PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
nRF2401A
Single chip 2.4 GHz Transceiver
FEATURES
APPLICATIONS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
True single chip GFSK transceiver in a small
24-pin package (QFN24 5x5mm)
Data rate 0 to1Mbps
Only 2 external components
Multi channel operation
• 125 channels
• Channel switching time 0
250
MHz
MHz
kHz
kbps
kbps
MHz
Operating conditions
VDD
TEMP
Supply voltage
Operating Temperature
Digital input pin
VIH
VIL
HIGH level input voltage
LOW level input voltage
Digital output pin
VOH
VOL
HIGH level output voltage (IOH=-0.5mA)
LOW level output voltage (IOL=0.5mA)
fOP
Operating frequency
Crystal frequency
Frequency deviation
Data rate ShockBurst™
Data rate Direct Mode
Channel spacing
General RF conditions
fXTAL
∆f
RGFSK
RGFSK
FCHANNEL
±156
1000
1000
1
Transmitter operation
PRF
PRFC
PRFCR
PBW
PRF2
PRF3
IVDD
IVDD
IVDD
IVDD
IVDD
Maximum Output Power
RF Power Control Range
RF Power Control Range Resolution
20dB Bandwidth for Modulated Carrier
2nd Adjacent Channel Transmit Power 2MHz
3rd Adjacent Channel Transmit Power 3MHz
Supply current @ 0dBm output power
Supply current @ -20dBm output power
Average Supply current @ -5dBm output
power, ShockBurst™
Average Supply current in stand-by mode
Average Supply current in power down
4)
5)
5)
6)
13
8.8
0.8
dBm
dB
dB
kHz
dBm
dBm
mA
mA
mA
7)
12
400
µA
nA
18
19
23
25
-93
-85
10/4
-20/0
-37/-20
-43/-30
-45/-41
mA
mA
mA
mA
dBm
dBm
dB
dB
dB
dB
dB
16
0
20
+4
±3
1000
-20
-40
Receiver operation
IVDD
IVDD
IVDD
IVDD
RXSENS
RXSENS
C/ICO
C/I1ST
C/I2ND
C/I3RD
RXB
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
Supply current one channel 250kbps
Supply current one channel 1000kbps
Supply current two channels 250kbps
Supply current two channels 1000kbps
Sensitivity at 0.1%BER (@250kbps)
Sensitivity at 0.1%BER (@1000kbps)
C/I Co-channel
1st Adjacent Channel Selectivity C/I 1MHz
2nd Adjacent Channel Selectivity C/I 2MHz
3rd Adjacent Channel Selectivity C/I 3MHz
Blocking Data Channel 2
8)
8)
8)
8)
Usable band is determined by local regulations
The crystal frequency may be chosen from 5 different values (4, 8, 12, 16, and 20MHz) which are specified in the
configuration word, see Table 8. 16MHz are required for 1Mbps operation.
Data rate must be either 250kbps or 1000kbps.
Antenna load impedance = 100Ω+j175Ω
Antenna load impedance = 100Ω+j175Ω. Effective data rate 250kbps or 1Mbps.
Antenna load impedance = 100Ω+j175Ω. Effective data rate 10kbps.
Current if 4 MHz crystal is used.
250kbps/1000kbps.
Table 4 nRF2401A RF specifications
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PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
nRF2401A Single Chip 2.4 GHz Radio Transceiver
PACKAGE OUTLINE
nRF2401AG uses the GREEN QFN24 5x5 package, with matt tin plating.
nRF2401A uses the QFN24 5x5 package, with SnPb plating. Dimensions are in mm.
Package Type
Punch QFN24
(5x5 mm)
Min
typ.
Max
A
0.8
0.9
A1
0.0
0.02
0.05
A2
0.65
0.69
b
0.25
0.3
0.35
D/E
D1/E1
e
5 BSC
4.75
BSC
0.65 BSC
J
3.47
3.57
3.67
K
3.47
3.57
3.67
L
0.3
0.4
0.5
Figure 3 nRF2401AG GREEN Package outline.
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R
1.235
1.335
1.435
PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
nRF2401A Single Chip 2.4 GHz Radio Transceiver
Absolute Maximum Ratings
Supply voltages
VDD............................- 0.3V to + 3.6V
VSS .................................................. 0V
Input voltage
VI ....................... - 0.3V to VDD + 0.3V
Output voltage
VO ...................... - 0.3V to VDD + 0.3V
Total Power Dissipation
PD (TA=85°C) ............................. 90mW
Temperatures
Operating Temperature…. - 40°C to + 85°C
Storage Temperature….… - 40°C to + 125°C
Note: Stress exceeding one or more of the limiting values may cause permanent
damage to the device.
ATTENTION!
Electrostatic Sensitive Device
Observe Precaution for handling.
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PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
nRF2401A Single Chip 2.4 GHz Radio Transceiver
Glossary of Terms
Term
Description
CLK
CRC
CS
CE
DR
GFSK
ISM
MCU
OD
PWR_DWN
PWR_UP
RX
ST_BY
TX
Clock
Cyclic Redundancy Check
Chip Select
Chip Enable
Data Ready
Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying
Industrial-Scientific-Medical
Micro controller
Overdrive
Power Down
Power Up
Receive
Standby
Transmit
Table 5 Glossary
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PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
nRF2401A Single Chip 2.4 GHz Radio Transceiver
MODES OF OPERATION
Overview
The nRF2401A can be set in the following main modes depending on three control
pins:
Mode
Active (RX/TX)
Configuration
Stand by
Power down
PWR_UP
CE
CS
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
X
0
1
0
X
Table 6 nRF2401A main modes
For a complete overview of the nRF2401A I/O pins in the different modes please
refer to Table 7.
Active modes
The nRF2401A has two active (RX/TX) modes:
•
•
ShockBurst™
Direct Mode
The device functionality in these modes is decided by the content of a configuration
word. This configuration word is presented in configuration section.
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PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
nRF2401A Single Chip 2.4 GHz Radio Transceiver
ShockBurst™
The ShockBurst™ technology uses on-chip FIFO to clock in data at a low data rate
and transmit at a very high rate thus enabling extremely power reduction.
When operating the nRF2401A in ShockBurst™, you gain access to the high data
rates (1 Mbps) offered by the 2.4 GHz band without the need of a costly, high-speed
micro controller (MCU) for data processing.
By putting all high speed signal processing related to RF protocol on-chip, the
nRF2401A offers the following benefits:
•
•
•
Highly reduced current consumption
Lower system cost (facilitates use of less expensive micro controller)
Greatly reduced risk of ‘on-air’ collisions due to short transmission time
The nRF2401A can be programmed using a simple 3-wire interface where the data
rate is decided by the speed of the micro controller.
By allowing the digital part of the application to run at low speed while maximizing
the data rate on the RF link, the nRF ShockBurst™ mode reduces the average current
consumption in applications considerably.
ShockBurst™ principle
When the nRF2401A is configured in ShockBurst™, TX or RX operation is
conducted in the following way (10 kbps for the example only).
Continuous 10kbps
nRF2401A
8-bit
MCU
FIFO
ShockBurstTM
1Mbps
Figure 4 Clocking in data with MCU and sending with ShockBurst technology
Without ShockBurstTM, running at speed dictated by 10Kbs MCU
10mA periode
10mA period
0
20
40
60
10Kbs MCU with ShockBurstTM
80
100
140
120
160
180
200
220
Time mS
Figure 5 Current consumption with & without ShockBurst technology
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240
PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
nRF2401A Single Chip 2.4 GHz Radio Transceiver
NO
nRF2401A in
ShockBurstTM
TX (CE=hi)?
YES
Data content of registers:
uController
Loading ADDR
and PAYLOAD
data
ADDR
PAYLOAD
Maximum 256 bits
nRF2401A
Calculating CRC
ADDR
PAYLOAD
CRC
NO
CE=Low?
YES
nRF2401A
Adding Preamble
Preamble
nRF2401A
Sending
ShockBurstTM
Package
(250 or 1000kbps)
YES
ADDR
PAYLOAD
CRC
Input FIFO not Empty
NO
Sending
completed?
Figure 6 Flow Chart ShockBurst™ Transmit of nRF2401A
nRF2401A ShockBurst™ Transmit:
MCU interface pins: CE, CLK1, DATA
1. When the application MCU has data to send, set CE high. This activates
nRF2401A on-board data processing.
2. The address of the receiving node (RX address) and payload data is
clocked into the nRF2401A. The application protocol or MCU sets the
speed 2.7 GHz
2)
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PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
nRF2401A Single Chip 2.4 GHz Radio Transceiver
PCB layout example
Figure 21 shows a PCB layout example for the application schematic in Figure 20.
A double-sided FR-4 board of 1.6mm thickness is used. This PCB has a ground plane
on the bottom layer. Additionally, there are ground areas on the component side of the
board to ensure sufficient grounding of critical components. A large number of via
holes connect the top layer ground areas to the bottom layer ground plane.
No components in bottom layer
Top silk screen
Bottom view
Top view
Figure 21 nRF2401A RF layout with single ended connection to 50Ω antenna and
0603 size passive components
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PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
nRF2401A Single Chip 2.4 GHz Radio Transceiver
DEFINITIONS
Data sheet status
Objective product specification
Preliminary product
specification
Product specification
This data sheet contains target specifications for product development.
This data sheet contains preliminary data; supplementary data may be
published from Nordic Semiconductor ASA later.
This data sheet contains final product specifications. Nordic Semiconductor
ASA reserves the right to make changes at any time without notice in order to
improve design and supply the best possible product.
Limiting values
Stress above one or more of the limiting values may cause permanent damage to the device. These are stress
ratings only and operation of the device at these or at any other conditions above those given in the
Specifications sections of the specification is not implied. Exposure to limiting values for extended periods may
affect device reliability.
Application information
Where application information is given, it is advisory and does not form part of the specification.
Table 23. Definitions
Nordic Semiconductor ASA reserves the right to make changes without further notice
to the product to improve reliability, function or design. Nordic Semiconductor ASA
does not assume any liability arising out of the application or use of any product or
circuits described herein.
LIFE SUPPORT APPLICATIONS
These products are not designed for use in life support appliances, devices, or systems
where malfunction of these products can reasonably be expected to result in personal
injury. Nordic Semiconductor ASA customers using or selling these products for use
in such applications do so at their own risk and agree to fully indemnify Nordic
Semiconductor ASA for any damages resulting from such improper use or sale.
Product Specification: Revision Date: 23.12.2004.
Data sheet order code: 231204-nRF2401A or 231204-nRF2401AG
All rights reserved ®. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without the prior
written permission of the copyright holder.
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PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
nRF2401A Single Chip 2.4 GHz Radio Transceiver
YOUR NOTES
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PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
nRF2401A Single Chip 2.4 GHz Radio Transceiver
Nordic Semiconductor ASA – World Wide Distributors
For Your nearest dealer, please see http://www.nordicsemi.no
Main Office:
Vestre Rosten 81, N-7075 Tiller, Norway
Phone: +47 72 89 89 00, Fax: +47 72 89 89 89
Visit the Nordic Semiconductor ASA website at http://www.nordicsemi.no
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