Programming MCU Fuses, OTP, and Option Bytes
Article updated Aug. 2021 to describe automatic fuse generation for NXP i,MX RT devices. Some ARM devices have areas of flash memory dedicated to programming user configuration data. Writes to such areas can be sensitive or permanent for some devices, so it is important that the developer is able to write these options in an intuitive way in order to minimizes human error. PEmicro's PROGACMP v7.78 and Cyclone software installer v10.41 introduce a set of new "user options" commands: These commands allow the developer to individually program user options through the use of an IDE.
How to Configure and Write Microchip/Atmel Emulated EEPROM
Some Microchip/Atmel's SAM-Series devices allow rows of non-volatile flash memory (NVM) to be configured as EEPROM, so that users can treat NVM pages as EEPROM with Atmel's software, and let Atmel's back-end take care of keeping peripheral data safe. PEmicro's Cyclone in-system programmers and PROGACMP flash programming software each allow users to set up NVM main flash space as emulated EEPROM by programming the EEPROM FUSE bits in the device's User Row. Our latest Microchip/Atmel algorithms support single-byte writes to the User Row, to preserve adjacent User Row settings.
How to Secure/Unsecure Microchip SAM-Series MCU
The safety of users’ intellectual property is a top priority for PEmicro. Utilizing the “Chip Protect” function of processors prevents data from being read or written from an external source, which helps keep your data secure. PEmicro is constantly expanding its compatibility with different manufacturers’ device security methods. Each manufacturer may employ multiple methods for securing or unsecuring a processor, so the goal is to make this process as simple and easy as possible for the user.
How to use PEMicro's Multilink and Cyclone Interfaces with Keil's MDK-ARM IDE
PEmicro's run control and FLASH programming support is fully integrated into ARM's MDK-ARM Keil uVision Integrated Development Environment v5.25 for ARM microcontrollers. This provides debug capabilities via PEmicro's Multilink, Cyclone and embedded OpenSDA debug interfaces for a broad range of ARM devices from NXP, STMicroelectronics, Atmel, Cypress, Infineon, Silicon Labs and many others. For complete list of ARM devices that PEMicro supports, please visit the following page: http://www.pemicro.com/arm/.