LoRa® Bluetooth® 5 Low Energy Module Hardware Integration Manual NM180100
Contents Contents .....................................................................................................................................................................2 List of Figures ..............................................................................................................................................................3 1. 2. 3. 4. Introduction ..........................................................................................................................
List of Figures Figure 1 NM module block diagram ..........................................................................................................................4 Figure 2 NM180100 fanout in the evaluation board. ................................................................................................5 Figure 3 PCB stack-up used in the evaluation board. ................................................................................................
1. Introduction 1.1. Overview The successful development of a wireless product requires a system level approach where all disciplines must be taken into consideration during the planning stage. There are many approaches to product development. A typical development workflow begins with the industrial design including overall cosmetic of the product and the user interaction elements.
the NM180100 is mounted on Layer 1. Layer 1 and 4 are generally flooded with the ground plane. Digital/analog signals and power are routed in Layer 2 and Layer 3 whenever possible. Power traces are pulled back from the board edges to decrease the risk of shorting from the board edges and to minimize E-field emissions due to noisy power source. All the RF traces and the antenna pattern are routed on layer 1 with the transmission line reference in Layer 2.
2.2. Fanout and Trace Spacing Guidelines The NM180100 uses an 81-pad land grid array, 12.8mm x 12.8mm package. The pitch in between the pins is 1.35mm. There are nine ground pads in the center of the package. This means only three rows of fanout is required. Since the spacing in between adjacent pads is 0.7mm, two rows of pads could be fanout in a single layer. In other words, the entire module can be fanout with two layers.
Figure 5 Antenna feed point and the relative placement of the NM180100. The RF traces are the most critical and must be routed with the highest priority. In the NM180100EVB, the RF traces are routed as microstrips in the top layer with the ground reference in layer 2. The ground reference must remain continuous from the antenna pads of the module to the antenna launch point. Non-RF signal/power routing on the outer layers and near the antenna or the RF section are discouraged.
Figure 6 An example IoT sensor application implementation. 3.3. Real-Time Clock For BLE application, the current ARM Cordio BLE stack requires an external tuning fork crystal to be connected across the XI and XO pins. A crystal-less implementation is currently being developed and until further notice by ARM or Ambiq, it is mandatory that the RTC crystal be present in order to use the BLE transceiver.
3.5. Serial Wire Debug The NM180100 exposes the Apollo 3 Serial Wire Debug port externally through the GPIOs. The default boot-up SWD port is mapped to GPIO20 (SWDCK) and GPIO21 (SWDIO). Although the SWD port can be re-mapped to other pins, GPIO20 and GPIO21 should always be accessible during boot-up for first time factory programming.
Figure 7 Grounded co-planar wave guide with via stitching and the electric field distribution. 4. RF Guidelines 4.1. RF Routing Guidelines The NM180100EVB uses grounded co-planar wave guides for the RF traces, LoRa_ANT and BLE_ANT, as shown in Figure 7. A grounded co-planar wave guide is similar to a conventional microstrip wave guide in that the presence of the ground planes beside the signal trace is utilized to minimize the spread of the parasitic electric field.
Consider the scenario where the LoRa radio is transmitting at 902.3MHz and the BLE radio is transmitting at 2478MHz; and each radio has a dedicated antenna that are in close proximity to each other. The carrier frequency of each radio can potentially leak into each other and generate a second order intermodulation 𝑓𝑓2 − 𝑓𝑓1 = 2478MHz − 902.3MHz = 1575.7MHz This intermodulation frequency is within the GPS band and could de-sensitize applications having a GPS receiver in close proximity. 4.4.
5. Regulatory Compliance Consideration Depending on the region where the end-product will be operating in, both CE and FCC are necessary for system level products. If the end-product has a custom antenna, it is the integrator’s responsibility to make sure that the antenna being used is in compliance with all the laws for the country, frequency, and power levels in which the device is used. Additionally, some countries regulate reception in certain frequency bands.
7. Regulatory and Compliance Notice In the United States, the NM180100 has obtained modular approval under Federal Communications Commission (FCC) CFR47 Telecommunications, Part §15 Subpart C “Intentional Radiators” in accordance with Part §15.212 and Part §15.247. FCC ID: 2AL5J-180100 In Canada, the NM180100 has obtained modular approval under Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) Radio Standards Specification (RSS) RSS-247 and RSS-Gen. ISED: 22729-180100 7.1.
7.2. United States: Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Notice This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. Warning: RF Exposure Compliance The antenna(s) used for this transmitter must be installed to provide a separation distance of at least 20 cm from all persons.
7.3. Canada: Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Notice This device complies with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) Radio Standards Specification (RSS) RSS-247 and RSS-Gen. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause interference; and (2) This device must accept any interference, including interference that may cause undesired operation of the device.
7.4. Canada: Avis d’Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada (ISDE) Cet appareil est conforme à cahiers des charges sur les normes radioélectriques (CNR) CNR-210 et CNR-Gen d’Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada (ISDE).
8. References [1] Northern Mechatronics Inc., "NM180100 Datasheet," https://www.northernmechatronics.com/nm180100. November 2019. [Online]. Available: [2] Ambiq Micro, Inc., "Apollo 3 Blue Datasheet," February 2019. [Online]. Available: https://ambiqmicro.com. [3] Northern Mechatronics Inc., "NM180100EVB https://www.northernmechatronics.com/nm180100. [4] Northern Mechatronics Inc., "Certification https://www.northernmechatronics.com. User Test Guide," Instructions," 2020. [Online].
10.Revision History Revision -.9 Date January 24, 2020 Description Initial release NM180100 Hardware Integration Manual-0.
11.Document Details Parameter Name Number Revision Life Cycle State Value NM180100 Hardware Integration Manual 1000027 -0.9 In Work NM180100 Hardware Integration Manual-0.
