MicroMod RP2040 Processor Board Hookup Guide

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Introduction

The MicroMod RP2040 Processor Board is a low-cost, high-performance board with flexible digital interfaces featuring the Raspberry Pi Foundation's RP2040 microcontroller. The board takes advantage of the MicroMod M.2 connector to easily swap out processor boards on carrier boards.

SparkFun MicroMod RP2040 Processor

SparkFun MicroMod RP2040 Processor

DEV-17720
$12.95
1

Required Materials

To follow along with this tutorial, you will need the following materials. You may not need everything though depending on what you have. Add it to your cart, read through the guide, and adjust the cart as necessary.

SparkFun MicroMod RP2040 Processor

SparkFun MicroMod RP2040 Processor

DEV-17720
$12.95
1
SparkFun MicroMod ATP Carrier Board

SparkFun MicroMod ATP Carrier Board

DEV-16885
$19.95
1
USB 3.1 Cable A to C - 3 Foot

USB 3.1 Cable A to C - 3 Foot

CAB-14743
$5.50
4
SparkFun Mini Screwdriver

SparkFun Mini Screwdriver

TOL-09146
$1.05
3

Suggested Reading

If you aren't familiar with the MicroMod ecosystem, we recommend reading here for an overview. We recommend reading here for an overview if you decide to take advantage of the Qwiic connector.

MicroMod Logo Qwiic Connect System
MicroMod EcosystemQwiic Connect System

If you aren’t familiar with the following concepts, we also recommend checking out these tutorials before continuing.

Serial Communication

Asynchronous serial communication concepts: packets, signal levels, baud rates, UARTs and more!

Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI)

SPI is commonly used to connect microcontrollers to peripherals such as sensors, shift registers, and SD cards.

Pulse Width Modulation

An introduction to the concept of Pulse Width Modulation.

Logic Levels

Learn the difference between 3.3V and 5V devices and logic levels.

I2C

An introduction to I2C, one of the main embedded communications protocols in use today.

Analog vs. Digital

This tutorial covers the concept of analog and digital signals, as they relate to electronics.

Getting Started with MicroMod

Dive into the world of MicroMod - a compact interface to connect a microcontroller to various peripherals via the M.2 Connector!

Hardware Overview

M.2 Connector

All of our MicroMod Processor Boards come equipped with the M.2 MicroMod Connector, which leverages the M.2 standard and specification to allow you to install your MicroMod Processor Board on your choice of carrier board. Most of the pins use a common pinout to ensure cross platform compatibility.

M.2 Edge Connector Pins Highlighted

RP2040 Processor

The brains of the processor board is the Raspberry Pi Foundation's RP2040 ARM Cortex M0+ processor. An external 12MHz crystal is used as the clock for the RP2040. The RP2040 should be powered with 3.3V from a carrier board's M.2 connector. The logic levels for the I/O pins are 3.3V.

IC highlighted

Flash Memory

On the back of the board is the W25Q128JVPIM, which adds 128Mb (16MB) of flash memory externally.

flash memory highlighted

LED

A STAT LED is added to the top side of the board. This is useful debugging or as a status indicator. This is connected to GPIO25.

STAT LED highlighted

MicroMod RP2040 Processor Pin Functionality

Graphical Datasheet

Click on image for a closer view of the graphical datasheet.

The complete pin map can be found in the table below or you can refer to the schematic.

Heads up! The pin table below and schematic both include the RP2040 pin associated with each MicroMod pin and this correlation can be used to identify alternate uses for pins on the RP2040 Processor Board. For many of the General Purpose I/O pins and other pins with multiple signal options, refer to your Carrier Board's Hookup Guide for information on how those pins are configured what they are used for. Not all pins are used on every Carrier Board.

Depending on your window size, you may need to use the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of the table to view the additional pin functions. Note that the M.2 connector pins on opposing sides are offset from each other as indicated by the bottom pins where it says (Not Connected)*. There is no connection to pins that have a "-".

AUDIO UART GPIO/BUS I2C SDIO SPI Dedicated
Alternate
Function
Primary
Function
RP2040 GPIO Pin Bottom
Pin
   Top   
Pin
RP2040 GPIO Pin
Primary
Function
Alternate
Function
(Not Connected)* 75 GND
3.3V 74 73 GPIO21
3.3V 72 71 GPIO22
SPI_CS1 SDIO_DATA3 GPIO9 70 69 GPIO23
AUD_OUT SDIO_DATA2 GPIO10 68 67 -
AUD_IN SDIO_DATA1 GPIO11 66 65 GPIO28 G9
SDIO_DATA0 SPI_CIPO1 GPIO12 64 63 GPIO25 G10
SDIO_CMD SPI_COPI1 GPIO15 62 61 GPIO20 SPI_CIPO G4
SDIO_SCK SPI_SCK1 GPIO14 60 59 GPIO23 SPI_COPI G7
AUD_MCLK PWM1 GPIO24 58 57 GPIO22 SPI_SCK G6
AUD_OUT SDIO_DAT2 GPIO10 56 55 GPIO21 SPI_CS G5
AUD_IN SDIO_DAT1 GPIO11 54 53 -
AUD_LRCLK CTS1 GPIO2 52 51 -
AUD_BCLK UART_RTS1 GPIO3 50 49 BATT_VIN
G4 SPI_CIPO GPIO20 48 47 GPIO24 PWM1 AUD_MCLK
G3 GPIO19 46 45 GND
G2 GPIO18 44 43 -
G1 GPIO17 42 41 -
G0 GPIO16 40 39 GND
A1 GPIO27 38 37 USBHOST_D-
GND 36 35 USBHOST_D+
A0 GPIO26 34 33 GND
PWM0 GPIO13 32 31 Module Key
Module Key 30 29 Module Key
Module Key 28 27 Module Key
Module Key 26 25 Module Key
Module Key 24 23 SWDIO
I2C_INT UART_TX2 GPIO8 22 21 SWDCK
SPI_CS1 SDIO_DAT3 UART_RX2 GPIO9 20 19 GPIO1 UART_RX1
D1 GPIO7 18 17 GPIO0 UART_TX1
TX2 I2C_INT GPIO8 16 15 GPIO2 UART_CTS1 AUD_LRCLK
I2C_SCL GPIO5 14 13 GPIO3 UART_RTS1 AUD_BCLK
I2C_SDA GPIO4 12 11 BOOT
D0 GPIO6 10 9 USB_VIN
- 8 7 GND
RESET 6 5 USB_D-
- 4 3 USB_D+
3.3V_IN 2 1 GND
Function Bottom
Pin
   Top   
Pin
Function
(Not Connected)* 75 GND
3.3V 74 73 G5 / BUS5
RTC_3V_BATT 72 71 G6 / BUS6
SPI_CS1 SDIO_DATA3 70 69 G7 / BUS7
SDIO_DATA2 68 67 G8
SDIO_DATA1 66 65 G9 ADC_D- CAM_HSYNC
SPI_CIPO1 SDIO_DATA0 64 63 G10 ADC_D+ CAM_VSYNC
SPI COPI1 SDIO_CMD 62 61 SPI_CIPO
SPI SCK1 SDIO_SCK 60 59 SPI_COPI LED_DAT
AUD_MCLK 58 57 SPI_SCK LED_CLK
CAM_MCLK PCM_OUT I2S_OUT AUD_OUT 56 55 SPI_CS
CAM_PCLK PCM_IN I2S_IN AUD_IN 54 53 I2C_SCL1
PDM_DATA PCM_SYNC I2S_WS AUD_LRCLK 52 51 I2C_SDA1
PDM_CLK PCM_CLK I2S_SCK AUD_BCLK 50 49 BATT_VIN / 3 (I - ADC) (0 to 3.3V)
G4 / BUS4 48 47 PWM1
G3 / BUS3 46 45 GND
G2 / BUS2 44 43 CAN_TX
G1 / BUS1 42 41 CAN_RX
G0 / BUS0 40 39 GND
A1 38 37 USBHOST_D-
GND 36 35 USBHOST_D+
A0 34 33 GND
PWM0 32 31 Module Key
Module Key 30 29 Module Key
Module Key 28 27 Module Key
Module Key 26 25 Module Key
Module Key 24 23 SWDIO
UART_TX2 22 21 SWDCK
UART_RX2 20 19 UART_RX1
CAM_TRIG D1 18 17 UART_TX1
I2C_INT 16 15 UART_CTS1
I2C_SCL 14 13 UART_RTS1
I2C_SDA 12 11 BOOT (Open Drain)
D0 10 9 USB_VIN
SWO G11 8 7 GND
RESET# (Open Drain) 6 5 USB_D-
3.3V_EN 4 3 USB_D+
3.3V 2 1 GND
Signal Group Signal I/O Description Voltage
Power 3.3V I 3.3V Source 3.3V
GND Return current path 0V
USB_VIN I USB VIN compliant to USB 2.0 specification. Connect to pins on processor board that require 5V for USB functionality 4.8-5.2V
RTC_3V_BATT I 3V provided by external coin cell or mini battery. Max draw=100μA. Connect to pins maintaining an RTC during power loss. Can be left NC. 3V
3.3V_EN O Controls the carrier board's main voltage regulator. Voltage above 1V will enable 3.3V power path. 3.3V
BATT_VIN/3 I Carrier board raw voltage over 3. 1/3 resistor divider is implemented on carrier board. Amplify the analog signal as needed for full 0-3.3V range 3.3V
Reset Reset I Input to processor. Open drain with pullup on processor board. Pulling low resets processor. 3.3V
Boot I Input to processor. Open drain with pullup on processor board. Pulling low puts processor into special boot mode. Can be left NC. 3.3V
USB USB_D± I/O USB Data ±. Differential serial data interface compliant to USB 2.0 specification. If UART is required for programming, USB± must be routed to a USB-to-serial conversion IC on the processor board.
USB Host USBHOST_D± I/O For processors that support USB Host Mode. USB Data±. Differential serial data interface compliant to USB 2.0 specification. Can be left NC.
CAN CAN_RX I CAN Bus receive data. 3.3V
CAN_TX O CAN Bus transmit data. 3.3V
UART UART_RX1 I UART receive data. 3.3V
UART_TX1 O UART transmit data. 3.3V
UART_RTS1 O UART ready to send. 3.3V
UART_CTS1 I UART clear to send. 3.3V
UART_RX2 I 2nd UART receive data. 3.3V
UART_TX2 O 2nd UART transmit data. 3.3V
I2C I2C_SCL I/O I2C clock. Open drain with pullup on carrier board. 3.3V
I2C_SDA I/O I2C data. Open drain with pullup on carrier board 3.3V
I2C_INT# I Interrupt notification from carrier board to processor. Open drain with pullup on carrier board. Active LOW 3.3V
I2C_SCL1 I/O 2nd I2C clock. Open drain with pullup on carrier board. 3.3V
I2C_SDA1 I/O 2nd I2C data. Open drain with pullup on carrier board. 3.3V
SPI SPI_COPI O SPI Controller Output/Peripheral Input. 3.3V
SPI_CIPO I SPI Controller Input/Peripheral Output. 3.3V
SPI_SCK O SPI Clock. 3.3V
SPI_CS# O SPI Chip Select. Active LOW. Can be routed to GPIO if hardware CS is unused. 3.3V
SPI/SDIO SPI_SCK1/SDIO_CLK O 2nd SPI Clock. Secondary use is SDIO Clock. 3.3V
SPI_COPI1/SDIO_CMD I/O 2nd SPI Controller Output/Peripheral Input. Secondary use is SDIO command interface. 3.3V
SPI_CIPO1/SDIO_DATA0 I/O 2nd SPI Peripheral Input/Controller Output. Secondary use is SDIO data exchange bit 0. 3.3V
SDIO_DATA1 I/O SDIO data exchange bit 1. 3.3V
SDIO_DATA2 I/O SDIO data exchange bit 2. 3.3V
SPI_CS1/SDIO_DATA3 I/O 2nd SPI Chip Select. Secondary use is SDIO data exchange bit 3. 3.3V
Audio AUD_MCLK O Audio master clock. 3.3V
AUD_OUT/PCM_OUT/I2S_OUT/CAM_MCLK O Audio data output. PCM synchronous data output. I2S serial data out. Camera master clock. 3.3V
AUD_IN/PCM_IN/I2S_IN/CAM_PCLK I Audio data input. PCM syncrhonous data input. I2S serial data in. Camera periphperal clock. 3.3V
AUD_LRCLK/PCM_SYNC/I2S_WS/PDM_DATA I/O Audio left/right clock. PCM syncrhonous data SYNC. I2S word select. PDM data. 3.3V
AUD_BCLK/PCM_CLK/I2S_CLK/PDM_CLK O Audio bit clock. PCM clock. I2S continuous serial clock. PDM clock. 3.3V
SWD SWDIO I/O Serial Wire Debug I/O. Connect if processor board supports SWD. Can be left NC. 3.3V
SWDCK I Serial Wire Debug clock. Connect if processor board supports SWD. Can be left NC. 3.3V
ADC A0 I Analog to digital converter 0. Amplify the analog signal as needed to enable full 0-3.3V range. 3.3V
A1 I Analog to digital converter 1. Amplify the analog signal as needed to enable full 0-3.3V range. 3.3V
PWM PWM0 O Pulse width modulated output 0. 3.3V
PWM1 O Pulse width modulated output 1. 3.3V
Digital D0 I/O General digital input/output pin. 3.3V
D1/CAM_TRIG I/O General digital input/output pin. Camera trigger. 3.3V
General/Bus G0/BUS0 I/O General purpose pins. Any unused processor pins should be assigned to Gx with ADC + PWM capable pins given priority (0, 1, 2, etc.) positions. The intent is to guarantee PWM, ADC and Digital Pin functionality on respective ADC/PWM/Digital pins. Gx pins do not guarantee ADC/PWM function. Alternative use is pins can support a fast read/write 8-bit or 4-bit wide bus. 3.3V
G1/BUS1 I/O 3.3V
G2/BUS2 I/O 3.3V
G3/BUS3 I/O 3.3V
G4/BUS4 I/O 3.3V
G5/BUS5 I/O 3.3V
G6/BUS6 I/O 3.3V
G7/BUS7 I/O 3.3V
G8 I/O General purpose pin 3.3V
G9/ADC_D-/CAM_HSYNC I/O Differential ADC input if available. Camera horizontal sync. 3.3V
G10/ADC_D+/CAM_VSYNC I/O Differential ADC input if available. Camera vertical sync. 3.3V
G11/SWO I/O General purpose pin. Serial Wire Output 3.3V


Board Dimensions

The board takes advantage of the standard MicroMod form factor.

Board Dimensions

Hardware Assembly

If you have not already, make sure to check out the Getting Started with MicroMod: Hardware Hookup for information on inserting your Processor Board into your Carrier Board.

Getting Started with MicroMod

October 21, 2020

Dive into the world of MicroMod - a compact interface to connect a microcontroller to various peripherals via the M.2 Connector!

For simplicity, we'll be using the MicroMod ATP Carrier Board to program the board. At a minimum, your setup may look like the image below with the MicroMod RP2040 Processor Board.

MicroMod RP2040 PB in ATP Carrier Board

To program, you'll need a computer and a USB-C cable inserted into the MicroMod ATP Carrier Board. In this tutorial, we will use a Raspberry Pi.

Raspberry Pi Used to Program The MicroMod RP2040

Qwiic-Enabled Device

If you decide to use a Qwiic device (because why not?!), simply insert a Qwiic cable between the two connectors. Note that not all Qwiic enabled devices have a MicroPython driver yet.

Qwiic-Enabled Device Connected to MicroMod ATP Carrier Board with Qwiic Cable

UF2 Bootloader

The MicroMod RP2040 processor board is easy to program, thanks the UF2 bootloader. With this bootloader, the board shows up on your computer as a USB storage device without having to install drivers for Windows 10, Mac, and Linux!

What is UF2?

UF2 stands for USB Flashing Format, which was developed by Microsoft for PXT (now known as MakeCode) for flashing microcontrollers over the Mass Storage Class (MSC), just like a removable flash drive. The file format is unique, so unfortunately, you cannot simply drag and drop a compiled binary or hex file onto the board. Instead, the format of the file has extra information to tell the processor where the data goes, in addition to the data itself. For more information about UF2, you can read more from the MakeCode blog, as well as the UF2 file format specification.

Software

There are two methods of programming the RP2040. You can use MicroPython or C/C++ depending your personal preference. The documentation is written for the Raspberry Pi's Pico development board but will apply for any board with the RP2040. Just make sure to adjust the pin definition depending on what GPIO is broken out.

Stay tuned for more information!

MicroPython Examples

The Raspberry Pi foundation has provided the necessary tools, documentation, and examples to get started with the RP2040. If you haven't already, check out the documentation on the Pico. We'll use this as a reference when using the chip on other development boards to fit your needs in this tutorial.

We'll be using the MicroPython examples from this GitHub repo using Thonny IDE.

Installing MicroPython on the RP2040

To install MicroPython on the RP2040, you will need to download the firmware from Raspberry Pi. Click below to head to the Raspberry Pi Foundation's MicroPython UF2 File for the RP2040. Click on the tab for the "Getting started MicroPython" and the button for Download UF2 File.

On your MicroMod carrier board, find the boot and reset button. Press and hold the boot button down with one finger.

Finger on Boot Button

Press the reset button with momentarily with another finger.

Fingers on Boot and Reset Button Finger of the Reset Button

Release the boot button. The board should appear on your computer as a removable drive called RPI-RP2.

Release Boot Button

Draw and drop the UF2 file into the "removable drive". The board will automatically reboot. Below is an image highlighting the UF2 file being moved to a the removeable drive on a Raspberry Pi.

Drag and drop MicroPython UF2 file to the removable drive on a Raspberry Pi

Configuring Thonny IDE

Open Thonny up from the start menu: Raspberry Pi Start Menu > Programming > Thonny Python IDE

Open Thonny IDE from the Pi Start Menu

Set Thonny's interpreter for the RP2040. The "Raspberry Pi Pico" will work for the RP2040. Head to the menu and select: Run > Select Interpreter....

Selecting Interpreter for Thonny

This will open a new window for the Thonny options. In the Interpreter tab, select MicroPython (Raspberry Pi Pico) as the interpreter.

Selecting MicroPython for the RP2040

In the same window, make sure to select the option to have Thonny automatically detect the COM port for the board: Port > < Try to detect port automatically >

Select COM port

Hello World!

To check if this is working open the Thonny IDE, type the following into the editor. Feel free to adjust the message to whatever you prefer.

language:python
print("Hello world!")

Hit the "Run current script" button. In the Shell, you will see the following output. Sweet!

language:bash
>>> %Run -c %EDITOR_CONTENT
Hello world!

Hello world! printed to the Thonny Shell from the RP2040

Blink

If you have the MicroPython examples saved, head to the following folder in your downloads .../pico-micropython-examples/blink/blink.py . Your code should look like the following. Of course, you can also copy and paste the code provided after the next paragraph as well.

language:python
# ========== DESCRIPTION==========
# The following code was originally written by 
# the Raspberry Pi Foundation. You can find this
# example on GitHub.
#
#     https://github.com/raspberrypi/pico-micropython-examples/blob/master/blink/blink.py

from machine import Pin, Timer

led = Pin(25, Pin.OUT)
tim = Timer()
def tick(timer):
    global led
    led.toggle()

tim.init(freq=2.5, mode=Timer.PERIODIC, callback=tick)

Hit the "Run current script" button. Once the code runs, you will see the LED blink. If you want the board to run blink every time the board is powered up, just follow the note provided at the end the previous example.

Raspberry Pi and a MicroMod RP2400 Blinking with MicroPython

Resources and Going Further

For more information, check out the resources below: