technical articles

My opinion about Nordic bluetooth chip technology

The nRF52 Series of System-on-Chip (SoC) devices embed a powerful yet low-power Arm® Cortex®-M4 processor with our industry leading 2.4 GHz RF transceivers. In combination with the very flexible orthogonal power management system, and a programmable peripheral interconnect (PPI) event system, the nRF52 Series enables you to make ultra-low power wireless solutions.

The nRF52 Series offers pin-compatible device options for Bluetooth® Low Energy, proprietary 2.4 GHz, and ANT™ solutions giving you the freedom to develop your wireless system using the technology that suits your application the best. Our unique memory and hardware resource protection system allows you to develop applications on devices with embedded protocol stacks running on the same processor without any need to link in the stack or strenuous testing to avoid application and stack from interfering with each other.

nRF52 Series IC comparison

Features		nRF52805	nRF52810	nRF52811	nRF52820	nRF52832	nRF52833	nRF52840
CPU		Cortex-M4	Cortex-M4	Cortex-M4	Cortex-M4	Cortex-M4 with FPU	Cortex-M4 with FPU	Cortex-M4 with FPU
CPU		64 MHz	64 MHz	64 MHz	64 MHz	64 MHz	64 MHz	64 MHz

Memory		192 kB flash	192 kB flash	192 kB flash	256 kB flash	512/256 kB flash	512 kB flash	1 MB flash
		-	-	-	-	Cache	Cache	Cache
		24 kB RAM	24 kB RAM	24 kB RAM	32 kB RAM	64/32 kB RAM	128 kB RAM	256 kB RAM

EasyDMA MAXCNT bit length	I2S	-	-	-	-	14	14	14
	PDM	-	15	15	-	15	15	15
	PWM	-	15	15	-	15	15	15
	RADIO	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
	SAADC	-	15	15	-	15	15	15
	SPIM	14	10	14	15	8	16	16
	SPIS	14	10	14	15	8	16	16
	TWIM	14	10	14	15	8	16	16
	TWIS	14	10	14	15	8	16	16
	UARTE	10	10	10	15	8	16	16
	NFCT	-	-	-	-	9	9	9
	USBD	-	-	-	7	-	7	7
	QSPI	-	-	-	-	-	-	20

Crypto		AES engine	AES engine	AES engine	AES engine	AES engine	AES engine	AES engine
Crypto		-	-	-	-	-	-	CryptoCell™310

Radio	Protocols	Bluetooth Low Energy/ANT/2.4 GHz	Bluetooth Low Energy/ANT/2.4 GHz	Bluetooth Low Energy/ANT/2.4 GHz/IEEE 802.15.4	Bluetooth Low Energy/Bluetooth mesh/Thread/ Zigbee/ANT/2.4 GHz/IEEE 802.15.4	Bluetooth Low Energy/Bluetooth mesh/ANT/2.4 GHz	Bluetooth Low Energy/Bluetooth mesh/Thread/ Zigbee/ANT/2.4 GHz/IEEE 802.15.4	Bluetooth Low Energy/Bluetooth mesh/Thread/ Zigbee/ANT/2.4 GHz/IEEE 802.15.4
	Bluetooth 5 PHYs	2 Mbps	2 Mbps	2 Mbps/Long range	2 Mbps/Long range	2 Mbps	2 Mbps/Long range	2 Mbps/Long range
	Bluetooth 5.1 support	-	-	Yes	Yes	-	Yes	-
	Output power	+4 dBm	+4 dBm	+4 dBm	+8 dBm	+4 dBm	+8 dBm	+8 dBm
	Sensitivity	-97 dBm (Bluetooth 1 Mbps)	-96 dBm (Bluetooth 1 Mbps)	-97 dBm (Bluetooth 1 Mbps)	-95 dBm (Bluetooth Low Energy 1 Mbps)	-96 dBm (Bluetooth Low Energy 1 Mbps)	-95 dBm (Bluetooth Low Energy 1 Mbps)	-95 dBm (Bluetooth Low Energy 1 Mbps)

Clock		32 MHz crystal	32 MHz crystal	32 MHz crystal	32 MHz crystal	32 MHz crystal	32 MHz crystal	32 MHz crystal
		64 MHz on chip (PLL)	64 MHz on chip (PLL)	64 MHz on chip (PLL)	64 MHz on chip (PLL)	64 MHz on chip (PLL)	64 MHz on chip (PLL)	64 MHz on chip (PLL)
		32.768 kHz crystal (optional)	32.768 kHz crystal (optional)	32.768 kHz crystal (optional)	32.768 kHz crystal (optional)	32.768 kHz crystal (optional)	32.768 kHz crystal (optional)	32.768 kHz crystal (optional)
		32.768 kHz on-chip RC	32.768 kHz on-chip RC	32.768 kHz on-chip RC	32.768 kHz on-chip RC	32.768 kHz on-chip RC	32.768 kHz on-chip RC	32.768 kHz on-chip RC
		External 32.768 kHz clock	External 32.768 kHz clock	External 32.768 kHz clock	External 32.768 kHz clock	External 32.768 kHz clock	External 32.768 kHz clock	External 32.768 kHz clock

Power management		1.7 V to 3.6 V supply voltage	1.7 V to 3.6 V supply voltage	1.7 V to 3.6 V supply voltage	1.7 V to 5.5 V supply voltage 1.7 V to 3.6 V (VDD) 2.5 V to 5.5 V (VDDH)	1.7 V to 3.6 V supply voltage	1.7 V to 5.5 V supply voltage 1.7 V to 3.6 V (VDD) 2.5 V to 5.5 V (VDDH)	1.7 V to 5.5 V supply voltage 1.7 V to 3.6 V (VDD) 2.5 V to 5.5 V (VDDH)
		1 stage LDO and DC/DC	1 stage LDO and DC/DC	1 stage LDO and DC/DC	2 stage regulator LDO for high voltage and DC/DC or LDO for low voltage	1 stage LDO and DC/DC	2 stage regulator LDO for high voltage and DC/DC or LDO for low voltage	2 stage LDO and DC/DC
		-	-	-	On-chip VBUS 3.3 V reg	-	On-chip VBUS 3.3 V reg	On-chip VBUS 3.3 V reg
		-	-	-	-	-	-	Regulated supply for external components

Digital interfaces		1 × SPI master and slave	1 × SPI master and slave	2 × SPI master and slave	2 × SPI master and slave	3 × SPI master and slave	4 × SPI master and 3 × SPI slave	4 × SPI master and 3 × SPI slave
		1 × TWI master and slave	1 × TWI master and slave	1 × TWI master and slave	2 × TWI master and slave	2 × TWI master and slave	2 × TWI master and slave	2 × TWI master and slave
		1 × UARTE	1 × UARTE	1 × UARTE	1 × UARTE	1 × UARTE or UART	2 × UARTE	2 × UARTE
		-	1 × PWM	1 × PWM	-	3 × PWM	4 × PWM	4 × PWM
		-	QDEC	QDEC	QDEC	QDEC	QDEC	QDEC
		-	PDM	PDM	-	PDM	PDM	PDM
		-	-	-	-	I2S	I2S	I2S
		-	-	-	1 × USB Full-speed device	-	1 × USB Full-speed device	1 × USB Full-speed device
		-	-	-	-	-	1 × high-speed SPI master	1 × high-speed SPI master
		-	-	-	-	-	-	1 × Quad SPI (w.XIP)

Analog interfaces		-	64-level analog comp	64-level analog comp	64-level analog comp	64-level analog comp	64-level analog comp	64-level analog comp
		-	-	-	-	15-level low-power comp	15-level low-power comp	15-level low-power comp
		2-channel 12-bit ADC	8-channel 12-bit ADC	8-channel 12-bit ADC	-	8-channel 12-bit ADC	8-channel 12-bit ADC	8-channel 12-bit ADC
		-	-	-	-	NFC Tag	NFC Tag	NFC Tag
		True Random Number Generator	True Random Number Generator	True Random Number Generator	True Random Number Generator	True Random Number Generator	True Random Number Generator	True Random Number Generator
		Temperature sensor	Temperature sensor	Temperature sensor	Temperature sensor	Temperature sensor	Temperature sensor	Temperature sensor

Timers		3 × 32-bit 16 MHz timers	3 × 32-bit 16 MHz timers	3 × 32-bit 16 MHz timers	4 × 32-bit 16 MHz timers	5 × 32-bit 16 MHz timers	5 × 32-bit 16 MHz timers	5 × 32-bit 16 MHz timers
		2 × 32.768 kHz RTC	2 × 32.768 kHz RTC	2 × 32.768 kHz RTC	2 × 32.768 kHz RTC	3 × 32.768 kHz RTC	3 × 32.768 kHz RTC	3 × 32.768 kHz RTC
		Watchdog timer (32.768 kHz)	Watchdog timer (32.768 kHz)	Watchdog timer (32.768 kHz)	Watchdog timer (32.768 kHz)	Watchdog timer (32.768 kHz)	Watchdog timer (32.768 kHz)	Watchdog timer (32.768 kHz)

Other interfaces		SWI debug interface	SWI debug interface	SWI debug interface	SWI debug interface	SWI debug interface	SWI debug interface	SWI debug interface

PPI		10 programmable channels	20 programmable channels	20 programmable channels	20 programmable channels	20 programmable channels	20 programmable channels	20 programmable channels
		12 fixed channels	12 fixed channels	12 fixed channels	12 fixed channels	12 fixed channels	12 fixed channels	12 fixed channels
		6 channel groups	6 channel groups	6 channel groups	6 channel groups	6 channel groups	6 channel groups	6 channel groups

Other features		BPROT	BPROT	BPROT	BPROT	BPROT	ACL	ACL
		6 × SWI	6 × SWI	6 × SWI	6 × SWI	6 × SWI	6 × SWI	6 × SWI
		2 × EGU	2 × EGU	2 × EGU	6 × EGU	6 × EGU	6 × EGU	6 × EGU
		-	-	-	-	MWU	MWU	MWU

Power fail		Power fail comparator and brownout	Power fail comparator and brownout	Power fail comparator and brownout	Power fail comparator and brownout	Power fail comparator and brownout	Power fail comparator and brownout	Power fail comparator and brownout

GPIO		Up to 10 pins	Up to 32 pins	Up to 32 pins	Up to 18 pins	Up to 32 pins	Up to 42 pins	Up to 48 pins
GPIO		8 × GPIOTEs channels	8 × GPIOTEs channels	8 × GPIOTEs channels	8 × GPIOTEs channels	8 × GPIOTEs channels	8 × GPIOTEs channels	8 × GPIOTEs channels

Packages		-	6 × 6 QFN48 w/32 GPIOs	6 × 6 QFN48 w/32 GPIOs	-	6 × 6 QFN48 w/32 GPIOs	7 × 7 AQFN73 w/42 GPIOs	7 × 7 AQFN73 w/48 GPIOs
		-	5 × 5 QFN32 w/17 GPIOs	5 × 5 QFN32 w/17 GPIOs	5 × 5 QFN40 w/18 GPIOs and USB	-	5 × 5 QFN40 w/18 GPIOs & USB	-
		2.5 × 2.5 WLCSP w/10 GPIOs	2.5 × 2.5 WLCSP w/15 GPIOs	2.5 × 2.5 WLCSP w/15 GPIOs	-	3.0 × 3.2 WLCSP w/32 GPIOs & USB	3.2 × 3.2 WLCSP w/42 GPIOs & USB	3.5 × 3.5 WLCSP w/48 GPIOs

Temperature		-40 to 85°C	-40 to 85°C	-40 to 85°C	-40 to 105°C	-40 to 85°C	-40 to 105°C	-40 to 85°C

Published in technical articles

Friday, 21 August 2020 21:27

Nordic S113 SoftDevice

Memory-optimized Peripheral-only Bluetooth Low Energy protocol stack

The S113 SoftDevice is a Bluetooth® Low Energy peripheral protocol stack solution. It supports up to four peripheral connections with an additional broadcaster role running concurrently. The S113 SoftDevice integrates a Bluetooth Low Energy Controller and Host, and provides a full and flexible API for building Bluetooth Low Energy Nordic nRF52 System on Chip solutions.

SoftDevice S113 is a memory-optimized Bluetooth® Low Energy protocol stack for the Nordic nRF52805, nRF52810, nRF52811, nRF52820, nRF52832, nRF52833 and nRF52840 System-on-Chips (SoCs). It is Bluetooth 5.1 qualified and supports the following Bluetooth features: high-throughput 2 Mbps and channel selection algorithm 2 (CSA #2). The number of connections and bandwidth per connection are configurable, offering memory and performance optimization.

It is a complete stack with GAP, GATT, ATT, SM and Link Layer. Both GATT Server and Client are supported. The broad feature set also includes Privacy 1.2, LE Data Packet Length Extension, L2CAP connection-oriented channels, configurable ATT MTU and LE Secure Connections.

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Published in Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Stack