This board allows for a gentle introduction to embedded software development in the Arduino IDE C/C++ speak and progressing further with STM32Cube IDE and unleashing the power of the ARM processor architecture. The development board's educational purpose is to be as simple as it can, but not simpler (Albert Einstein). There is still much to explore with this affordable board and a modest investment in the debugger/programmer. The software development tools are free and use Linux. The operating system is at no additional cost.
- It is cheap to get started. $5 should be enough, excluding the computer.
- It is easy to extend capabilities by adding Wemos/Lolin shields to the board.
- Explore advanced low-power modes.
- Interface various sensors.
- Explore capabilities and limitations.
- Design your shields to be mounted on top of the board.
The last point can be an introduction to designing custom boards with KiCad.
The development board use STMicroelectronics STM32G031FxP microcontroller, an ARM STM32 Microcontroller in the TSSOP20 package.
- Core: ARM Cortex M0+.
- Flash size (G031F8): 64 kB.
- Flash size (G031F6): 32 kB.
- Max clock frequency: 64 MHz.
- ADC Resolution: 12 bit.
- The number of I/Os: 18 I/O.
- Data RAM Size: 8 kB.
- Supply voltage: 1.7-3.6 V.
- Temp. range: -40.. +85 C.
- Interface Type: I2C, USART, UART, SPI.
- Low-power modes: Sleep, Stop, Standby, and Shutdown.
- Development support: serial wire debug (SWD).
The development board includes a LiPo-charger and connector for a 3.7 V supply for RTC and backup registers. The form factor is the Wemos/Lolin D1-mini and thus can often directly accept their series of shields. One LED indicates power, which can be disabled to reduce power consumption, a second LED shows charging status, and the third is the user LED_BUILTIN (=PB8).
STM32Cube IDE with ST-LINK/V2 in-circuit debugger/programmer can be used for C/C++ code development. There are cheap alternative ST-Link adapters (AliExpress/Amazon). It is also possible to use STMicroelectronics Discovery boards, which come with built-in debugger probes.
Another alternative is to use a gentler approach with Arduino IDE and program the board with an ST-link and the Arduino library stm32duino, which is officially supported by STMicroelectronics.
The fabricated two-layer board has the dimensions of 26.8 x 31.6 mm (1.05"x1.24").
| parameter | imperial | metric |
|---|---|---|
| board material | FR4 | FR4 |
| board thickness | 39 mil | 1.0 mm |
| surface finish | HASL | HASL |
| copper layer thickness | 1.4 mil | 35 um |
| board color | black | black |
| board text | white | white |
| board weight | 2.82 oz | 80 gram |
Printed circuit boards use Hot air solder leveling (HASL).
The D1-mini G031Fx development board is available only fully assembled.
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