Connecting Atmel-ICE to a PDI Target

Last modified by Microchip on 2023/12/15 19:56

The Program and Debug Interface (PDI) is a proprietary interface for external programming and on-chip debugging of an AVR® device. PDI is a 2-pin interface providing a bi-directional half-duplex synchronous communication with the target device.

When designing a printed circuit board for an application using the PDI interface for an AVR device, use the pinout on Figure: PDI Header Pinout. One of the 6-pin adapters provided with the Atmel-ICE can then be used to connect the Atmel-ICE probe to the application PCB.

There is a difference from the JTAGICE mkII JTAG Probe, where PDI_DATA is connected to pin 9. The Atmel-ICE is compatible with the pinout used by the JTAGICE3, AVR ONE! and AVR Dragon products.

PDI Header Pinout

Figure: PDI Header Pinout

Connection to a 6-pin 100-mil PDI Header

Use the 6-pin 100-mil tap on the flat cable (included in some kits) to connect to a standard 100-mil PDI header.

Connection to a 6-pin 50-mil PDI Header

Use the adapter board (included in some kits) to connect to a standard 50-mil PDI header.

Connection to a Custom 100-mil Header

The 10-pin mini-squid cable should be used to connect between the Atmel-ICE AVR connector port and the target board. Four connections are required, as described in Table: Atmel-ICE PDI Pin Mapping.

Atmel-ICE PDI Pin Mapping table

Table: Atmel-ICE PDI Pin Mapping