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Chapter 1
Introduction
QN9090 DK is designed for QN9090 IC evaluation and development. It is very convenient to evaluate QN9090’s functions and
performance. There are also some useful peripherals, like GPIOs, and Arduino interface. J-Link and J-Trace functions are all
supported for debugging QN9090. ISP download function is also contained and very easy to use.
1.1 Purpose
This document introduces all functions of QN9090 DK. Descripts all parts of QN9090 DK boards in detail.
1.2 Kit contents
QN9090 DK includes the following three boards:
• Carrier Main Board
• QN9090 Module board
• Generic expansion board
Figure 1. Board overview
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Chapter 2
Carrier main board
The OM15076 also called DK6 QN9090 carrier board provides a flexible development system for NXP’s QN9090 ultra-low
power, high performance wireless microcontroller. It can be used with a wide range of development tools, including NXP’s
MCUXpresso IDE. It has been developed by NXP to enable evaluation and prototyping with the QN9090_30_T Bluetooth Low
Energy wireless microcontroller.
Figure 2. Carrier main board
The carrier boards (part number: OM15076) supplied in the development kit are physically identical. They are all pre-fitted with
an Arduino-compatible expansion board and a QN9090-based module with integrated antenna.
2.1 Feature summary
The QN9090 Carrier board includes the following features:
• QN9090 module site
• NFC Tag with printed antenna
• On-board, high-speed USB based, Link2 debug probe with ARM’s CMSIS-DAP and SEGGER J-Link protocol options.
• Link2 probe can be used with on-board QN9090 or external target.
• Support for external debug probes.
• Power, Reset, ISP and UART Tx/Rx LEDs.
• Target Reset, and User buttons.
• Expansion options based on Arduino R3, plus additional expansion port pins.
• On-board 3.3V from USB port, 4xAAA batteries, 2xAAA batteries (low-power mode) or external power supply options.
• Built-in power consumption measurement.
• UART, I2C and SPI port bridging from LPC4233 target to USB via the on-board debug probe.
• 8Mb Macronix MX25R QSPI flash.
• FTDI USB connector.
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Carrier main board
2.2 Board layout and settings
This section provides a quick reference guide to the main board components, configurable items, visual indicators and expansion
connectors. The layout of the components on the QN9090 Carrier board is shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3. Carrier board layout
The function of each identified component is listed in Table 1.
Table 1. Board interface components
Circuit refDescription
D1Link2 LPC4322 BOOT0_LED indicator. Reflects the state of LPC43xx Link2 MCU P1_1. When the boot
process fails, D1 will toggle at a 1 Hz rate for 60 seconds. After 60 seconds, the LPC4322 is reset.
DS1QN9090 Power LED
DS2, DS32x Red debug LEDs connected respectively to QN9090 PIO_0 (DS2) and PIO_3 (DS3). LEDs are on anytime
the PIO is low.
DS4QN9090 Reset LED – LED is on anytime the Target RESET is pulled low.
DS5, DS6Green LEDs connected respectively to UART0_Tx (DS5) and UART0_Rx (DS6).
DS8In System Programming (ISP) LED indicator. LED is ON when SW2 button is pressed.
IC2Link2 MCU
J2FTDI serial header. In addition to provide a serial output from QN9090, the Target side of the board can be
powered from the FTDI header. The QN9090 supports serial ISP boot from the FTDI header.
J332 pins Expansion header connector for debug. All the QN9090 IOs from modules and more are
available here.
Table continues on the next page...
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Carrier main board
Table 1. Board interface components (continued)
Circuit refDescription
J14QN9090 VBAT current monitor V sense measurement. The V sense can be measured with a volt meter. Pin 1
(square pad) is positive and pin 2 is negative. QN9090 current is calculated by dividing the measured voltage
at J14 by the V sense resistance value of 3.3Ω.
J15Link2 mini USB B-type connector. Powers both the Link2 side of the board and depending on the JP3, JP5
configuration, the QN9090 Target side of the board. Power the board from this connector when using the
on-board debug probe to debug the QN9090 Target MCU.
1. Jumper “ON” (default) the QN9090 Target SWD interface enabled. Normal operating mode where
the Target SWD is connected to either the on-board
2. Link2 debug probe or an external debug probe. Jumper “OFF”, the QN9090 Target SWD interface
is disabled. Use this setting only when the on-board Link2 debug probe is used to debug an
off-board Target QN9090.
JP2SWD interface buffer power selection
JP3QN9090 power source selection
1. Jumper fitted in position pin 1 - 2 (default -5V REG). Power source is either 5V from mini USB
connector or FTDI connector, or 4.5V from 3xAAA batteries or 5V from a 7-12V DC power supply
connected on J4.
2. Jumper fitted in position pin 2 - 3 (BAT 6V). Power source is 4xAAA batteries.
See the board power diagram in Figure 5 for details.
JP4Jumper to route LPC or FTDI to UART RX0 QN9090 (to change in pair with JP7)
JP5Link2 (LPC4322) force DFU boot – 2 position jumper pins.
1. Jumper open (default) or shunted to boot mode for Link2 to follow the normal boot sequence. The
Link2 will boot from internal flash if image is found there. With the internal flash erased the Link2
normal boot sequence will fall through to DFU boot.
2. Jumper shunted to force the Link2 to DFU boot mode. Use this setting to reprogram the Link2
internal flash with a new image or to use the MCUXpresso IDE with CMSIS-DAP protocol.
JP6JP6 is used to isolate the Link2 debug probe (SPI bridge function) from the QN9090 target to prevent leakage
current in power critical applications / current consumption analysis. JP6 needs to be fitted in position 1 - 2
to use the SPI bridging function between the QN9090 and Link2. This jumper is not fitted by default
JP7Jumper to shunt LPC to QN9090 or FTDI to UART TX0 QN9090 (to change in pair with JP4)
CN1, CN2, CN3,
Expansion connectors, including Arduino Uno rev3 compatible connectivity.
CN4
JM1, JM2QN9090 module headers
Table continues on the next page...
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Table 1. Board interface components (continued)
Circuit refDescription
P110-pin SWD connector – The SWD connector is used to debug the QN9090 Target from an external debug
probe. The same SWD connector can also be used to connect the on-board Link2 debug probe to an
off-board target MCU (for this JP1 must be shunted).
BP1User Interface button connected to IO1. Used in some Applications Notes.
SW2In System Programming (ISP) button. QN9090 will enter ISP mode when SW2 is pressed during
hardware reset.
SW4QN9090 Reset pushbutton.
To ease the board usage and any debug the connectors serigraphy is also copied on PCB bottom.
J7, J13, J12 & J11 battery slots are also here.
Figure 4. OM15076 DK6 PCB bottom view
2.3 LED indicators
The DK6 board LED location are shown in Figure 3. A description of each on-board LED indicator is shown in Table 2.
Table 2. LED indicator functions
LED referenceDescription
D1Link2 MCU BOOT0_LED indicator. Reflects the state of Link2 MCU P1_1. When the boot process
fails, D1 will toggle at a 1 Hz rate for 60 seconds. After 60 seconds, the Link2 MCU is reset. It will be
ON when the Link2 MCU is Booting using DFU (See description for JP5).
DS1QN9090 Power LED. This LED is on any time power is applied to the QN9090 wireless MCU.
Table continues on the next page...
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Table 2. LED indicator functions (continued)
LED referenceDescription
DS2, DS32x Red debug LEDs connected respectively to QN9090 PIO_0 (DS2) and PIO_3 (DS3). LEDs are on
anytime the respective PIOs from the QN9090 are pulled low.
DS4QN9090 Reset LED – LED is on anytime the Target RESET is pulled low.
DS5, DS62x Green LEDs connected respectively to UART0_Tx (DS5) and UART0_Rx (DS6). LEDs will flash
any time there is activity on the UART0.
DS8In System Programming (ISP) LED indicator. LED is ON when IO5_ISP is pulled low and when SW2
button is pressed.
2.4 ARDUINO connectors
ARDUINO compatible connectors are based on Arduino R3.
References on the DK6 board are CN1, CN2, CN3, CN4.
The Generic expansion board OM15082 can be plugged into these connectors.
2.5 Buttons
2.5.1 Reset button
This button (SW4) is used to reset the QN9090 (note that the Link2 is NOT reset by this button)
2.5.2 ISP button
This button connects the QN9090_PIO5 (ISP_Entry) pin to ground. This should be used to set the QN9090 in ISP mode to program
a binary file into the chip memory.
To force entry into this ISP mode, hold down the ISP button (SW2), press and release the Reset button (SW4), then release the
ISP button (SW2). This is done automatically when using the DK6 Production Flash programmer with J2 (FTDI USB interface)
2.6 User Interface button
This button (BP1) is connected to QN9090_PIO_1 and should be used as an input
2.7 QN9090 Serial port
The QN9090 UART0 can also be connected through a virtual communication port (VCOM) UART bridge Link2 function either to
a host computer connected to the J2 USB FTDI or to J15 USB Link2. By default, the DK 6 is configured to use the FTDI USB.
For Link2 USB: The factory default CMSIS-DAP Link2 image includes UART bridge functionality (VCOM support), and
this firmware is also available with the LPCScrypt utility, available at https://www.nxp.com/design/microcontrollers-developer-
resources/lpc-microcontroller-utilities:LPC-UTILITIES power connections and measurements.
For the USB FTDI, the PC driver is available on FTDI website (the FTDI chip is already configured before the carrier board release).
2.8 Board power connections
A block diagram of the board power tree is shown in Figure 5. When the QN9090 Target is to be debugged from the on board Link2
probe, the USB mini B-type connector (J15) must connected to a Host computer. When the QN9090 Target is to be debugged
from an external debug probe, instead of the on-board debug probe, the Link USB connector (J15) must be disconnected.
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Figure 5. Board power diagram
The QN9090 Target VBAT selection is made at JP3, J5, with 3.3V from on-board LDO set as the default.
Carrier main board
2.9 Debug Configurations
The DK6 board has a built-in debug probe referred to as “Link2”. The QN9090 target wireless MCU can be debugged by the Link2
debugging probe, or from an external debug probe installed at P1. On-board jumpers JP1 and JP2 must be correctly positioned for
each mode. The on-board Link2 debug probe is capable of debugging target MCU’s with a VDDIO range of 1.6V to 3.6V. Check
the sections below for the appropriate jumper settings and how to properly power the board.
2.9.1 Debug using on-board debug probe
To use the on-board Link debug probe:
• The jumper JP2 must be fitted in position pin 1 - 2 (Local Target).
• Jumper JP1 must be open or fitted in position 2 – 3 to enable the target QN9090.
• Connecting the mini USB J15 to a host computer will power the Link and according JP3, JP5 position, the QN9090
sections of the board and provide the USB link to the debug tool software.
2.9.2 Debug using external debug probe
To use an external debug probe:
• connect the probe to the SWD (P1) connector
• power the QN9090 Target section of the board from the FTDI header (J1) or the Jack connector (J4)
• and fit a jumper to JP2 across pin 1 - 2 (Local Target).
• Jumper JP1 must be open or fitted across pin 2 – 3 to enable the target QN9090.
• The on-board Link2 debug probe must be unpowered, by leaving USB mini (J15) unconnected.
2.9.3 On-Board Link2 flash programing
To program the Link2 Flash the Link2 MCU must be in DFU mode. If the Link2 already has a valid image in the flash, you will
need to force it into DFU mode by placing a jumper shunt on JP5 across pin 1 - 2, then power the board by connecting the mini
USB J15 to a host computer. Link2 MCU programming is performed using the LPCScrypt utility (see https://www.nxp.com/design/
microcontrollers-developer-resources/lpc-microcontroller-utilities:LPC-UTILITIES). Instructions for using the tool are located at
the same web page.
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Carrier main board
2.9.4 Using the DK6 to debug an off-board target
The DK6 board’s Link2 debug probe may be used to debug an off-board target MCU. The on-board Link2 debug probe is capable
of debugging target MCU’s with a VDDIO range of 1.6V to 3.6V. To keep the on-board target QN9090 MCU from interfering with
the SWD interface:
• JP1 must be fitted across pin 1 - 2.
• The Link2 debug probe SWD is connected by a ribbon cable between the P1 connector to the off-board target MCU SWD
interface.
• Power the DK6 board from the Link USB connector J15,
• Fit jumper JP2 across pins 2 - 3 (External Target).
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Chapter 3
QN9090 Modules
QN9090 Module board is the QN9090 minimum system board. The module should be mounted to carrier board as the target.
There is a RF connector on this board, which can be used to RF signal testing.
Figure 6. QN9090 module board
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Chapter 4
Generic expansion board
The Expansion board available in the development kit is Arduino compatible shields. They are supplied pre-fitted to the
Arduino-compatible header of Carrier Boards in the development kit.
The Generic Expansion Board has the following features:
• Arduino-compatible expansion header (in four parts, CN1-CN4)
• 4 user-input buttons (SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4) connected to DIOs on the QN9090 module on the Carrier Board:
— SW1 is connected to IO19
— SW2 is connected to IO15
— SW3 is connected to IO7
— SW4 is connected to IO4
• 4 LEDs (D1, D2, D3, D4) connected to DIOs on the QN9090 module on the Carrier Board:
— D1 is connected to IO16
— D2 is connected to IO6 (same as for the PWM output used on the Lighting/Sensor Expansion Board to drive the
three white LEDs)
— D3 is connected to IO3
— D4 is an optional LED which is not fitted on the supplied board and shares IO4 with button SW1
• Potentiometer connected to QN9090 ADC0, with a 0-1.8V DC voltage swing
• Infrared Emitting LED Vishay VSMB2948SL connected to QN9090 IO20_IR_Blaster
• USB Mini B port to provide access to QN9090 UART1 via IO11 and IO10 of QN9090 module (connected via FTDI FT230X
driver device)
• PCB pads for 4-way GPIO header (3V3, VCC, IO11, IO10), where IO11 and IO10 can be used to access QN9090 UART1
(in this case, the FTDI driver chip for the USB port must be isolated by removing resistors R9 and R16).
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Figure 7. Generic expansion board
Generic expansion board
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Chapter 5
QN9090 current measurement
The QN9090 current can be measured:
1. Using the on-board current measurement circuit with MCUXpresso.
2. Measuring the voltage across a sense resistor (R51) in series with the supply,
3. A current meter on a modified DK6 board or a stand-alone module,
Each of these methods will be described in subsections below. When a board is attached, attempting to measure the lowest
possible power, the QN9090 IO pins must be configured by software configuration to avoid any extra current from the QN9090 IO
ports that have external pull-up or pull-down resistors enabled. JP6 should be opened to avoid leakage to the Link2 via the I2C
and SPI connections between it and the QN9090.
5.1 Current measurement with MCUXpresso
The DK6 board has an on-board current measurement circuit consisting of a MAX9634T (IC21) current monitor chip and a 12-bit
ADC (ADC122S021, IC19) with a 12-bit sample at 50k to 200ksps. The on-board MAX9634T current monitor measures the
voltage across the QN9090 VBAT Vsense resistor of 3.3Ω. The MAX9634 multiplies the sense voltage by 25 to provide a voltage
range suitable for the ADC to measure. The current measurement circuit is controlled by the debug processor and is not user
programmable. Power measurement utilities to use this feature are available in the MCUXpresso IDE installation.
Due to input offset voltage variations in the MAX9634, the current measurement circuit is not recommended for measuring current
below 150uA.
5.2 Vsense resistor measurement
The voltage across a series 3.3Ω resistor with the target QN9090 VBAT can be manually measured at J14 on the PCB. The
voltmeter positive probe is applied to J14 pin 1 (square pad) and negative probe to J14 pin 2. Use Ohm’s law to calculate the
current (QN9090 current = measured voltage / 3.3Ω). As an example, if the measured voltage is 10mV, then 10e-3 / 3.3Ω =
3.03mA. Note that the input current to the MAX9634 used in the on-board current measurement will be included in the voltage
measured across this resistor.
5.3 Current measurement with a multimeter
Figure 8 is the circuit for the power supply to the module. The signal VBAT is used to power the QN9090 module.
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QN9090 current measurement
Figure 8. Power sensing circuit
This signal goes to the module (JM1.17) and the expansion connector (J3.31)
Figure 9. VBAT connections
To measure the current using multimeter, remove R51 and place the multimeter across J14 pins 1 and 2.
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QN9090 current measurement
Figure 10. R51 location
The multimeter will also measure the current take by the VSENSE line. This signal is used the measure the voltage drop across
the 3R3 resistor so that the current consumption results can be shown from with MCUXpresso. The current taken from this signal
is negligible but can be removed by cutting JS6.
Figure 11. Voltage sense circuit
5.4 IO Considerations
If the generic expansion is not fitted then the following IO lines are connected on the DK6 board. Setting IOs incorrectly in the
software will cause current to be consumed and this should be taken into consideration when measurement current. The following
IOs are connected.
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QN9090 current measurement
FunctionPIOs AffectedSchematic
Comment
Page number
NTAG 10, 114Not connected by default. R45 and R59 are not fitted
by default
User Interface Button14Leave signal high and do not press switch
DS2 LED04Leave signal high
DS3 LED34Leave signal high
QSPI 16, 17, 18, 19,
20, 21
4Negligible affect if QSPI is not used. To completely remove
any current consumption either remove IC3 or remove
RX1, 3, 4, 7, 9 and RX11 to disconnect all PIOs
IC2 interface to LPC10, 115Disabled by default. No current draw if DIOS 10 and 11 are
high. Cut JS2 and JS11 to remove completely
Debug Interface 12, 13, 146Negligible effect. Cut CH1 to CH4 to remove completely
RESET and ISP buttons5, RST7No current drawn if not pressed
5.5 Running the DK6 board at different voltages
In order to run the DK6 at different voltages, it is necessary to disconnect the FTDI 3V3OUT signal otherwise this will continue to
supply 3.3V to the board. The circuit is shown below in Figure 12.
Figure 12. FTDI interface
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QN9090 current measurement
It is important to leave C49 connected to Pin10 of the FT230A. To achieve this modify the boards as shown in Figure 13.
Figure 13. 3V3OUT modification
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Chapter 6
Revision history
Table 3. Revision history
RevDateDescription
112/2020Corrected typos
001/2020Initial release
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