ST fosters Connectivity Portfolio with Certified USB-C and Power Delivery Solution
With electronic companies’ vigorous adoption of new USB Type-C and Power Delivery (PD) technology, STMicroelectronics announces to ease the process by delivering a certified embedded software solution based on its premier STM32 microcontrollers.
The free STM32 USB-C and PD Middleware Stack is touted to be compliant with USB Type-C 1.2 and USB Power Delivery 2.0 specifications enabling rapid end-product deployment with company’s STM32 ARM Cortex-M based microcontrollers.
The new firmware stack, X-CUBE-USB-PD, initially based on the STM32F0 entry level Cortex-M0 processor, allows designers to upgrade their USB legacy devices to provide significant benefits to their end users.
“Our USB-C and Power Delivery stack is a perfect example of why the STM32 family has been so successful and sets the standard for embedded processing, from the smartest phones and tablets to the smallest Internet-of-Things applications,” said Daniel Colonna, Marketing Director, Microcontroller Division, STMicroelectronics. “It offers the world’s widest range of price/power/performance options for the de facto industry-standard embedded-processor architecture, backed up by a comprehensive design ecosystem that includes no-cost software and low-cost development boards that minimize time to market and maximize ROI.”
Key technical features and benefits include:
- Support for up to two USB-C ports (provider, consumer, or dual role).
- Cable-insertion detection, plug orientation.
- Identification of the role of the port partner attached and its current capability.
- Vbus Power negotiation via Power Delivery communication protocol.
- Vendor-Defined Messages are handled to identify device or cable ID or to manage Alternate Mode commands.
- Maximum flexibility and adaptability versus evolving specification changes, as firmware upgrades are possible during the application lifetime.
- The processing bandwidth and available resources allow the MCU to perform other application-specific tasks, such as power-management control, USB2.0 communication, and/or voltage and current monitoring, on top of its USB-C functionality.
- Software library provided in the X-CUBE-USB-PD software expansion is fully in line with STM32Cube APIs (HAL – Hardware Abstraction Layer), ensuring easy switch across different STM32 series.
- An important benefit in terms of cost and PCB footprint is that solutions using the STM32 with the stack require only a very simple Analog Front End comprising a few passive components.
ST supports the new USB-C technology with an STM32 Nucleo Pack as a discovery and development tool to minimize design effort. The pack includes a NUCLEO-F072RB board, a USB-C and PD expansion board, and a full-featured USB Type-C cable. The expansion board features two Dual-Role Power USB Type-C ports with a discrete Analog Front End.
Availability
The STM32F0 USB-C and PD Nucleo Pack (P-NUCLEO-USB001) is available at a unit price of U$49.90.
