SCT Camera Interface Design With LPC1800 and LPC4300: Rev. 1.2 - 3 June 2014 Application Note

AN11365
SCT camera interface design with LPC1800 and LPC4300

Rev. 1.2 3 June 2014
Application note
Document information
Info
Content
Keywords
SCT SGPIO camera module LPC1800 LPC4300 DMA Cortex-M3 CortexM0 Cortex-M4
Abstract
This application note demonstrates the camera interface design with the
SCT peripheral on the LPC1800 and LPC4300.
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Revision history
Rev
Date
1.2
Description
20140603
Added a separate project for lpc1857 with its own header and drivers
Added the hardware design doc to zipfile
Added recommendation to use debugger with Pre-reset
1.1
20130711
Added LPC4300 to title.
20130625
Initial version.
Contact information
For more information, please visit: http://www.nxp.com
For sales office addresses, please send an email to: [email protected]
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1. Introduction
LPC1800 is the Cortex-M3 series MCU from NXP which runs up to 180 MHz and has a
wide selection of advanced peripherals, like the State Configurable Timer (SCT), SPI
Flash Interface (SPIFI), LCD Controller, EMC and high-speed USB. LPC4300 is the dual
core series MCU from NXP which includes an industry leading Cortex-M4 core and a
Cortex-M0 coprocessor both running up to 204 MHz. The State Configurable Timer
(SCT) is available on the LPC1800 and the LPC4300 series MCUs. All discussions about
the SCT implementation in this application note apply to both LPC4300 and the
LPC1800. To simplify this discussion, we will only mention LPC1800 unless it is a
LPC4300 unique feature. The sample project has been tested with both MCB1800 and
MCB4300 development boards.
The SCT interface is a powerful digital configurable interface on the LPC1800 series
MCU. With 16 events, 32 states, 8 inputs, and 16 outputs plus the match/capture
capability, the SCT interface can easily input or output complex waveforms. In this
application, we create the states and events based on the cameras timing signals such
that the SCT can sample the camera output at the correct timing.
The demonstration hardware is a Keil MCB1800 board with an add-on daughter board
available from NXP. The picture of an assembled board is shown in Fig 1.
Fig 1.
NXP camera module daughter board plugged on MCB1800
Some of the highlights in this camera module design include a demonstration of the
flexibility of the SCT system as well as a very low bandwidth usage of the LPC1800
MCU. This application note is related to AN11343 (SGPIO camera interface design with
LPC4300) in that the same camera sensor is used in both application notes with a similar
CPU bandwidth usage.
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2. Camera interface overview

An OmniVision OV7670 camera module is used in this demonstration but any camera
with an 8-bit parallel output in RGB565 output and QVGA mode support should fit in this
design. User can easily adapt the camera pin-out to reuse the hardware and software
provided in this application note.
The OV7670 is controlled via I2C interface taking commands from the LPC1800. Its
output is a byte-wide interface that sends out one byte per pixel clock. As each pixel is
represented by 16 bits of data in an RGB565 format, it takes 2 pixel clocks from the
camera to send out one pixel of image data. The camera also sends the horizontal and
vertical sync pulses which determine the position of the pixel. The following figure depicts
the signals sent out from the camera to the SCT interface.
Fig 2.
Camera output signals
3. SCT camera module overview

Fig 3 shows the interactions of the major system blocks in the SCT camera module. After
the camera is configured through the I2C interface, the SCT block samples the video
data and then transfers the data using GPDMA to the external SDRAM available on the
MCB1800 development board. The LCD controller on LPC1800 then uses its dedicated
DMA controller to pull the frame buffer data from SDRAM through EMC for displaying on
the LCD panel available on the MCB1800 development board.
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Fig 3.
SCT camera interface block diagram
3.1 Hardware connections

The hardware connections between the camera module daughter board and the
LPC1800 on the MCB1800 development board are shown in Fig 4.
DATA0 to DATA7 are the 8 bit OV7670 camera data
XCLK is the camera input clock sent from LPC1800 to OV7670
PCLK is the output pixel clock sent from OV7670 to the SCT interface
HREF is the horizontal reference signal output sent from OV7670 to the SCT
interface
VSYNC is the vertical synchronization signal output sent from OV7670 to the SCT
interface
RESET and PWRD are control signals sent from LPC1800 to OV7670
SCL and SDA are the I2C command connections between the LPC1800 and
OV7670
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Fig 4.
SCT camera interface connections
3.2 High level flow chart

The flow chart in Fig 5 shows the major initialization of the system and the while (1) loop
in main(). Notice that during the SCT initialization, the GPDMA is configured to respond
to several SCT events and thus take care of the image data transfer from the SCT inputs
0-7 to the SDRAM. Section 4 in this application note provides details on the SCT and
GPDMA configuration and control.
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Fig 5.
System initialization and main while(1) loop
3.3 Description of the contents included in this application note

In this section, the various contents included in this application note are discussed such
that users can easily find their way through the project.
At the very top level, Fig 6 shows the contents included in this application note.
Fig 6.
Top level folder contents
Subfolder \SCTCameraInterface_Hardware\ holds the schematic, Gerber file as well as

the Eagle design file of the daughter board as shown in Fig 7. The MCB1800 information
can be found from the Keil website: http://www.keil.com/mcb1800/
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Fig 7.
Hardware folder contents
Folder \SCTCameraInterface_software_lpc1857 and

\SCTCameraInterface_software_lpc4357 contains the Keil project and source code for
the two devices.
When using the Keil IDE for debugging the board, please select with Pre-reset under
the Connect & Reset Options. This will ensure the clock signal will be reinitialized to
allow proper operation.
Fig 8.
Debugger setup
4. SCT camera interface design

4.1 General introduction
This section details the SCT interface design for the camera interface. The SCT on
LPC1800 and LPC4300 supports 16 events and 32 states (when using 32-bit timer) or 64
states (when using two 16-bit timers). The events can be generated through 8 input pins,
or 16 output pins or 16 capture/match registers.
Fig 9 is the basic block diagram of the SCT interface. Please refer to the user manual for
detailed description of the SCT interface.
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Fig 9.
Architecture of the SCT interface
In this implementation, the SCT is configured to be a single 32-bit timer with 8 nonsynchronized inputs for the SCT from the camera interface. The bus clock is used as the
SCT and prescaler clock. Below is a snippet of the code used for SCT general
configuration in function SCTInit() from source code Cam_OV7670.c.
1
2
LPC_SCT_Type *pSCT = LPC_SCT;

pSCT->CONFIG = 1UL<<0 | 0UL<< 1 | 0x00UL<<9; // unify | busClk | InSync:All8
The other timer control registers are disabled as they are not used in this implementation.
3
4
5
6
7
pSCT->CTRL_U = 1UL<<1 | 1UL<<2 | 1UL<<3 | 0UL<<4 | 0x01<<5;

//
Stop | Halt
| ClrCnt | !BiDir | Prsc
pSCT->LIMIT_L = 0xFFFF;
// EvtClrCnt
// event doesn't affect cnt
pSCT->HALT_L = 0, pSCT->STOP_L = 0, pSCT->START_L = 0;
4.2 Camera interface SCT states and transition analysis

Based on the timing diagram of the camera (Fig 2), the video signal starts with an
Vertical Sync signal and sends out the image data line by line during the horizantal
reference signal high period. When all the lines are transmitted, there is a vertical
blanking period. Following the vertical blanking period, a new Vertical Sync signal can
start a new frame.
The timing of the image tranmission and the signaling of the camera interface gives us
three states to monitor in the SCT module:
1. Waiting for the next frame
This is named wantV as inidicated in below state transition diagram in Fig 10.
The rising edge of VSync serves as the event to trigger the SCT transit to
wantV. This state is the initial state of the camera image collection after reset.
2. Waiting for the next line
This is named wantH as indicated in below state transition diagram in Fig 10.
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The falling edge of the VSync signal as well as the falling edge of the Href signal
serve as the event to trigger the SCT transit to wantH.
3. Receiving a line of data
This is named inH as indicated in below state transition diagram in Fig 10. The
rising edge of the Href signal triggers the SCT to transition to inH. Within the
inH state, each PCLK triggers a SCT event to request the DMA transfer. At the
rising edge of the VSync, the DMA is initialized to transfer the first line of the
image to the SDRAM. At each falling edge of Href, the DMA transfer is initialized
to transfer a new line of data to the SDRAM. Please refer to the SCT interrupt
service routine SCT_IRQHandler() in Cam_OV7670.c for details of this
implementation.
Fig 10. Camera SCT module states and events
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Below is a snippet of the code used for SCT events and states definition and
configuration in function SCTInit().
8
9
10
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13
typedef enum
{
ctst_wantV = 0, // wait for VSYNC
ctst_wantH = 1, // wait for HSYNC
ctst_inH = 2,
// in a HSYNC pulse ctst_skipV = 3,
}enum_CamTimSt;
As a single timer is used UNIFY is 1 in the CONFIG register, only the _L bits in the
SCT state register is used. Notice that every frame starts from state: wantV
pSCT->STATE_L = ctst_wantV;
Next the state transition events are defined.
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15
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23
typedef enum
{
ctev_vsyncRise = 0,
// Rising edge of VSync
ctev_vsyncRiseInSkip, // Used only if frame skip is enabled,
rising edge of VSync in skipped frame.
ctev_vsyncFall,
// Falling edge of VSync
ctev_hsyncRise,
// Rising edge of HSync
ctev_hsyncFall,
// Falling edge of HSync
ctev_pxclkRise,
// Rising edge of PCLK
}enum_ctev;
Subsequently, the event state mask register and control register of each event are
configured. Please refer to SCTInit() for details on the configuration.
4.3 Specific notes for the SCT camera interface design

4.3.1 Notes on GPDMA usage
GPDMA usage is an important factor in the SCT camera interface design. It greatly
relieves the CPU burden. Below are some key pointers to implement the GPDMA
functionality within the SCT camera interface design.
The GPDMA transfer type should be peripheral to memory transfer because only the
GPIO (the SCT inputs) peripheral knows the amount of data generated.
Because the video image is 8-bit parallel data, but the SDRAM is 32-bit wide, we
choose GPDMA burst length as 1 for the source (SCT inputs) and 4 for the
destination (SDRAM).
As the source of the data is from the SCT inputs, the source address is not
incremented after each GPDMA transfer. The destination address however needs to
be incremented after each GPDMA transfer such that all image data are stored
sequentially in the SDRAM.
There are two GPDMA AHB masters. As master 1 can access memory and
peripheral, but master 0 can only access memory, we use master 0 to access
SDRAM and master 1 to access GPIO.
Please refer to the GPDMA initialization routine _prvInitCamDMAXferDir() in
Cam_OV7670.c for details regarding the above discussion.
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4.3.2 Notes on double buffering in video reception/transmission

The image collection and the LCD display utilize a double buffering scheme in this
application note. The double buffering in image collection avoids data corruption of the
received image being overwritten before being fully rendered on the LCD. This double
buffering also provides optimized LCD display frame rate as the image collection and
LCD frame rendering can happen in a parallel manner.
The SCT interrupt responds to every HRef falling edge as well as the VSync rising edge.
When the SCT interrupt indicates a VSync rising edge, the image collection buffer is
toggled between the two buffers. At the LCD frame rendering time, the image buffer that
is not being currently updated is utilized such that LCD tearing can be avoided in case
the image collection process is faster than LCD frame rendering. The LCD display loop is
handled in the while(1) loop in main. The LCD base address interrupt is enabled to allow
switching between the two LCD frame buffers. Please refer to the LCD interrupt routine
LCD_IRQHandler() for details on this implementation.
5. Conclusion
The State Configurable Timer (SCT) interface on the LPC1800 and LPC4300 series
MCUs features flexible timing configuration with states and events control. These
features make the SCT a perfect choice to handle state controlled input data stream like
the camera interface design demonstrated in this application note. With the help of the
GPDMA, this camera interface uses only 8 % of the CPU bandwidth with a 180 MHz
Cortex-M3 core in the LPC1800 series MCU. Users are encouraged to port this
implementation to their custom application without the cost of a dedicated camera
interface. The SCT interface is a truly value added peripheral to NXPs MCU families.
With more NXP parts providing the SCT interface, users can greatly simplify their
complicated applications in power conversion, lighting, motor control, and audio
applications, etc.
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6. Legal information
6.1 Definitions
Draft The document is a draft version only. The content is still under
internal review and subject to formal approval, which may result in
modifications or additions. NXP Semiconductors does not give any
representations or warranties as to the accuracy or completeness of
information included herein and shall have no liability for the consequences
of use of such information.
6.2 Disclaimers
Limited warranty and liability Information in this document is believed to
be accurate and reliable. However, NXP Semiconductors does not give any
representations or warranties, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy or
completeness of such information and shall have no liability for the
consequences of use of such information. NXP Semiconductors takes no
responsibility for the content in this document if provided by an information
source outside of NXP Semiconductors.
In no event shall NXP Semiconductors be liable for any indirect, incidental,
punitive, special or consequential damages (including - without limitation lost profits, lost savings, business interruption, costs related to the removal
or replacement of any products or rework charges) whether or not such
damages are based on tort (including negligence), warranty, breach of
contract or any other legal theory.
Notwithstanding any damages that customer might incur for any reason
whatsoever, NXP Semiconductors aggregate and cumulative liability
towards customer for the products described herein shall be limited in
accordance with the Terms and conditions of commercial sale of NXP
Semiconductors.
Right to make changes NXP Semiconductors reserves the right to make
changes to information published in this document, including without
limitation specifications and product descriptions, at any time and without
notice. This document supersedes and replaces all information supplied prior
to the publication hereof.
Suitability for use NXP Semiconductors products are not designed,
authorized or warranted to be suitable for use in life support, life-critical or
safety-critical systems or equipment, nor in applications where failure or
malfunction of an NXP Semiconductors product can reasonably be expected
to result in personal injury, death or severe property or environmental
damage. NXP Semiconductors and its suppliers accept no liability for
inclusion and/or use of NXP Semiconductors products in such equipment or
applications and therefore such inclusion and/or use is at the customers
own risk.
Applications Applications that are described herein for any of these
products are for illustrative purposes only. NXP Semiconductors makes no
representation or warranty that such applications will be suitable for the
specified use without further testing or modification.
Semiconductors accepts no liability for any assistance with applications or

customer product design. It is customers sole responsibility to determine
whether the NXP Semiconductors product is suitable and fit for the
customers applications and products planned, as well as for the planned
application and use of customers third party customer(s). Customers should
provide appropriate design and operating safeguards to minimize the risks
associated with their applications and products.
NXP Semiconductors does not accept any liability related to any default,
damage, costs or problem which is based on any weakness or default in the
customers applications or products, or the application or use by customers
third party customer(s). Customer is responsible for doing all necessary
testing for the customers applications and products using NXP
Semiconductors products in order to avoid a default of the applications and
the products or of the application or use by customers third party
customer(s). NXP does not accept any liability in this respect.
Export control This document as well as the item(s) described herein
may be subject to export control regulations. Export might require a prior
authorization from competent authorities.
Evaluation products This product is provided on an as is and with all
faults basis for evaluation purposes only. NXP Semiconductors, its affiliates
and their suppliers expressly disclaim all warranties, whether express,
implied or statutory, including but not limited to the implied warranties of noninfringement, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The entire
risk as to the quality, or arising out of the use or performance, of this product
remains with customer.
In no event shall NXP Semiconductors, its affiliates or their suppliers be
liable to customer for any special, indirect, consequential, punitive or
incidental damages (including without limitation damages for loss of
business, business interruption, loss of use, loss of data or information, and
the like) arising out the use of or inability to use the product, whether or not
based on tort (including negligence), strict liability, breach of contract, breach
of warranty or any other theory, even if advised of the possibility of such
damages.
Notwithstanding any damages that customer might incur for any reason
whatsoever (including without limitation, all damages referenced above and
all direct or general damages), the entire liability of NXP Semiconductors, its
affiliates and their suppliers and customers exclusive remedy for all of the
foregoing shall be limited to actual damages incurred by customer based on
reasonable reliance up to the greater of the amount actually paid by
customer for the product or five dollars (US$5.00). The foregoing limitations,
exclusions and disclaimers shall apply to the maximum extent permitted by
applicable law, even if any remedy fails of its essential purpose.
6.3 Trademarks
Notice: All referenced brands, product names, service names and
trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Customers are responsible for the design and operation of their applications
and products using NXP Semiconductors products, and NXP
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7. List of figures
Fig 1.
Fig 2.
Fig 3.
Fig 4.
Fig 5.
NXP camera module daughter board plugged

on MCB1800 ..................................................... 3
Camera output signals ...................................... 4
SCT camera interface block diagram ................ 5
SCT camera interface connections ................... 6
System initialization and main while(1) loop...... 7
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Fig 6.
Fig 7.
Fig 8.
Fig 9.
Fig 10.
Top level folder contents ...................................7

Hardware folder contents ..................................8
Debugger setup .................................................8
Architecture of the SCT interface ......................9
Camera SCT module states and events..........10
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8. Contents
1.
2.
3.
3.1
3.2
3.3
4.
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.3.1
4.3.2
5.
6.
6.1
6.2
6.3
7.
8.
Introduction ......................................................... 3
Camera interface overview ................................. 4
SCT camera module overview............................ 4
Hardware connections ....................................... 5
High level flow chart ........................................... 6
Description of the contents included in this
application note .................................................. 7
SCT camera interface design ............................. 8
General introduction ........................................... 8
Camera interface SCT states and transition
analysis .............................................................. 9
Specific notes for the SCT camera interface
design .............................................................. 11
Notes on GPDMA usage .................................. 11
Notes on double buffering in video
reception/transmission ..................................... 12
Conclusion ......................................................... 12
Legal information .............................................. 13
Definitions ........................................................ 13
Disclaimers....................................................... 13
Trademarks ...................................................... 13
List of figures..................................................... 14
Contents ............................................................. 15
Please be aware that important notices concerning this document and the product(s)
described herein, have been included in the section 'Legal information'.
NXP B.V. 2014.
All rights reserved.
For more information, visit: http://www.nxp.com

For sales office addresses, please send an email to: [email protected]
Date of release: 3 June 2014
Document identifier: AN11365

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AN11365

SCT camera interface design with LPC1800 and LPC4300

SCT camera interface design with LPC1800 and LPC4300

Added LPC4300 to title.

All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers.

Rev. 1.2 3 June 2014

NXP B.V. 2014. All rights reserved.

SCT camera interface design with LPC1800 and LPC4300

NXP camera module daughter board plugged on MCB1800

All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers.

Rev. 1.2 3 June 2014

NXP B.V. 2014. All rights reserved.

SCT camera interface design with LPC1800 and LPC4300

2. Camera interface overview

Camera output signals

3. SCT camera module overview

All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers.

Rev. 1.2 3 June 2014

NXP B.V. 2014. All rights reserved.

SCT camera interface design with LPC1800 and LPC4300

SCT camera interface block diagram

3.1 Hardware connections

All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers.

Rev. 1.2 3 June 2014

NXP B.V. 2014. All rights reserved.

SCT camera interface design with LPC1800 and LPC4300

SCT camera interface connections

3.2 High level flow chart

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Rev. 1.2 3 June 2014

NXP B.V. 2014. All rights reserved.

SCT camera interface design with LPC1800 and LPC4300

System initialization and main while(1) loop

3.3 Description of the contents included in this application note

Top level folder contents

Subfolder \SCTCameraInterface_Hardware\ holds the schematic, Gerber file as well as

All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers.

Rev. 1.2 3 June 2014

NXP B.V. 2014. All rights reserved.

SCT camera interface design with LPC1800 and LPC4300

Hardware folder contents

Folder \SCTCameraInterface_software_lpc1857 and

4. SCT camera interface design

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Rev. 1.2 3 June 2014

NXP B.V. 2014. All rights reserved.

SCT camera interface design with LPC1800 and LPC4300

Architecture of the SCT interface

LPC_SCT_Type *pSCT = LPC_SCT;

pSCT->CTRL_U = 1UL<<1 | 1UL<<2 | 1UL<<3 | 0UL<<4 | 0x01<<5;

4.2 Camera interface SCT states and transition analysis

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Rev. 1.2 3 June 2014

NXP B.V. 2014. All rights reserved.

SCT camera interface design with LPC1800 and LPC4300

Fig 10. Camera SCT module states and events

All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers.

Rev. 1.2 3 June 2014

NXP B.V. 2014. All rights reserved.