VLSI System Design (VSD)

VSDSquadron Mini

The VSDSquadron Mini board, blending RISC-V ISA innovation with

education, offers a developmental playground for exploring advanced
computing concepts
Contents
1 Getting Started 4
1.1 Kit Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Web Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 Board Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4.1 Form Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4.2 Table 2 shows CH32V003F4U6 RISC-V SoC IO Bank Assignment for commu-
nication Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4.3 The following table 3 lists the important components of the VSDSquadron
Mini RISC-V development board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5 Handling the Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.6 Operating Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.7 Powering Up the Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2 Installation and Settings 9

2.1 Install VSCode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.2 Install PlatformIO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3 Install CH32V Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.4 Uploading blink example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

3 Board Component Placement 14

3.1 VSDSquadron Mini top view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.2 VSDSquadron Mini bottom view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

4 Revision History 15

5 Help and support 16

©2024 VLSI System Design (VSD) User Guide DS-VSQM-REV1-page-1

List of Tables
1 Kit Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 CH32V003F4U6 RISC-V SoC IO Bank Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 Specifications of the VSDSquadron Mini Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4 Revision History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

©2024 VLSI System Design (VSD) User Guide DS-VSQM-REV1-page-2

List of Figures
1 VSDSquadron Mini RISC-V development board Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2 VSDSquadron Mini RISC-V development board Board image . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 Micro-C end of USB cable connected to board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4 VSCode GUI highlighting ”Extension” and ”PlatformIO IDE” . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5 VSCode GUI highlighting ”ant icon” and ”PIO Home” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6 VSCode GUI highlighting ”Platforms” sidebar and ”Advanced Installation” . . . . . 11
7 VSCode GUI highlighting ”Repository URL” and ”Install” button . . . . . . . . . . 11
8 VSCode GUI highlighting ”Platforms” and ”VSDSquadron” platform which you sucess-
fully installed in previous step . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
9 VSCode GUI highlighting ”Examples” and ”Import” buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
10 VSCode GUI highlighting ”vsdsquadronmini” under ”PROJECT TASKS” and ”Build”
”Upload” buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
11 Silkscreen Top View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
12 Silkscreen Top View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

©2024 VLSI System Design (VSD) User Guide DS-VSQM-REV1-page-3

 Getting Started

1 Getting Started
The VSDSquadron Mini RISC-V development board - Features and Interfaces:
ˆ Core Processor - The board is powered by CH32V003F4U6 chip with 32-bit RISC-V core based
on RV32EC instruction set, optimized for high-performance computing with support for 2-level
interrupt nesting and supports 24MHz system main frequency in the product function

ˆ Clock and Reset Systems: Includes a built-in factory-trimmed 24MHz RC oscillator and a
128kHz RC oscillator, plus an external 24MHz oscillator option for varied clocking requirements
ˆ Robust GPIO Support: Boasts 3 groups of GPIO ports, totaling 15 I/O ports, enabling
extensive peripheral connections and mapping to external interrupt capabilities

ˆ Flexible Communication Interfaces: Offers multiple communication protocols including US-

ART, I2C, and SPI for versatile connectivity options
ˆ High-Speed Memory: Equipped with 2KB SRAM for volatile data storage, 16KB CodeFlash
for program memory, and additional 1920B for bootloader functionalities
ˆ On-board Programmer: Features on-board CH32V305FBP6 single-wire program-
ming protocol, enhancing development efficiency with seamless code deployment
and debugging. NO NEED to purchase any additional adapter
The VSDSquadron Mini RISC-V SoC device available on the development board is programmed
using the on-board flash programmer which supports the CH32V305FBP6 single-wire programming
protocol, enabling streamlined and efficient development workflows directly on the board. Connect
the VSDSquadron Mini board using a USB C connector to program the CH32V003F4U6 chip.

1.1 Kit Contents

The following table lists the contents of the VSDSquadron Mini RISC-V development board.

Item Quantity

VSDSquadron Mini RISC-V development board featuring the 32- 1

bit RISC-V core based on RV32EC instruction set

Table 1: Kit Contents

1.2 Block Diagram

The following block diagram shows the key components of the VSDSquadron Mini RISC-V devel-
opment board.

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 Getting Started

Figure 1: VSDSquadron Mini RISC-V development board Block Diagram

1.3 Web Resources

For more information about the VSDSquadron Mini RISC-V SoC device, refer to CH32V003F4U6
RISC-V SoC Datasheet and CH32V003F4U6 RISC-V SoC Reference Manual

1.4 Board Overview

The VSDSquadron Mini RISC-V development boards features a RISC-V SoC with the following
capabilities:
ˆ On-board 24MHz RC oscillator

ˆ 3 groups of GPIO ports, totaling 15 I/O ports

ˆ USART, I2C, and SPI

ˆ UART implemented on USART

ˆ 2KB SRAM for volatile data storage, 16KB CodeFlash for program memory

ˆ On-board Programmer. NO NEED of any additional adapter

The following illustration highlights various components of the VSDSquadron Mini RISC-V devel-
opment board.

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 Getting Started

Figure 2: VSDSquadron Mini RISC-V development board Board image

1.4.1 Form Factor

The following are the dimensions of the VSDSquadron Mini RISC-V development board.
ˆ Form factor is 50.00 x 28.00 mm

ˆ Maximum height of the component at the top side: 8mm

ˆ Maximum height of the component at the bottom side: 1mm

1.4.2 Table 2 shows CH32V003F4U6 RISC-V SoC IO Bank Assignment for commu-
nication Interfaces

Interface Caravel Bank Allocation

SPI PC5(SCK), PC1(NSS), PC6(MOSI), PC7(MISO)

I2C PC1(SDA), PC2(SCL)

USART PD6(RX), PD5(TX)

Table 2: CH32V003F4U6 RISC-V SoC IO Bank Assignment

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 Getting Started

1.4.3 The following table 3 lists the important components of the VSDSquadron Mini
RISC-V development board

Board VSDSquadron Mini

Microcontroller CH32V003F4U6 chip with 32-bit RISC-V

core based on RV32EC instruction set

USB connector USB 2.0 Type-C

Built-in LED Pin 1x onboard user led (PD6)

Digital I/O pins 15x

Analog I/O pins 10-bit ADC, PD0-PD7, PA1, PA2, PC4

PWM pins 14x

External interrupts 8 external interrupt edge detectors,

mapped to any one of 18 external I/O
ports

USART 1x, PD6(RX), PD5(TX)

I2C 1x, PC1(SDA), PC2(SCL)

SPI 1x, PC5(SCK), PC1(NSS), PC6(MOSI),

PC7(MISO)

Programmer/debugger Onboard RISC-V programmer/debugger,

USB to TTL serial port support

I/O voltage 3.3V

Input voltage (nominal) 5V

Source Current per I/O Pin 8mA

Sink Current per I/O Pin 8mA

Clock speed Processor: 24MHz

Memory SRAM: 2kb on-chip volatile sram, 16kb

external program memory

Table 3: Specifications of the VSDSquadron Mini Board

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 Getting Started

1.5 Handling the Board

To avoid causing any damage or malfunctions, it is important to be mindful of the following points
when handling or operating the board:

ˆ To prevent any damage, make sure to handle the board while taking electrostatic discharge
(ESD) precautions.
ˆ Power down the board by disconnecting the board from USB port

1.6 Operating Temperature

Designed for Room Temperature. The standard range for room temperature in Celsius is typically
considered to be between 20 to 35 degrees Celsius (or 68 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit).

1.7 Powering Up the Board

Connect the Type-C end of USB cable to the board as shown in below image and refer to Installation
and Settings for programming the board

Figure 3: Micro-C end of USB cable connected to board

©2024 VLSI System Design (VSD) User Guide DS-VSQM-REV1-page-8

 Installation and Settings

2 Installation and Settings

This section provides information about the software and hardware settings required to run blink test
on the VSDSquadron Mini RISC-V development board using PlatformIO

2.1 Install VSCode

ˆ Download and install VSCode from https://code.visualstudio.com.

2.2 Install PlatformIO

ˆ Open the ”Extensions” sidebar in VSCode, as shown in Figure 4.
ˆ Search for ”PlatformIO” and click ”install”, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: VSCode GUI highlighting ”Extension” and ”PlatformIO IDE”

2.3 Install CH32V Platform

ˆ Expand the PlatformIO sidebar (ant icon) and click ”PIO Home” as shown in Figure 5.
ˆ In the PIO Home window, click on the ”Platforms” sidebar and choose “Advanced Installation”
as shown in Figure 6.
ˆ Enter the following repository URL when prompted and press ”Install,” as shown in Figure 7:
https://github.com/vsdip/vsdsquadron pio

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 Installation and Settings

Figure 5: VSCode GUI highlighting ”ant icon” and ”PIO Home”

2.4 Uploading blink example

ˆ Click on ”Platforms” as shown in Figure 8

ˆ Click on ”VSDSquadron” as shown in Figure 8

ˆ Click on ”Examples” as shown in Figure 9

ˆ Click on ”Import” as shown in Figure 9

ˆ You should see ”vsdsquadronmini” under ”Project Tasks” as shown in Figure 10

ˆ Click on ”Build” and ”Upload” button as shown in Figure 10

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 Installation and Settings

Figure 6: VSCode GUI highlighting ”Platforms” sidebar and ”Advanced Installation”

Figure 7: VSCode GUI highlighting ”Repository URL” and ”Install” button

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2024 VLSI System Design (VSD) User Guide DS-VSQM-REV1-page-11
 Installation and Settings

Figure 8: VSCode GUI highlighting ”Platforms” and ”VSDSquadron” platform which you sucessfully
installed in previous step

Figure 9: VSCode GUI highlighting ”Examples” and ”Import” buttons

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 Installation and Settings

Figure 10: VSCode GUI highlighting ”vsdsquadronmini” under ”PROJECT TASKS” and ”Build”
”Upload” buttons

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 Board Component Placement

3 Board Component Placement

The following figure shows the placement of various components on the VSDSquadron Mini RISC-V
development board.

3.1 VSDSquadron Mini top view

The following Figure 11 shows the top view of the VSDSquadron Mini RISC-V development board.

Figure 11: Silkscreen Top View

3.2 VSDSquadron Mini bottom view

The following Figure 12 shows the bottom view of the VSDSquadron Mini RISC-V development
board silkscreen.

Figure 12: Silkscreen Top View

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 Revision History

4 Revision History
The document’s revision history provides a record of the alterations made to it, listed in chrono-
logical order, with the most recent revision first.

Revision Date Description

1.0 - This is the first publica-

tion of this document

Table 4: Revision History

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 Help and support

5 Help and support

ˆ Contact email ID - [email protected]

ˆ Online Slack support - https://vsdsquadron.slack.com/

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2024 VLSI System Design (VSD) User Guide DS-VSQM-REV1-page-16