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UG233: USB Type-C Reference Design
User's Guide

The EFM8 USB Type-C Reference Design is intended to aid the
development of various USB Type-C applications and consists of
a development board, Simplicity Studio libraries, and example
code.

The board contains Power Delivery (PD) controllers, Billboard devices, and Alternate
Mode functionality.

KEY POINTS

• Describes the Type-C reference design

board

• Explains how to load the software

examples and begin evaluation and
development

• Discusses the power scenarios/options

related to the reference board

• Shows how to configure the Debug Serial

Terminal

• Shows the reference design board

schematics

silabs.com

 | Smart. Connected. Energy-friendly.

Rev.  0.2 

Summary of Contents for UG233

Page 1: ...oard contains Power Delivery PD controllers Billboard devices and Alternate Mode functionality KEY POINTS Describes the Type C reference design board Explains how to load the software examples and begin evaluation and development Discusses the power scenarios options related to the reference board Shows how to configure the Debug Serial Terminal Shows the reference design board schematics silabs c...

Page 2: ...For a quick demo simply plug the USB Type C captive cable into a compatible host and a monitor cable into the mini DisplayPort mDP receptacle In the absence of a DisplayPort capable monitor a video converter dongle like the white VGA to mDP shown in the image can be used However in this case J22 must be closed in order to power the external adapter Figure 1 1 Demo Setup UG233 USB Type C Reference ...

Page 3: ...on and DRP support The board also contains a Billboard device implemented with the EFM8 Universal Bee 1 EFM8UB1 MCU and allows for Alternate Mode to be used and sent through the Type C port For debugging and communication purposes a USB to Quad UART Bridge Controller CP2108 is used to print debug messages from all MCUs to a USB host serial terminal Most of the available GPIOs from each MCU are rou...

Page 4: ...EFM8UB1 USB Billboard class device J1 HEADER_EC3 C2 programming interface connector for U1 MCU U6 EFM8BB3 USB Type C charging port Power Delivery controller J3 HEADER_EC3 C2 programming interface connector for U6 MCU J5 mDP Socket Mini DisplayPort socket J4 Mini USB Used for printing debug messages to a serial terminal J30 USB Type C Receptacle Charging port connector The socket is rated 3A max S1...

Page 5: ...d the main functions of the reference design and the connections between devi ces and plugs Figure 2 2 Functional Block Diagram Overview UG233 USB Type C Reference Design User s Guide Board Description silabs com Smart Connected Energy friendly Rev 0 2 4 ...

Page 6: ...rt Simplicity Studio MCU Project 5 Locate the SLS directory under the reference design folder and select one of the projects to develop ufp_dongle knlexample or billboard 6 Ensure that EFM8BB31F64G part is selected and click Next 7 The project is now imported and can build run or be altered to fit specific needs Figure 3 2 UFP Dongle Project 8 For development assistance and information on the prog...

Page 7: ...ing debugging the MCU in Simplicity Studio 3 The board can be powered from the USB host which runs the Serial Terminal Application 4 Standard 9 V wall adapter The 3 3 V voltage can be obtained from an external LDO Max 500 mA or from the EFM8UB1 internal LDO Max 100 mA The following jumper settings are for evaluating different configurations 1 External 5 V 3 3 V LDO and EFM8UB1 powered from 5 V J3 ...

Page 8: ...e driver installation message and or the Device Manager for completion Figure 5 1 Bridge Driver Installation 3 Install a Serial Terminal Application Ex Realterm 4 After the successful USB device enumeration open the terminal window and connect to the desired port with the following settings Figure 5 2 Debug Connection UG233 USB Type C Reference Design User s Guide Debug Serial Terminal Configurati...

Page 9: ...eference design board are shown below These are also available within the reference design folder Figure 6 1 Alternate Mode UFP UG233 USB Type C Reference Design User s Guide Schematics silabs com Smart Connected Energy friendly Rev 0 2 8 ...

Page 10: ...Figure 6 2 USB Type C Charging Port UG233 USB Type C Reference Design User s Guide Schematics silabs com Smart Connected Energy friendly Rev 0 2 9 ...

Page 11: ...Figure 6 3 Billboard Device UG233 USB Type C Reference Design User s Guide Schematics silabs com Smart Connected Energy friendly Rev 0 2 10 ...

Page 12: ...Figure 6 4 USB to UART Bridge UG233 USB Type C Reference Design User s Guide Schematics silabs com Smart Connected Energy friendly Rev 0 2 11 ...

Page 13: ...not imply or express copyright licenses granted hereunder to design or fabricate any integrated circuits The products are not designed or authorized to be used within any Life Support System without the specific written consent of Silicon Laboratories A Life Support System is any product or system intended to support or sustain life and or health which if it fails can be reasonably expected to res...

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