of Winbond and the ISSI Flash which you mentioned. These can be tried on your custom DUT.

Let me know which one you would like to go ahead with, I can then share the configurations accordingly.

For you to test the configurations out, I would like you to create another E2E stating the flash part number and the configurations required.

Looking forward to your response.

Thanks,

Vaibhav

Mathias Felix said:

Thank you for the link. As far as I understand the process, accessing the external QSPI flash is possible in case the device can be booted in DEV mode, right? And is it possible to just load a NUL SBL into the first flash section without application or XIP image?

This is correct, and yes you can just load SBL NULL if you don't want to load any application.

Mathias Felix said:

In the SDK example an older CCS is used. Is the process the same with CCS 20.x?

The process differs a bit for newer CCS versions, for initializing the SoC, LoadJSFiIe command is no longer supported in CCS 20.x versions, instead of this you should directly load sciclient_ccs_init.release.out from CCS in the DEV boot mode, also refer to this for a change in flashing procedure:  [FAQ] AM64/AM243: Facing an issue with CCS when trying to flash an image using SBL JTAG UNIFLASH  

Thanks for the tips. I created a launch configuration (see launch.json excerpt below) to load the .out file mentioned. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to try it on the target board yet. But is this basically the right way to go? If it works, do I have to disconnect the debugger after loading and reconnect with Uniflash?

{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "AM2434 Inital programming",
            "type": "ccs-debug",
            "request": "launch",
            "targetConfig": "${targetConfigFolder}\\AM2434_ALV.ccxml",
            "connections": [
                {
                    "name": "Texas Instruments XDS2xx USB Debug Probe",
                    "cores":[
                        {
                            "name": "MAIN_Cortex_R5_0_0",
                            "program": "${SDK_INSTALL_PATH}\\mcu_plus_sdk\\tools\\ccs_load\\am243x\\sciclient_ccs_init.release.out",
                            "autoConnect": true
                        }
                    ]
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}   

Hi Vaibhav,

We want to go with the IS25WJ064 in a first step but at the end the so called solution shall be compatible with all mentioned devices. What do you mean with "I would like you to create another E2E stating the flash part number and the configurations required."? Shall I open another forum entry for this topic?

Best regards,
Mathias

Hi,

The assigned expert is out of office today. Please expect a reply within the next 2/3 days.

Regards,
Ritapravo

Mathias Felix said:

Thanks for the tips. I created a launch configuration (see launch.json excerpt below) to load the .out file mentioned. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to try it on the target board yet. But is this basically the right way to go? If it works, do I have to disconnect the debugger after loading and reconnect with Uniflash?

This is right, but you can use the JTAG UNIFLASH example available in the SDK and load it on the R5 core once the initialization is done: https://software-dl.ti.com/mcu-plus-sdk/esd/AM243X/11_02_00_24/exports/docs/api_guide_am243x/EXAMPLES_DRIVERS_SBL_JTAG_UNIFLASH.html 

I think I still have a fundamental problem understanding the programming process. Unfortunately, the link doesn't help me because, to be honest, I have no idea what to do. I found the example folder in the SDK, but do I have to rebuild the project first?

It would be helpful if someone could explain the necessary steps to me so that I can understand the general process.

Unfortunately, I don't have an official board from TI here at the moment. I'll try to get one as soon as possible. Then I'll try it out with this board based on CCS 20.4. We can't and don't want to use the old CCS versions because they don't run in a Dev Container... and Eclipse (not Theia) is the worst IDE the world has ever seen.

The eval board of our develoopment partner company has an S25HS512TFABHM010 flash from Infineon. What changes are necessary, if any, to access this device?

Hi,

Sorry for my late answer. I'm involved in different projects and was able to take care of it earlicher. What I can do and have understood so far are the following steps.

1. Boot the AM2434 in DEV Mode. Boot bits are
   

   Boot Bit	3	4	5	6	8	9
   State	1	1	1	1	0	0

2. Start initial programming by starting debugger in CCS 20.4 (through launch.json configuation) like I mentioned in an earlier post. After that, I got the following output from CIO:
   
   
   
   Main_Cortex_R5_0_0 is now in HALTED state while all the other cores are DISCONNECTED. At this point the debugger ist still connected.
   
   
3. When I now stopp depugging (to disconnect the target) and open Uniflash to load the mcu_plus_sdk\examples\drivers\boot\sbl_jtag_uniflash\am243x-evm\r5fss0-0_nortos\ti-arm-clang\sbl_jtag_uniflash.release.hs_fs.tiimage I get the following output:
   
   

What am I doing wrong or what have I forgotten?

Mathias Felix said:

When I now stopp depugging (to disconnect the target) and open Uniflash to load the mcu_plus_sdk\examples\drivers\boot\sbl_jtag_uniflash\am243x-evm\r5fss0-0_nortos\ti-arm-clang\sbl_jtag_uniflash.release.hs_fs.tiimage I get the following output:

Are you loading the tiimage or the .out file? You need to load .out file from CCS. Also, use the JTAG UNIFLASH example for am243-lp and not am243-evm, as I mentioned previously, am243-lp variant has a S25HL512T flash part and the configurations for this will not differ with the custom flash that you are using, but the configuration for am243-evm will differ and might cause some issue.

Thanks for the hint. Due to holidays and changes in the DevOps environment, I haven't been able to try it out yet. I'll do that as soon as possible and get back to you.