How to use external QSPI flash to save sensor data

[ASaph]

Hello,

I am currently using STM32WB55 with QSPI external flash.

Currently, the plan is to use it without Bluetooth, for now.

I am able to write and read the flash in the program.

The plan:

1. Record for 24 hours with DMA from sensors to flash.
2. Upload another program to transfer the data via serial (or with some conditional loop).

The question:

1. Is there a better way of doing this?
2. I only need to save the data to the flash and then download them to a PC, can anyone point me to an example or tutorial for a similar case?

Best regards,

A.S.

[Remy ISSALYS · Accepted solution]

Hello,

You can look QSPI and UART examples available in STM32CubeWB package.

Best Regards

[Tesla DeLorean]

>>Is there a better way of doing this?

Probably, what are your metrics?

QSPI NOR Flash is very SLOW, both writing and usual 4K block erasure.

QSPI NAND Flash is unvarnished, so you're likely to have to deal with correction, deblocking, and wear leveling. The erase blocks sizes are perhaps unmanageable for most MCU, so you'd need more complex file systems.

eMMC is a better/faster route, the BGA's might be unmanageable for some

XTX has some perhaps easier to integrate designs. XTSD01G/XTSD02G/XTSD04/XTSD08G

[ASaph]

We use QSPI Flash because it consumes less power than the other options.

By "better way", I mean is there a standard/example of using embedded memory for a similar case (data logging)?

Most examples show either transmitting sensor data via wireless/wifi or using an sd card where they use a card reader to transfer the data. In this case, I am able to save the sensor data into the flash, but I am unsure how to move the data to the PC for analysis. I am looking for a data logging example in which the data could be transferred to a PC without desoldering the flash chip.

Currently, we are using QSPI NAND from Alliance Memory (AS5F38G04SND-08LIN).