Toradex Colibri - Colibri Module Interfaces Guide

Colibri Carrier Board Design Guide
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2 Interfaces
2.1 Architecture
2.1.1 Standard Interfaces
The Colibri module family's standard interfaces intend to provide electrical and functional
compatibility between module family members. The table below shows an overview of the
standard interfaces that are provided by a Colibri module. The "GPIO Capable" column indicates
whether the assigned pins intend to be also used as GPIOs. "Yes" and "No" are self-Explanatory.
"Optional" indicates that it may be possible for some modules, but not all.
The "Standard" column indicates the number of interfaces that the specification allows for the
standard pinout. Customers should consult the datasheet for specific Colibri module variants to
check which of the interfaces are available for that module.
Description
Standard
Note
GPIO
Capable
4/5 Wire Resistive Touch
1
Touch wiper shared with analog input 4
No
Analog Inputs
4
Minimum 8-bit resolution, 0-3.3V nominal range
No
Analog Audio
1
Line in L&R, Microphone in, Headphone out L&R
No
Fast Ethernet
1
No
HDMI (TDMS)
1
Located on a dedicated FFC connector
(availability depending on Module)
No
I2C
1
Additional dedicated DDC available on FFC connector
Yes
Parallel Camera
1
8-bit BT.656 (other modes may be available)
Yes
Parallel LCD
1
18-bit resolution (additional bits may be available)
Yes
Parallel Memory Bus
1
Supported bus width depends on Module
Optional
PWM
4
Yes
SDIO
1
4 bit
Yes
SPI
1
Yes
UART
3
1x Full Featured, 1x CTS/RTS, 1x RXD/TXD only
Yes
USB
2
1x shared host/client, 1x host only
No
VGA
1
Located on a dedicated FFC connector
(availability depending on Module)
No
Table 2: Standard Interfaces
2.1.2 Interfaces on Alternative Functions
Many SoC pins can be used for more than one function. This allows the modules to provide many
additional interfaces to the standard set. For example, in the Colibri standard, there is only one SPI
interface listed. Nevertheless, some modules can provide up to 6 SPI interfaces.
Please note that there are a few restrictions on using the interfaces provided as alternative
functions of the pins. There is limited compatibility between their availability at different modules.
For a design to be compatible with a wide range of Colibri modules, it is recommended to use the
standard interfaces mainly. The various pins can be used for only one function simultaneously.
The configuration of the alternative function interfaces can be pretty complex. Toradex provides a
powerful tool that helps the development engineer to resolve pin muxing conflicts. The tool is
called Pinout Designer. It reduces the complexity of this critical task. More information, including its
download link, can be found here:
http://developer.toradex.com/carrier-board-design/pinout-designer-tool