20.6.5 SleepWalking with Static Power Domain Gating in Details

In standby sleep mode, the switchable power domain (PD) of a peripheral can remain in active state in order to perform sleepwalking tasks, whereas the other power domains are in retention state to reduce power consumption. This SleepWalking with static Power Domain Gating is supported by all peripherals. For some peripherals it must be enabled by writing a Run in Standby bit in the respective Control A register (CTRLA.RUNSTDBY) to '1'. Refer to each peripheral chapter for details.

The following examples illustrate SleepWalking with static Power Domain Gating:

AC SleepWalking with Static PD Gating

The AC peripheral is used in continuous measurement mode to monitor voltage level on input pins. An AC interrupt is generated to wake up the device. To make the AC continue to run in standby sleep mode, the RUNSTDBY bit must be written to '1'.

  • Entering standby mode: As shown in the next figure, PD0 (where the AC is located) remains active, whereas PD2 and PD1 are successively set to retention state by the Power Manager.
Figure 20-6. AC SleepWalking with Static PD Gating
  • Exiting standby mode: When conditions are met, the AC peripheral generates an interrupt to wake up the device. Successively, the PM peripheral sets PD1 and PD2 to active state. Once PD2 is in active state, the CPU is able to operate normally and execute the AC interrupt handler accordingly.
  • Wake-up time:
    • The required time to set PD1 and PD2 to active state has to be considered for the global wake-up time, refer to Wake-Up Time for details.
    • In this case, the VDDCORE voltage is still supplied by the main voltage regulator, refer to Regulator Automatic Low Power Mode for details. Thus, global wake-up time is not affected by the regulator.

TC0 SleepWalking with Static PD Gating

TC0 peripheral is used in counter operation mode. An interrupt is generated to wake-up the device based on the TC0 peripheral configuration. To make the TC0 peripheral continue to run in standby sleep mode, the RUNSTDBY bit is written to '1'.

  • Entering standby mode: As shown in Figure 20-7, PD1 (where the TC0 is located) and PD0 (where the peripheral clock generator is located) remain active, whereas PD2 is set to retention state by the Power Manager peripheral. Refer to Power Domain Controller for details.
  • Exiting standby mode: When conditions are met, the TC0 peripheral generates an interrupt to wake-up the device. The PM peripheral sets PD2 to active state. Once PD2 is in active state, and the CPU is able to operate normally and execute the TC0 interrupt handler accordingly.
  • Wake-up time:
    • The required time to set PD2 to active state has to be considered for the global wake-up time, refer to Wake-Up Time for details.
    • In this case, the VDDCORE voltage is still supplied by the main voltage regulator, refer to Regulator Automatic Low Power Mode for details. Thus, global wake-up time is not affected by the regulator.
Figure 20-7. TC0 SleepWalking with Static PD Gating

EIC SleepWalking with Static PD Gating

In this example, EIC peripheral is used to detect an edge condition to generate interrupt to the CPU. An External interrupt pin is filtered by the CLK_ULP32K clock, GCLK peripheral is not used. Refer to Chapter EIC – External Interrupt Controller for details. The EIC peripheral is located in the power domain PDTOP (which is not switchable), and there is no RUNSTDBY bit in the EIC peripheral.

  • Entering standby mode: As shown in Figure 20-8, all the switchable power domains are set in retention state by the Power Manager peripheral. The low power regulator supplies the VDDCORE voltage level.
  • Exiting standby mode: When conditions are met, the EIC peripheral generates an interrupt to wake the device up. Successively, the PM peripheral sets PD0, PD1, and PD2 to active state, and the main voltage regulator restarts. Once PD2 is in active state and the main voltage regulator is ready, the CPU is able to operate normally and execute the EIC interrupt handler accordingly.
  • Wake-up time:

    • The required time to set the switchable power domains to active state has to be considered for the global wake-up time, refer to Wake-Up Time for details.
    • When in standby sleep mode, the GCLK peripheral is not used, allowing the VDDCORE to be supplied by the low power regulator to reduce consumption, see Regulator Automatic Low Power Mode. Consequently, main voltage regulator wake-up time has to be considered for the global wake-up time as shown in Figure 20-8.
Figure 20-8. EIC SleepWalking with Static PD Gating

References:

AC – Analog Comparators

TC – Timer/Counter

EIC – External Interrupt Controller

GCLK - Generic Clock Controller