SiWx917Y Module Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth LE Explorer Kit (BRD2708A)

Overview

The SiWx917Y Explorer Kit (BRD2708A) is a small form factor development and evaluation platform based on the SiWG917Y module. The kit supports Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth LE, a mikroBUS socket, a Qwiic connector, user LEDs and buttons, and external PSRAM.

Hardware

SiWG917Y111MGABA module
ARM Cortex-M4F CPU
8 MB flash and 8 MB external PSRAM
Two user LEDs and two user push buttons
mikroBUS socket
Qwiic connector
SEGGER J-Link on-board debugger and virtual COM port

Note

The on-board PSRAM is isolated from the module by an analog switch driven by the PSRAM Power Control slide switch. This switch must be in the ON position for the memc driver and the psram memory region to work. Silicon Labs recommends turning it OFF when the PSRAM is unused, to reduce current consumption.

For more information about the SiWG917Y module and BRD2708A board, refer to these documents:

Supported Features

The siwx917_ek2708a board supports the hardware features listed below.

on-chip / on-board: Feature integrated in the SoC / present on the board.
2 / 2: Number of instances that are enabled / disabled.
Click on the label to see the first instance of this feature in the board/SoC DTS files.
vnd,foo: Compatible string for the Devicetree binding matching the feature.
Click on the link to view the binding documentation.

`siwx917_ek2708a/siwg917y111mgaba` target

On-target memory for this board target: 319 KiB of RAM, 8 MiB of Flash.

Type	Location	Description	Compatible
CPU	on-chip	ARM Cortex-M4F CPU1	`arm,cortex-m4f`
ADC	on-chip	Silicon Labs siwx91x ADC1	`silabs,siwx91x-adc`
Bluetooth	on-chip	Bluetooth HCI on Silabs boards1	`silabs,siwx91x-bt-hci`
Clock control	on-chip	SiWx91x Always-On (AON) / UULP (Ultra Ultra Low-Power) clock manager1	`silabs,siwx91x-cmu-aon`
	on-chip	SiWx91x clock route under an HP, ULP, or AON CMU node23	`silabs,siwx91x-clock-route`
	on-chip	SiWx91x Ultra Low Power (ULP) clock manager1	`silabs,siwx91x-cmu-ulp`
	on-chip	SiWx91x High Power (HP) clock manager1	`silabs,siwx91x-cmu-hp`
	on-chip	SiWx91x PLL output description3	`silabs,siwx91x-pll`
	on-chip	Generic fixed-rate clock provider1	`fixed-clock`
	on-chip	On-chip RC or crystal oscillator for SiWx91x SoCs3	`silabs,siwx91x-physical-clock`
DMA	on-chip	Silabs SiWx91x micro-DMA (UDMA)2	`silabs,udma`
DMA	on-chip	Silicon Labs SiWx91x General Purpose DMA (GPDMA) Controller1	`silabs,gpdma`
Flash controller	on-chip	Silicon Labs SiWx91x flash controller1	`silabs,siwx91x-flash-controller`
GPIO & Headers	on-chip	Silabs SiWx91x GPIO2	`silabs,siwx91x-gpio`
	on-chip	Silabs SiWx91x GPIO Port5	`silabs,siwx91x-gpio-port`
	on-chip	Silabs SiWx91x UULP (ultra ultra low power) GPIO Port1	`silabs,siwx91x-gpio-uulp`
	on-board	GPIO pins exposed on Mikro BUS headers1	`mikro-bus`
	on-board	STEMMA QT is a 4-pin JST-SH connector for I2C devices1	`stemma-qt-connector`
I2C	on-chip	Synopsys DesignWare I2C1 2	`snps,designware-i2c`
I2S	on-chip	Silabs siwx91x I2S (Inter-IC sound interface)2	`silabs,siwx91x-i2s`
Input	on-board	Group of GPIO-bound input keys1	`gpio-keys`
Interrupt controller	on-chip	ARMv7-M NVIC (Nested Vectored Interrupt Controller)1	`arm,v7m-nvic`
LED	on-board	Group of GPIO-controlled LEDs1	`gpio-leds`
Memory controller	on-chip	Silicon Labs QSPI (Quad Serial Protocol Interface) memory controller1	`silabs,siwx91x-qspi-memory`
MTD	on-chip	Flash node1	`soc-nv-flash`
Networking	on-chip	Silicon Labs SiWx91x NWP1	`silabs,siwx91x-nwp`
Pin control	on-chip	Silabs SiWx91x Pin Controller1	`silabs,siwx91x-pinctrl`
Power domain	on-chip	Silabs siwx91x soc power domain1	`silabs,siwx91x-power-domain`
PWM	on-chip	Silabs siwx91x PWM Controller1	`silabs,siwx91x-pwm`
RNG	on-chip	Hardware Random Number Generator embedded on Silabs SiWx91x chips1	`silabs,siwx91x-rng`
RTC	on-chip	Silabs Siwx91x RTC (Real-Time Counter)1	`silabs,siwx91x-rtc`
RTC	on-chip	Silicon Labs Series 2 SYSRTC1	`silabs,sysrtc`
Serial controller	on-chip	ns16550 UART1 2	`ns16550`
SPI	on-chip	Silabs GSPI1	`silabs,gspi`
SRAM	on-chip	Generic on-chip SRAM1	`mmio-sram`
Timer	on-chip	ARMv7-M System Tick1	`arm,armv7m-systick`
Watchdog	on-chip	Silabs SiWx91x Watchdog1	`silabs,siwx91x-wdt`
Wi-Fi	on-chip	Silabs SiWx91x SoC WiFi1	`silabs,siwx91x-wifi`

Refer to the SiWx917 Wi-Fi Features (Alpha) page for a list of supported Wi-Fi features.

Programming and Debugging

The siwx917_ek2708a board supports the runners and associated west commands listed below.

	flash	debug	rtt	reset	debugserver	attach
jlink	✅	✅ (default)	✅	✅	✅	✅
silabs_commander	✅ (default)

Building and Flashing

Applications for the siwx917_ek2708a board can be built in the usual way. The flash method requires Simplicity Commander installed on the host.

Connect the board to your host computer using the USB Type-C connector.

The SiWG917Y module contains a Network Co-Processor (NWP). Ensure the NWP is flashed with the firmware associated with the current Zephyr version. The firmware is provided by the hal_silabs module:

west blobs fetch hal_silabs
cd modules/hal/silabs/zephyr/blobs/wiseconnect/connectivity_firmware/standard
commander flash SiWG917-*.rps

The NWP firmware only needs to be reflashed when its version changes.

Here is an example for the Hello World application:

# From the root of the zephyr repository
west build -b siwx917_ek2708a samples/hello_world
west flash

Open a serial terminal (minicom, putty, etc.) with the following settings:

Speed: 115200
Data: 8 bits
Parity: None
Stop bits: 1

Reset the board and you should see the following message in the terminal:

Hello World! siwx917_ek2708a/siwg917y111mgaba

Debugging

Debugging relies on J-Link. J-Link is not able to flash the firmware, so a debug session has to be done in two steps. west flash flashes the firmware using Simplicity Commander. Then west attach uses J-Link to attach to the board. The Zephyr image may have already booted when the user runs west attach. The user may execute monitor reset in the GDB prompt to reset the board.