epaper_ext3_1

E-Paper EXT3-1

Summary

Electronic paper (E-Paper) or intelligent paper, is a display device that reflects ambient light, mimicking the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. EPD Extension Kit Generation 3 (EXT3 Kit) is a new extension board that connects to E-Paper Display (EPD). This project aims to implement a hardware driver interacting with the EXT3-1 Kit to control an E-Paper Display.

Required Hardware

• 1x XG24-EK2703A EFR32xG24 Explorer Kit
• Or 1x Wi-Fi Development Kit based on SiWG917 (e.g. SIWX917-DK2605A or SIWX917-RB4338A)
• 1x EPD Extension Kit Generation 3 revision 1
• 1x 5.81″ E-ink displays

Hardware Connection

To connect the EPD Extension Kit to the EFR32xG24 Explorer Kit, you can see the pins mapping table below.

BGM220P Explorer Kit	EFR32xG24 Explorer Kit	BRB4338A + BRD4002A	BRB2605A	EXT3-1 Kit	Pin function
3V3	3V3	3V3	VCC	3V3 [1]	VCC 3.3V
GND	GND	GND	GND	GND [10]	Ground
PC3	PC0	GPIO_28 [P31]	GPIO_28	ECSM [9]	Master chip select pin of EPD
PC2	PC1	GPIO_25 [P25]	GPIO_25	SCK [2]	SPI SCK
PC1	PC2	GPIO_26 [P27]	GPIO_26	MISO [6]	SPI MISO
PC0	PC3	GPIO_27 [P29]	GPIO_27	MOSI [7]	SPI MOSI
PB4	PA0	GPIO_46 [P24]	GPIO_10	D/C [4]	Serial bus for controlling data or command
PB2	PD5	GPIO_48 [P28]	GPIO_12	RST [5]	Reset signal input
PB3	PB1	GPIO_47 [P26]	GPIO_11	BUSY [3]	Busy state output pin

Setup

You can either create a project based on an example project or start with an empty example project.

Create a project based on an example project

1. From the Launcher Home, add your board to My Products, click on it, and click on the EXAMPLE PROJECTS & DEMOS tab. Find the example project filtering by ext3-1.

2. Click Create button on Third Party Hardware Drivers - E-paper EXT3-1 examples. Example project creation dialog pops up -> click Create and Finish and Project should be generated.

   

3. Build and flash this example to the board.

Start with an empty example project

1. Create an "Empty C Project" for the "EFR32xG24 Explorer Kit Board" using Simplicity Studio v5. Use the default project settings.

2. Copy the file app/example/epaper_ext3_1/app.c and app/example/epaper_ext3_1/silabs_logo.h into the project root folder (overwriting the existing file).

3. Install the software components:

   • Open the .slcp file in the project.

   • Select the SOFTWARE COMPONENTS tab.

   • Install the following components:

     • [Third Party Hardware Drivers] → [Display & LED] → [E-Paper EXT3-1 (Pervasive Displays)]
     • [Third Party Hardware Drivers] → [Services] → [GLIB - OLED Graphics Library]

4. Build and flash the project to your device.

Note:

• Make sure that the Third Party Hardware Drivers extension is installed. If not, follow this documentation.

• Third Party Hardware Drivers extension must be enabled for the project to install E-Paper EXT3-1 (Pervasive Displays) component.

How It Works

E-paper (also called ePaper) is an electronic display technology that mimics the appearance of paper. Using the same inks as the traditional printing industry, e-paper displays (EPDs) have tiny capsules filled with charged ink particles. When the proper charge is applied, an EPD creates highly detailed images with the contrast ratio and readability of printed material.

Testing

The E-paper will look something like the picture below.

Report Bugs & Get Support

To report bugs in the Application Examples projects, please create a new "Issue" in the "Issues" section of third_party_hw_drivers_extension repo. Please reference the board, project, and source files associated with the bug, and reference line numbers. If you are proposing a fix, also include information on the proposed fix. Since these examples are provided as-is, there is no guarantee that these examples will be updated to fix these issues.

Questions and comments related to these examples should be made by creating a new "Issue" in the "Issues" section of third_party_hw_drivers_extension repo.