UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad
Platforms
Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020 User manual
Document information
Information Content
Keywords i.MX 8M Quad board, i.MX 8M Quad Evaluation Kit (EVK), i.MX 8M Quad
platforms, 88W8987-based wireless module
Abstract Details the enabling of wireless solutions on i.MX 8M Quad platforms, the
bring-up of i.MX 8M Quad board and how to build the image from source for
i.MX 8M Quad platform.
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
2 / 40
Revision history
Rev Date Description
v.1 20201015 Initial version
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
3 / 40
1 About this document
1.1 Purpose and audience
This document details the enabling of wireless solutions on i.MX 8M Quad platforms.
The manual also covers the bring-up of i.MX 8M Quad platform, how to set up the
configurations for the build of BSP image from source and the hardware connection
with the 88W8987-based wireless module. The later chapters describe how to initialize/
configure the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth interface. The document is intended for the software,
hardware, and system engineers who are planning to use the wireless solutions on i.MX
8M Quad platforms.
Table 1. Targeted audience
Audience Purpose
Software engineers To design and develop software
Product architect To prepare the integration
1.2 Scope
This document specifies the hardware interconnection and software support for the i.MX
8M Quad and AzureWave AW-CM358-uSD/AW-CM358MA module to enable Wi-Fi/
Bluetooth functionality. The content explains how to access the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth features
on NXP 88W8987-based wireless modules, and provides the hardware architecture
information of i.MX 8M Quad platform and 88W8987 wireless module. Note that the
Azurewave module AW-CM358-uSD only supports the Wi-Fi with i.MX 8M Quad
platform.
Once you have enabled the Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth, refer to the user guide reference
UM11490 (Wireless Feature Configuration Guide for i.MX 8M Quad Platform) that details
the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth features and configurations for i.MX 8M Quad platforms.
1.3 Considerations
The i.MX 8M Quad is powered by Linux and the NXP Linux drivers added to support
88W8987 wireless device. This document does not provide a detailed description of the
i.MX 8M Quad BSP nor how to run and generate an image, and generate a rootfs as
these are covered in the i.MX Yocto Project User's Guide.
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
4 / 40
1.4 References
Table 2. Reference documents
Document type Document title
Datasheet NXP – DS – 88W8987 2.4/5 GHz Dual-Band 1x1 Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5 Solution
User Manual NXP – UM - i.MX Yocto Project User's Guide
This document describes how to build an image for an i.MX board by using a Yocto Project
build environment. Read more at link.
User manual NXP – UM - i.MX Linux
®
User's Guide
This document describes how to build and install the i.MX Linux
®
OS BSP. Read more at
link.
User Guide AzureWave – UG - uSD-1212 Adapter Board for AW-AM281-uSD and AW-CM358-uSD
(link).
User Guide NXP - UM - Wireless Feature Configuration Guide for i.MX 8M Quad Platform
This document details the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth features and configurations for i.MX 8M Quad
platforms (link).
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
5 / 40
2 i.MX 8M Quad architecture
2.1 Overview
NXP i.MX 8M Quad Evaluation Kit (EVK) provides a platform for rapid evaluation of the
i.MX 8MQuad, i.MX 8MDual and i.MX 8MQuadLite Applications Processors, utilizing 2
to 4x ARM
®
Cortex
®
-A53s and 1x Cortex-M4 cores. The i.MX 8M Quad Linux Board
Support Package (BSP) supports the Linux Operating System (OS) on the i.MX 8M
Quad application processors. The purpose of this software package is to support Linux
OS on the i.MX 8M Quad of Integrated Circuits (ICs) and their associated platforms. It
provides the necessary software to interface the standard open-source Linux kernel to
the i.MX 8M Quad hardware. The i.MX 8M Quad BSP is based on the Linux kernel from
the official Linux kernel website. It is enhanced with the features provided by NXP and
can be accommodate customized Linux kernel configurations.
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
6 / 40
2.2 Platform interfaces
Figure 1 shows the high-level block diagram of i.MX 8M Quad and the interface with
NXP Wi-Fi module based on 88W8987. The SDIO hardware interface is used for the
communication between the i.MX 8M Quad and the wireless module based on 88W8987.
Figure 1. Platform interface between the i.MX 8M quad and NXP Wi-Fi module
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
7 / 40
2.3 Wi-Fi layer interfaces
This section details the layers between the user applications and 88W8987-based
wireless module. The wireless module requires a kernel driver loaded on the i.MX
8M Quad host system and a firmware running on 88W8987 SoC. The MLAN module
downloads the firmware binary to the SD8987 adapter when the SDIO bus driver detects
the SDIO interface of the module. The kernel driver (SD8987) is loaded between the bus
driver and the network stack from the "cfg80211" subsystem in the kernel. NXP kernel
driver includes a set of controls and configurations to communicate with the user space
through one of the following interfaces:
• Input/output control (IOCTL)
• Wireless Extension (Wext)
• CFG80211
The IOCTL provides a path to the user space applications, such as iwconfig and iwpriv
whereas cfg80211 provides a different path to the user space application, such as
wpa_supplicant, hostapd and iw.
Figure 2 illustrates the Wi-Fi layer interface.
Figure 2. Wi-Fi layer interface
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
8 / 40
2.4 Bluetooth layer interfaces
Figure 3 illustrates the layers between the user applications and the 88W8987-based
Bluetooth module. The 88W8987-based wireless module requires a kernel driver loaded
on the i.MX 8M Quad host system and a firmware running on 88W8987 SoC. The Wi-Fi
driver loads the combo firmware. The hci_uart driver provides the HCI interface between
the firmware and user application.
Figure 3. Bluetooth layer interface
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
9 / 40
3 i.MX 8M Quad EVK platform
3.1 Overview
This section briefly describes the i.MX 8M Quad Evaluation Kit based on i.MX 8M Quad,
as an introduction to i.MX 8M Quad applications processor. The EVK includes the
hardware design files, tools and board support packages (BSPs) for Linux
®
.
For more detail about the i.MX 8M Quad EVK, please refer to i.MX 8M Evaluation Kit on
NXP website.
3.2 i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board
The i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board is based on the NXP i.MX 8M Quad application
processor. The i.MX 8M Quad processor features an advanced implementation of the
Quad ARM Cortex
®
-A53+ ARM Cortex-M4 core which operates at speeds up to 1.5
GHz. The i.MX 8M Quad features an integrated power management module that reduces
the complexity of external power supply and simplifies the power sequencing. Each
processor provides a 32-bit LVDDR3L/DDR4/LPDDR4 memory interface and other
interfaces to connect peripherals such as HDMI, LCD, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
™
, GPS and
camera sensors.
Figure 4. i.MX 8M Quad EVK block diagram
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
10 / 40
For more information about the application processor, please refer to the data sheet and
reference manual on www.nxp.com.
Table 3 lists the features of i.MX 8M Quad EVK.
Table 3. Features of i.MX 8M Quad
Features Features (continued)
i.MX 8M Quad applications processor with five cores (4×Arm
®
Cortex
®
-A53 and 1× Cortex-M4)
M.2 connector for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth (PCIe, USB, UART, I2C
and I2S)
3 GB, 32-bit LPDDR4 with 1.6 GHz clock USB3.0 Type-A connector
eMMC 5.0, 16 GB HDMI2.0a Type-A connector
32 MB Octal SPI NOR flash 1 Gbit/s Ethernet
Micro SD card connector Mini-SAS MIPI-DSI connector
USB3.0 Type-C connector with PD support 2x mini-SAS MIPI-CSI connectors for Camera
USB to serial converter for debug
Infrared receiver LEDs for power indication and general-
purpose use
3.5 mm audio jack for amplified speakers JTAG 10-pin connector
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
11 / 40
3.3 i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board interfaces
Figure 5 shows the front view of i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board with pointers to the
interfaces.
Figure 5. i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board interfaces - Front view
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
12 / 40
Figure 6 shows the back view of i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board with pointers to the
interfaces.
Figure 6. i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board interfaces - Back view
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
13 / 40
3.4 i.MX 8M Quad switch settings
Figure 7 shows the two switches on i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board. The Boot Device
Switch is used to boot the device from eMMC while the Boot Mode Switch is used to set
the boot mode.
Figure 7. Boot device switch and boot mode switch on i.MX 8M Quad evaluation board
Table 4 shows the settings of the boot mode switch.
Table 4. Boot mode switch settings
D1 D2 Boot mode
0 1 Serial downloader
1 0 Internal boot
Table 5 shows the settings of the boot device switch to boot from eMMC.
Table 5. Switch settings to boot from eMMC
D1 D2 D3 D4
OFF OFF ON OFF
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
14 / 40
4 88W8987-based wireless modules
4.1 88W8987 with i.MX 8M Quad
The 88W8987 is a highly integrated dual-band (2.4/5 GHz) Wi-Fi single-chip solution,
specifically designed to support the speed, reliability, and quality requirements of
Very High Throughput (VHT) products. The System-on-Chip (SoC) provides both
simultaneous and independent operation of IEEE 802.11ac (Wave 2), 1x1 with data rates
up to MCS9 (433 Mbit/s). The 88W8987 provides the Wi-Fi feature to connect with the
AP or STA. The device requires a powerful host processor that supports both the low-
level Wi-Fi driver and the high-level Wi-Fi application software. SDIO 3.0 is the host
interface used to connect the Wi-Fi technology to the host processor.
Figure 8. 88W8987 block diagram
4.1.1 AzureWave AW-CM358MA module
The AW-CM358MA module supports a SDIO device interface that conforms to the
industry SDIO Full-Speed card specification and allows a host controller using the SDIO
bus protocol to access the Wireless SoC device.
The AW-CM358MA is a Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5 combo stamp module with the M.2
adaptor board that features:
• SDIO 3.0 standard
• On-chip memory used for CIS
• 4-bit SDIO and 1-bit SDIO transfer modes
• A special interrupt register for information exchange
4.1.1.1 Recommended antenna part
MAG.LAYERS: MSA-4008-25GC1-A2
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
15 / 40
4.1.1.2 Supported RF standards
Table 6. AW-CM358MA supported RF standards
Part number Wi-Fi Bluetooth
AW-CM358MA 1x1 Wi-Fi 5 (2.4/5GHz) 5.0
4.1.1.3 Wi-Fi features
Table 7. AW-CM358MA supported Wi-Fi features
Feature Description
Wi-Fi standard IEEE802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Frequency range 2.4 GHz ISM Bands 2.412-2.472 GHz
5.15-5.25 GHz (FCC UNII-low band) for US/Canada and Europe
5.25-5.35 GHz (FCC UNII-middle band) for US/Canada and Europe
5.47-5.725 GHz for Europe
5.725-5.825 GHz (FCC UNII-high band) for US/Canada
Modulation 802.11a/g/n/ac: OFDM
802.11b: CCK(11, 5.5Mbps), DQPSK(2Mbps), BPSK(1Mbps)
Number of channels 802.11b:
USA, Canada and Taiwan – 1 ~ 11
Most European Countries – 1 ~ 13
802.11g:
USA and Canada – 1 ~ 11
Most European Countries – 1 ~ 13
802.11n:
USA and Canada – 1 ~ 11
Most European Countries – 1 ~ 13
802.11a:
USA – 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112, 116, 120, 124, 128, 132, 136,
140, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165
Data rate WLAN:
802.11b : 1, 2, 5.5, 11Mbps
802.11a/g : 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54Mbps
802.11ac/n : Maximum data rates up to 86.7 Mbps(20MHz
channel),200 Mbps (40 MHz channel), 433 Mbps (80 MHz channel)
Security WPA/WPA2 and WEP 64-bit and 128-bit encryption
WPA3 SAE encryption supported
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)/Counter Mode CBC-MAC
Protocol (CCMP)
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) /Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP)
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)/Cipher-Based Message Authentication Code
(CMAC)
WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure (WAPI)
QoS 802.11e Quality of Service supported for multimedia applications
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
16 / 40
4.1.1.4 Supported Bluetooth features
Table 8. AW-CM358MA supported Bluetooth features
Bluetooth Feature Description
Bluetooth classic general features Bluetooth Class 1.5 and Class 2 support
Scatternet support
Maximum of seven simultaneous ACL connections
Automatic Packet Type Selection
Bluetooth - 2.1 to 5.0 Specification Support
Bluetooth packet type supported ACL (DM1, DH1, DM3, DH3, DM5, DH5, 2-DH1, 2-DH3, 2-DH5, 3-DH1, 3-DH3, 3-
DH5)
SCO (HV1, HV3)
eSCO (EV3, EV4, EV5, 2EV3, 3EV3, 2EV5, 3EV5)
Bluetooth profiles supported Bluetooth A2DP Source/Sink
Bluetooth AVRCP Controller
Bluetooth HFP Dev/Gateway
Bluetooth OPP Server/Client
Bluetooth HID
Bluetooth specification 2.1 Support Erroneous Data Reporting
Encryption Pause and Resume
Extended Inquiry Response
Link Supervision Timeout Changed Event
Non-Automatically-Flushable Packet Boundary Flag
Secure Simple Pairing
Sniff Sub Rating
Security Mode 4
Bluetooth specification 3.0 support Enhanced Power Control
HCI Read Encryption Key Size Command
Bluetooth specification 4.0 support Low Energy Link Layer
Bluetooth LE generic features 16 Bluetooth LE connections (master role)
Bluetooth LE – 1Mbps Support
Bluetooth LE profile support Bluetooth LE GATT
Bluetooth LE HID
Bluetooth LE 4.0 support Low Energy Physical Layer
Low Energy Link Layer
Enhancements to HCI for Low Energy
Low Energy Direct Test Mode
Bluetooth LE 4.1 support Low duty Cycle Directed Advertising
Bluetooth LE Dual Mode Topology
Bluetooth LE Privacy v1.1
Bluetooth LE Link Layer Topology
Bluetooth LE 4.2 support Bluetooth LE Secure Connection
Bluetooth LE Link Layer Privacy v1.2
Bluetooth LE Data Length Extension
Link Layer Extended Scanner Filter Policies
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
17 / 40
4.1.1.5 AW-CM358MA module view
Figure 9. AzureWave AW-CM358MA module
4.1.1.6 i.MX 8M Quad rework for SDIO support on M.2
This section shows how to enable the SDIO support on the M.2 connector. Rework the
following registers on the i.MX 8M Quad EVK.
Note: The hardware rework instructions enable the SDIO support from an SD card
connector to an M.2 connector. A software change is also required to make the feature
fully functional. Please refer to Section 5.6.3 "Enable SDIO on M.2 for AW-CM358MA
module" to enable the SDIO on M.2 using DTB file. Please note that the SDIO on the
MicroSD card slot will be disabled after the rework.
• Silkscreen of PCBA SCH-38820 / PCBA SCH-29615
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
18 / 40
• Remove the following 0Ω 0402 resistors: R1603, R1617, R1618, R1619, R1620 and
R1621 (micro SD card J1601)
Figure 10. MicroSD Card J1601 registers
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
19 / 40
• Install the following 0Ω 0402 resistors: R1429, R1430, R1431, R1432, R1433, R1434,
R1435 and R1436 (M.2 J1401)
Figure 11. M.2 J1401 registers
NXP Semiconductors
UM11483
Getting Started with NXP Wireless Modules for i.MX 8M-Quad Platforms
UM11483 All information provided in this document is subject to legal disclaimers. © NXP B.V. 2020. All rights reserved.
User manual Rev. 1 — 15 October 2020
20 / 40
4.1.1.7 AW-CM358MA module setup with iMX 8M Quad
Figure 12. Azurewave AW-CM358MA module plugged into i.MX 8M Quad bottom side M.2 connector
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
Page is loading ...
/
