XC22XX Debug Support with Universal Debug Engine

Lauta, March 2007 - The Universal Debug Engine 2.00.07 from pls offers an optimized debugger for users of Infineon's new XC2200 microcontroller family.

Infineon introduced the highly scalable XC2200 microcontroller family with 40 to 80 MHz system clock. Currently with up to 768 kBytes of on-chip FLASH memory and in future with up to 1.2 MBytes, up to 82 kBytes of on-chip RAM and numerous powerful peripheral units, these devices are ideally suited for demanding silicon-on-chip (SoC) applications. The instruction set of the XC2200 family is downward compatible with existing C16x/XC16x derivatives. For an efficient debugging, the user is also provided with a JTAG interface with On-Chip Debug System (OCDS) on the microcontroller as well as an on-chip bootstrap loader.

The UDE provides fast programming of the internal and/or external FLASH memory by means of the MemTool, which is available both as integrated in the debugger and as a standalone version. The standalone version is particularly interesting for the sectors: test, production and service.

For the fast transmission of memory pattern the Universal Access Device 2+ uses a hardware implemented JTAG bus controller in combination with a 32-bit microcontroller. This results in transfer rates of up to 1.5 MBytes/s.

An effective tool to analyze the runtime behavior of software is the visualization of program data in real-time. Basic program variables as well as the contents of complex expressions and physical expressions can be recorded and graphically analyzed by UDE. Furthermore, the data can be stored in parallel in XML format, thus enabling a post analysis of the data per script or via other programs e.g. Excel.

Another interesting feature of the on-chip debug system is the so-called 'Triggered Data Transfer'. By means of this feature, it is possible for a debugger to monitor the change in a 16-bit storage location, without having to poll it periodically. Changes are signaled and communicated by the JTAG interface.

By means of the UDE-mon/LII target monitor packet, which is optionally available for the UDE, the CANbus can, however, also be used as a communication channel for debugging of the microcontroller software. The supported OCDS unit enables hardware breakpoints for debugging in the FLASH memory and data breakpoints. The target access via CAN is particularly suitable for system integration and system test. Furthermore, in field use the CANbus is often the only possibility for target observation, because the JTAG interface on the machines or vehicles is mostly no longer available for system access.

Editors contact