Last edited 3 months ago

SERC internal peripheral

Applicable for STM32MP25x lines

1. Article purpose[edit | edit source]

The purpose of this article is to:

  • Briefly introduce the SERC peripheral and its main features.
  • Indicate the peripheral instances assignment at boot time and their assignment at runtime (including whether instances can be allocated to secure contexts).
  • List the software frameworks and drivers managing the peripheral.
  • Explain how to configure the peripheral.

2. Peripheral overview[edit | edit source]

The SERC peripheral is actually part of the SERF that groups the SERC and several SERD. The SERF detects any access to an inaccessible hardware block whether it is because it is not clocked or currently under reset thanks to the different SERD. When an access is detected, the SERD answers the bus request with a bus error and the SERC is notified. The SERC then (optionally) fires an interrupt to the trusted secure CPU.

This mechanism avoids bus hangs and allows to be notified through interrupts to the trusted secure CPU that an access to a shutdown/under-reset target has been attempted.

Refer to the STM32 MPU reference manuals for the complete list of features, and to the software frameworks and drivers, introduced below, to see which features are implemented.

3. Peripheral usage[edit | edit source]

This chapter is applicable in the scope of the OpenSTLinux BSP running on the Arm® Cortex®-A processor, and the STM32CubeMPU Package running on the Arm® Cortex®-M processor.

3.1. Boot time assignment[edit | edit source]

3.1.1. On STM32MP2 series[edit | edit source]

Click on How to.png to expand or collapse the legend...

  • means that the peripheral can be assigned to the given boot time context.
  • means that the peripheral is assigned by default to the given boot time context and that the peripheral is mandatory for the STM32 MPU Embedded Software distribution.
  • means that the peripheral can be assigned to the given boot time context, but this configuration is not supported in STM32 MPU Embedded Software distribution.
  • is used for system peripherals that cannot be unchecked because they are hardware connected in the device.

The present chapter describes STMicroelectronics recommendations or choice of implementation. Additional possibilities might be described in STM32MP25 reference manuals.

Domain Peripheral Boot time allocation Comment How to.png
Instance Cortex-A35
secure
(ROM code)
Cortex-A35
secure
(TF-A BL2)
Cortex-A35
non-secure
(U-Boot)
Trace & debug SERC SERC

3.2. Runtime assignment[edit | edit source]

3.2.1. On STM32MP25x lines More info.png[edit | edit source]

Click on How to.png to expand or collapse the legend...

STM32MP25 internal peripherals

Check boxes illustrate the possible peripheral allocations supported by STM32 MPU Embedded Software:

  • means that the peripheral can be assigned to the given runtime context.
  • means that the peripheral is assigned by default to the given runtime context and that the peripheral is mandatory for the STM32 MPU Embedded Software distribution.
  • means that the peripheral can be assigned to the given runtime context, but this configuration is not supported in STM32 MPU Embedded Software distribution.
  • is used for system peripherals that cannot be unchecked because they are hardware connected in the device.

The present chapter describes STMicroelectronics recommendations or choice of implementation. Additional possibilities might be described in STM32MP25 reference manuals.

Domain Peripheral Runtime allocation Comment How to.png
Instance Cortex-A35
secure
(OP-TEE /
TF-A BL31)
Cortex-A35
non-secure
(Linux)
Cortex-M33
secure
(TF-M)
Cortex-M33
non-secure
(STM32Cube)
Cortex-M0+
Warning.png
(STM32Cube)
Trace & debug SERC SERC OP-TEE

4. Software frameworks and drivers[edit | edit source]

Below are listed the software frameworks and drivers managing the SERC peripheral for the embedded software components listed in the above tables.

5. How to assign and configure the peripheral[edit | edit source]

The peripheral assignment can be done via the STM32CubeMX graphical tool (and manually completed if needed).
This tool also helps to configure the peripheral by generating:

  • Partial device trees (pin control and clock tree) for the OpenSTLinux software components.
  • HAL initialization code for the STM32CubeMPU Package.

The configuration is statically applied by a firmware running in the TDCID state. Either OP-TEE or TF-M.

6. How to go further[edit | edit source]

To better understand SERC errors, refer to the wiki article How to analyze IAC & SERC errors.

7. References[edit | edit source]