u-blox NINA-B4 Series, System Integration Manual

Page 1: ...ut and module functions this manual provides a functional overview combined with best practice design guidelines for integrating the short range module in an end product With several supporting examples the document explains how applications are developed for NINA B4 open cpu solutions using the Nordic SDK It also describes the options for flashing the u connectXpress module software in production...

Page 2: ...sted product types refer to the respective data sheets 2 3 u blox or third parties may hold intellectual property rights in the products names logos and designs included in this document Copying reproduction modification or disclosure to third parties of this document or any part thereof is only permitted with the express written permission of u blox The information contained herein is provided as...

Page 3: ... NINA B40 pins 12 1 8 2 NINA B41 pins 13 1 9 Low power clock 13 1 9 1 External crystal 14 1 9 2 Internal oscillator 14 1 9 3 External clock source 14 2 Design in 15 2 1 NINA family migration design 15 2 2 Supply interfaces 15 2 2 1 Main supply input 15 2 2 2 Digital I O interfaces reference voltage VCC_IO 15 2 2 3 VCC application circuits 15 2 3 Antenna interface 16 2 3 1 External antenna selectio...

Page 4: ...31 3 2 Flashing open CPU software 31 3 2 1 Flashing over the SWD interface 31 3 2 2 Flashing over the UART interface 32 4 u connectXpress software 34 4 1 Flashing NINA B41 u connectXpress software 34 4 1 1 Software flashing using s center 34 4 1 2 Software flashing using AT command 35 4 2 Low frequency clock source 37 5 Handling and soldering 38 5 1 Packaging shipping storage and moisture precondi...

Page 5: ... modules integrates internal power management circuitry requiring only a single supply voltage in the range of 1 7 3 6 V The broad supply range also makes the modules particularly useful in battery powered systems With the same pinout physical size and mechanical design of NINA B3 modules NINA B4 offers a natural upgrade path for existing NINA applications Table 1 describes the various models in t...

Page 6: ...lashed NINA B411 has an RF pin for use with an external antenna NINA B416 Bluetooth 5 1 module that includes a powerful Arm Cortex M4 with FPU and delivers state of the art power performance All NINA B41 variants have u connectXpress software pre flashed NINA B416 has an internal PCB trace antenna with an extensive range The antenna is specifically designed for embedded devices Table 2 NINA B41 se...

Page 7: ...NA B401 modules include an ANT pad on the footprint for connecting an external antenna The module size is 10 x 11 6 x 2 2 mm NINA B406 module support an internal PCB trace antenna using antenna technology from Proant AB The module size is 10 x 15 x 2 2 mm Figure 1 NINA B40 series block diagram DC DC and LDO regulators 512 kB flash Bluetooth LE baseband IO buffers Arm Cortex M4 with FPU PLL VCC_IO ...

Page 8: ...hat includes an ANT pad for connecting an external antenna The module size is 10 x 11 6 x 2 2 mm NINA B416 modules support an internal PCB trace antenna using antenna technology from Proant AB The module size is 10 x 15 x 2 2 mm Figure 2 NINA B41 series block diagram DC DC and LDO regulators 512 kB flash Bluetooth LE baseband IO buffers Arm Cortex M4 with FPU PLL VCC_IO 1 7 3 6 V VCC 1 7 3 6 V 32 ...

Page 9: ...Mbps 2 Mbps 500 kbps 125 kbps Module size 10 0 x 15 0 mm 10 0 x 11 6 mm 10 0 x 15 0 mm Table 3 NINA B40 series characteristics summary 1 4 2 NINA B41 series Item NINA B400 NINA B401 NINA B406 Bluetooth version 5 1 5 1 5 1 Band support 2 4 GHz 40 channels 2 4 GHz 40 channels 2 4 GHz 40 channels Typical conducted output power 8 dBm 8 dBm Radiated output power EIRP 11 dBm with typical antenna 11 dBm ...

Page 10: ...software components for NINA B40 and NINA B41 modules NINA B40 modules host the customer application and optional boot loader software developed using the Nordic SDK in an open CPU configuration on the module See also section 1 7 1 NINA B41 modules are pre flashed with boot loader and u connectXpress software that interfaces through an AT command interpreter for control by customer application sof...

Page 11: ...dules are pre flashed with u connectXpress and boot loader software that interfaces through an AT command interpreter to control customer application software running on host MCUs Table 8 describes the feature support in the u connectXpress software Feature Support Bluetooth u blox Low Energy Serial Port Service SPS GATT server and client using AT commands Beacons 2 Mbit s modulation 125 Kbit s mo...

Page 12: ...n the data matrix barcode on the module label to retrieve the Bluetooth device address For more information about the Bluetooth device address for NINA B40x see also section 3 1 2 1 8 Pin configurations and functions 1 8 1 NINA B40 pins The pin functions of the versatile NINA B40 open CPU should be selected with consideration to the pin out and nRF52833 multiplexing The pin assignments for NINA B4...

Page 13: ...ock input and uses the source from the external crystal if one is available Otherwise the software uses the source from the internal oscillator This automatic sense functionality adds some additional time delay during startup about 1s If the startup time is critical or more detailed settings are needed set the low power clock settings using AT commands See also section 1 10 To reach the lowest sle...

Page 14: ...e connected to ground In NINA B40 these pins can be reassigned and used for GPIO To ensure that the clock is stable at 250ppm the customer application software must check the calibration of the internal oscillator at least once every 8 seconds 1 9 3 External clock source As an alternative to using an external crystal an external clock source generated from a host CPU or a TCXO can be used The cloc...

Page 15: ...ly consider adding extra capacitance on the supply line to avoid capacity degradation For information about voltage supply requirement and current consumption see the respective datasheet 2 3 2 2 2 Digital I O interfaces reference voltage VCC_IO On NINA B4 series modules the I O voltage level is the same as the supply voltage and VCC_IO is internally connected to the supply input VCC When using NI...

Page 16: ...To optimize the radiated performance of the final product the selection and placement of both the module and antenna must be chosen with due regard to the mechanical structure and electrical design of the product To avoid later redesigns it is important to decide the positioning of these components at an early phase of the product design Carefully consider the placement of an embedded antenna in N...

Page 17: ...not be less than a quarter of the wavelength frequency that needs to be radiated The orientation of the ground plane related to the antenna element must be considered The RF isolation between antennas in the system must be as high as possible and the correlation between the 3D radiation patterns of the antennas must be as low as possible In general an RF separation of at least a quarter wavelength...

Page 18: ...A B4x1 is smaller compared to NINA B4x0 and can be used if a minimum size implementation is required Table 9 suggests some RF connector plugs that can be used by the designers to connect RF coaxial cables based on the declaration of the respective manufacturers The Hirose U FL R SMT RF receptacles or similar parts require a suitable mated RF plug from the same connector series Due to wide usage of...

Page 19: ... overall efficiency and radiation pattern of the intended design Use antennas designed by an antenna manufacturer providing the best possible return loss or VSWR Provide a ground plane large enough according to the related integrated antenna requirements The ground plane of the application PCB may be reduced to a minimal size that is not less than a quarter of a wavelength of the minimum frequency...

Page 20: ... measure the real impedance of the traces it might also be possible to request that an impedance coupon be attached to the side of the panel Despite the high losses anticipated at high frequencies an FR 4 dielectric material can be considered in the RF designs providing that o RF trace lengths are minimized to reduce dielectric losses o If traces longer than a few centimeters are needed coaxial co...

Page 21: ...h the antenna facing outwards A ground plane extending at least 10 mm on both sides of the module is recommended as shown in Figure 6 Include a non disruptive GND plane underneath the module with a cut out underneath the antenna as shown in Figure 7 Observe the antenna keep out area on all layers as shown in figures Figure 6 and Figure 7 NINA B4x6 has four GND pads located close to the antenna as ...

Page 22: ... pins for the NFC interface in NINA B40 series modules can be used as normal GPIOs it is important that all NFC pins are correctly configured in the software Connecting an NFC antenna to pins that are configured for GPIO can damage the module In NINA B41 series modules NFC pins are always set to NFC mode The NFC antenna coil must be connected differentially between the NFC1 and NFC2 pins of the de...

Page 23: ...𝜋𝜋 13 56 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 2𝐿𝐿𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 𝐶𝐶𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 1 2 𝐶𝐶𝑝𝑝 𝐶𝐶𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝐶𝐶𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝐶𝐶𝑡𝑡𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 2 2𝜋𝜋 13 56 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 2𝐿𝐿𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝐶𝐶𝑝𝑝 𝐶𝐶𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 2 4 1 Battery protection If the antenna is exposed to a strong NFC field parasitic diodes and unintended ESD structures can cause the current to flow in the opposite direction of the supply If the battery used does not tolerate a return current protect the battery with a...

Page 24: ...ntrolled impedance dimensions of the selected PCB stack up The PCB manufacturer might be able to provide test coupons Verify that the power supply design and power sequence are compliant with NINA B4 series module specifications as described in the respective NINA B4 data sheet 2 3 Take particular care not to place components close to the antenna area Follow the recommendations from the antenna ma...

Page 25: ...delines Device immunity against Electrostatic Discharge ESD is a requirement for Electromagnetic Compatibility EMC conformance and use of the CE marking for products intended for sale in Europe For any product that integrates u blox modules to bear the CE mark it must be conformance tested in accordance with the R TTE Directive 99 5 EC EMC Directive 89 336 EEC and Low Voltage Directive 73 23 EEC i...

Page 26: ...in EN61000 4 2 is achieved by including ESD protection close to any areas accessible by the end user 2 7 Product testing 2 7 1 u blox in series production tests With strong focus on the development of high quality products u blox products are produced and fully tested automatically in the production line Stringent quality control processes are observed during production and all modules are tested ...

Page 27: ...aces and communication with the host controller and perform basic RF performance tests 2 7 2 1 Go No go tests for integrated devices Go No Go testing is used to test overall function of the device In a good test setup each component and soldering joint is related to a basic functional test If the test is successful the assembly is considered as functionally correct A Go No go test compares the sig...

Page 28: ...over SWD 2 Download and install the latest SEGGER embedded studio 3 Download and extract the latest nRF5 SDK When installing the SDK be sure not to include any space characters in the file path Keep the folder structure intact The examples in the SDK use relative folder references 4 Read SDK release notes and check the nRF5 SDK documentation available from the Nordic Semiconductor Infocenter 15 3 ...

Page 29: ...ine of the symbol BOARD_CUSTOM to your build You can add the BOARD_CUSTOM define statement in SEGGER Embedded Studio by following the instructions below 1 Right click the Project I n Project Explorer 2 Select Options Figure 12 Screenshot with steps to modify the Define statement in SEGGER Embedded Studio 3 Select the Common configuration 4 Select the Code Preprocessor 5 Select the Preprocessor Def...

Page 30: ...integration manual UBX 19052230 R06 Open CPU software Page 30 of 45 C1 Public 6 Modify the BOARD_ definition to define the BOARD_CUSTOM Figure 14 Screenshot with steps to modify the Define statement in SEGGER Embedded Studio ...

Page 31: ...written separately For additional information and instructions on saving and using the public Bluetooth device address see reference 18 3 1 3 Definition of Low Frequency clock source NINA B4x modules are delivered without an external low frequency crystal oscillator LFXO To configure the software correctly for your configuration follow the steps in the RC oscillator configuration application note ...

Page 32: ...odule must be pre loaded with a boot loader based on DFU boot loader examples included in the Nordic Semiconductor nRF5 SDK The boot loader is accessed using Nordic Semiconductor flash tools like nRF util The memory layout of the module as delivered from factory is described in Table 13 The shaded parts settings are flashed in the factory Usage S140 SoftDevice version 7 0 x Boot loader settings 0x...

Page 33: ... Figure 15 Figure 16 Setting the FLASH_START macro 3 2 2 2 Preparing the Device Firmware Update DFU package The package to be flashed is in a special DFU package format The package is generated in the following way An application that does not use a SoftDevice nrfutil pkg generate hw version 52 sd req 0x00 application version 0 application app hex app zip An application with SoftDevice nrfutil pkg...

Page 34: ... software is distributed in a zip container that contains two compressed binary files Application software NINA B41X SW x y z build bin Example NINA B41X SW 1 0 0 001 bin SoftDevice radio stack software NINA S140 SD a b c bin Example NINA S140 SD 7 2 0 bin A signature file for each of the above mentioned files is also included as well as a json header file More information about the features capab...

Page 35: ...rate id size signature name flags The file download uses an XMODEM protocol The UART hardware flow is not used during the software update For information about the firmware update command see the u connect AT commands manual 6 XMODEM uses standard XMODEM CRC16 protocol and 128 bytes packets 4 1 2 1 Example commands executed while flashing the application only In this section we describe a flashing...

Page 36: ...Device are updated 1 Start the boot loader mode using either The AT command AT UFWUPD 1 115200 Press the SW1 and SW2 buttons during a module reset 2 The s imageid signature command stores the SoftDevice signature The image id of the SoftDevice is 1 The signature is available in the NINA S140 SI x x x txt file s 1 e4CHiTQB LUzv7gYL5fDJ8H1VH7B1JWZjK2W3mMWWVYdY4W64or4 0IxKATg6LrbD1M8qQ Io9 nTPxB FDzI...

Page 37: ...yM8HbUStaZ8QBT KbkuJSzfT3AQgN7q HwhZA5haVH4GufkACisGzoTHKhpkzNSR1O8ezf0dltuNeI C4Q MRGQcAuEHSHpj qNHxoV o3YcTMC1EbcO3G OzGr0eiC3txAtFIjfwjpWqr1Fq vnWTHVMYYAqj6WqosPO5 G3g9XYFl5RWjSgxjV7noaMmt8qtb8wBlphBv D5zk5EzqRigzDy02KY9bs5whSP Es6Crk6 Hnq1xA3dQ OK x 0x27000 0x35FA4 NINA B4 APPLICATION rwx 0 7 Store the application image image id 0 as the startup image with the f imageid command f 0 OK x 0x2700...

Page 38: ...t when handling the PCB must be between the local GND and PCB GND Before mounting an antenna patch connect the ground of the device When handling the RF pin do not come into contact with any charged capacitors and be careful when contacting materials that can develop charges for example the patch antenna 10 pF coaxial cable 50 80 pF m soldering iron and so on To prevent electrostatic discharge thr...

Page 39: ...max C 245 Cooling Ramp down from TL K s 4 Allowed soldering cycles 1 Table 14 Recommended reflow profile Figure 17 Reflow profile Lower value of TP and slower ramp down rate 2 3 C sec is preferred After reflow soldering optical inspection of the modules is recommended to verify proper alignment Target values in Table 11 should be taken as general guidelines for a Pb free process Refer to the JEDEC...

Page 40: ...s populated with the modules The Miniature Wave Selective Solder process is preferred over the traditional wave soldering process Hand soldering is not recommended Rework is not recommended Conformal coating may affect the performance of the module so it is important to prevent the liquid from flowing into the module The RF shields do not provide protection for the module from coating liquids with...

Page 41: ...I2 C Inter Integrated Circuit IDE Integrated Development Environment IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers LDO Low Drop Out LED Light Emitting Diode MAC Media Access Control MISO Master Input Slave Output MOSI Master Output Slave Input MSL Moisture Sensitivity Level NFC Near Field Communication NSMD Non Solder Mask Defined PCB Printed Circuit Board PIFA Planar Inverted F Antenna P...

Page 42: ...utomation devices to communicate on a local wireless mesh network THT Through Hole Technology TXD Transmit Data UART Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter UICR User Information Configuration Registers USB Universal Serial Bus VCC IC power supply pin VSWR Voltage Standing Wave Ratio Zigbee Open standard protocol full stack solution for most large smart home ecosystem providers Table 15 Explan...

Page 43: ... Radio spectrum Matters ERM ElectroMagnetic Compatibility EMC standard for radio equipment and services Part 1 Common technical requirements 12 IEC61340 5 1 Protection of electronic devices from electrostatic phenomena General requirements 13 ETSI EN 60950 1 2006 Information technology equipment Safety Part 1 General requirements 14 JESD51 Overview of methodology for thermal testing of single semi...

Page 44: ...nd NINA B406 variants from Prototype to Engineering sample Revised SWD and UART flashing information in sections 2 5 and 3 2 Included editorial changes in all chapters R05 23 Dec 2020 mape Divided chapter 1 5 into two subchapters Added chapter 1 5 2 Minor corrections to 1 5 1 Added note in 3 12 about how to save MAC address when not using the u blox supplied boot loader Minor corrections R06 22 Ja...

Page 45: ...x com Regional Office China Beijing Phone 86 10 68 133 545 E mail info_cn u blox com Support support_cn u blox com Regional Office China Chongqing Phone 86 23 6815 1588 E mail info_cn u blox com Support support_cn u blox com Regional Office China Shanghai Phone 86 21 6090 4832 E mail info_cn u blox com Support support_cn u blox com Regional Office China Shenzhen Phone 86 755 8627 1083 E mail info_...

Page 46: ...Mouser Electronics Authorized Distributor Click to View Pricing Inventory Delivery Lifecycle Information u blox NINA B401 00B NINA B411 00B ...