Silicon Laboratories EFR32MG13, EFR32MG12, BRD4172B Reference Manual
EFR32MG13 2400/169 MHz Dual Band
19 dBm Radio Board
BRD4174B Reference Manual
The BRD4174B Mighty
Thread, Bluetooth® Low Energy and proprietary wireless applications. The board con-
tains a dual-band Mighty Gecko Wireless System-on-Chip and it is optimized for operating at 19 dBm output power. For the 2.4 GHz band with the on-board printed antenna
and UFL connector, radiated and conducted testing is supported. For the 169.4 MHz
band, the on-board SMA connector enables conducted testing and attachment of external whip antenna for radiated tests.
The BRD4174B Mighty Gecko Radio Board plugs into the Wireless Starter Kit Mainboard, which is included with the Mighty Gecko Starter Kit and gives access to display,
buttons, and additional features from Expansion Boards. With the supporting Simplicity
Studio suite of tools, developers can take advantage of graphical wireless application
development, mesh networking debug and packet trace, and visual energy profiling and
optimization. The board also serves as an RF reference design for applications targeting
2.4 GHz and 169 MHz dual band wireless operation with 19 dBm output power.
This document contains a brief introduction and description of the BRD4174B Radio
Board features, focusing on the RF sections and performance.
Gecko Radio Board enables developers to develop Zigbee,
RADIO BOARD FEATURES
• Wireless SoC:
EFR32MG13P733F512GM48
•
CPU core: ARM Cortex®-M4 with FPU
• Flash memory: 512 kB
•
RAM: 64 kB
• Operation frequency: 2.4 GHz
+ 169.4 MHz
• Transmit power: 19 dBm
• 2.4 GHz: Integrated PCB antenna, UFL
connector (optional)
• 169.4 MHz: Single SMA connector both
for transmit and receive
• Crystals for LFXO and HFXO: 32.768 kHz
and 38.4 MHz
• 8 Mbit low-power serial flash for over-theair updates
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction ................................
4
2. Radio Board Connector ...........................5
2.1 Introduction...............................5
2.2 Radio Board Connector Pin Associations.....................5
3. Radio Board Block Summary .........................6
3.1 Introduction...............................6
3.2 Radio Board Block Diagram .........................6
3.3 Radio Board Block Description ........................6
3.3.1 Wireless MCU............................6
3.3.2 LF Crystal Oscillator (LFXO) .......................6
3.3.3 HF Crystal Oscillator (HFXO).......................6
3.3.4 Matching Network for Sub-GHz ......................6
3.3.5 Matching Network for 2.4 GHz ......................7
3.3.6 SMA Connector ...........................7
3.3.7 UFL Connector ...........................7
3.3.8 Radio Board Connectors ........................7
3.3.9 Inverted-F Antenna ..........................7
3.3.10 Serial Flash ............................7
3.3.11 Serial EEPROM ...........................7
4. RF Section ................................8
4.1 Introduction...............................8
4.2 Schematic of the RF Matching Network .....................8
4.2.1 Description of the Sub-GHz RF Matching ..................8
4.2.2 Description of the 2.4 GHz RF Matching ...................8
4.3 RF Section Power Supply ..........................8
4.4 Bill of Materials for the sub-GHz Matching ....................8
4.5 Bill of Materials for the 2.4 GHz Matching ....................9
4.6 Inverted-F Antenna ............................9
5. Mechanical Details .............................11
6. EMC Compliance ............................. 12
6.1 Introduction...............................12
6.2 EMC Regulations for 169.4 MHz .......................12
6.2.1 ETSI EN 300-200-1 Emission Limits for the 169.4-169.475 MHz Band .........12
6.3 ETSI EN 300-328 Emission Limits for the 2400-2483.5 MHz Band ............12
6.4 FCC15.247 Emission Limits for the 2400-2483.5 MHz Band ..............12
6.5 Applied Emission Limits for the 2.4 GHz Band ...................13
7. RF Performance ............................. 14
7.1 Conducted Power Measurements .......................14
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7.1.1 Conducted Measurements in the 169.4 MHz Band ...............14
7.1.2 Conducted Measurements in the 2.4 GHz Band ................15
7.2 Radiated Power Measurements ........................16
7.2.1 Radiated Measurements in the 169.4 MHz Band ................17
7.2.2 Radiated Measurements in the 2.4 GHz band .................18
8. EMC Compliance Recommendations ..................... 19
8.1 Recommendations for 169 MHz ETSI EN 300-220-1 compliance.............19
8.2 Recommendations for 2.4 GHz ETSI EN 300-328 compliance .............19
8.3 Recommendations for 2.4 GHz FCC 15.247 compliance ...............19
9. Board Revision History .......................... 20
10. Errata................................. 21
11. Document Revision History ........................ 22
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BRD4174B Reference Manual
Introduction
1. Introduction
The EFR32 Mighty Gecko Radio Boards provide a development platform (together with the Wireless Starter Kit Mainboard) for the
Silicon Labs EFR32 Mighty Gecko Wireless System-on-Chips and serve as reference designs for the matching networks of the RF interfaces.
The BRD4174B Radio Board supports dual-band operation with its integrated sub-GHz ISM band and 2.4 GHz band transceivers. The
sub-GHz section is designed to operate in the European ETSI 169.4-169.475 MHz band with an external whip antenna; the 2.4 GHz
section is designed to operate at the 2400-2483.5 MHz band with the on-board printed antenna. The matching networks are optimized
for operating at 19 dBm output power.
To develop and/or evaluate the EFR32 Mighty Gecko, the BRD4174B Radio Board can be connected to the Wireless Starter Kit Mainboard to get access to display, buttons, and additional features from Expansion Boards, and also to evaluate the performance of the RF
interfaces.
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GND
F9 / PA3 / VCOM.#RTS_#CS
3v3
NC / P36
P200
Upper Row
NC / P38
NC / P40
NC / P42
NC / P44
DEBUG.TMS_SWDIO / PF1 / F0
DISP_ENABLE / SENSOR_ENABLE / PD15 / F14
UIF_BUTTON0 / PF6 / F12
UIF_LED0 / PF4 / F10
VCOM.#CTS_SCLK / PA2 / F8
DEBUG.RESET / RADIO_#RESET / F4
DEBUG.TDO_SWO / PF2 / F2
DISP_SI / PC6 / F16
VCOM.TX_MOSI / PA0 / F6
PTI.DATA / PB12 / F20
DISP_EXTCOMIN / PD13 / F18
USB_VBUS
5V
Board ID SCL
GND
Board ID SDA
USB_VREG
F7 / PA1 / VCOM.RX_MISO
F5 / PA5 / VCOM_ENABLE
F3 / PF3 / DEBUG.TDI
F1 / PF0 / DEBUG.TCK_SWCLK
P45 / NC
P43 / NC
P41 / NC
P39 / NC
P37 / PD15 / DISP_ENABLE / SENSOR_ENABLE
F11 / PF5 / UIF_LED1
F13 / PF7 / UIF_BUTTON1
F15 / PC8 / DISP_SCLK
F17 / PD14 / DISP_SCS
F19 / PB13 / PTI.SYNC
F21 / PB11 / PTI.CLK
GND
VMCU_IN
VCOM.#CTS_SCLK / PA2 / P0
P201
Lower Row
VCOM.#RTS_#CS / PA3 / P2
UIF_BUTTON0 / PF6 / P4
UIF_BUTTON1 / PF7 / P6
GND
VRF_IN
P35 / PD15 / DISP_ENABLE / SENSOR_ENABLE
P7 / PC9
P5 / PC8 / DISP_SCLK
P3 / PC7
P1 / PC6 / DISP_SI
P33 / PD14 / DISP_SCS
P31 / PD13 / DISP_EXTCOMIN
P29 / NC
P27 / NC
P25 / NC
P23 / NC
P21 / NC
P19 / NC
P17 / NC
P15 / NC
P13 / PC11
P11 / PA1 / VCOM.RX_MISO
P9 / PA0 / VCOM.TX_MOSI
NC / P34
UIF_LED1 / PF5 / P32
NC / P30
DEBUG.TDO_SWO / PF2 / P28
DEBUG.TMS_SWDIO / PF1 / P26
DEBUG.TCK_SWCLK / PF0 / P24
PTI.SYNC / PB13 / P22
PTI.DATA / PB12 / P20
PTI.CLK / PB11 / P18
VCOM_ENABLE / PA5 / P16
PA4 / P14
PC10 / P12
DEBUG.TDI / PF3 / P10
UIF_LED0 / PF4 / P8
BRD4174B Reference Manual
Radio Board Connector
2. Radio Board Connector
2.1 Introduction
The board-to-board connector scheme allows access to all EFR32MG13 GPIO pins as well as the RESETn signal. For more information on the functions of the available pins, see the EFR32MG13 data sheet.
2.2 Radio Board Connector Pin Associations
The figure below shows the mapping between the connector and the EFR32MG13 pins and their function on the Wireless Starter Kit
Mainboard.
Figure 2.1. BRD4174B Radio Board Connector Pin Mapping
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3. Radio Board Block Summary
EFR32
Inverted-F
PCB
Antenna
2.4 GHz RF
UFL
Connector
LF
Crystal
32.768k
HF
Crystal
38.4M
Radio
Board
Connectors
8 Mbit
MX25R
Serial Flash
I2C
24AA024
Serial EEPROM
Matching
Network &
Output
Selection
GPIO
UART
Debug
Packet Trace
AEM
I2C
SPI
SPI
2.4 GHz RF
2.4 GHz RF
SubGHz RF
Matching
Network &
DC Bias
SubGHz RF
SMA
Connector
EFR32
EFR32
Wireless SoC
3.1 Introduction
This section gives a short introduction to the blocks of the BRD4174B Radio Board.
3.2 Radio Board Block Diagram
The block diagram of the BRD4174B Radio Board is shown in the figure below.
BRD4174B Reference Manual
Radio Board Block Summary
Figure 3.1. BRD4174B Block Diagram
3.3 Radio Board Block Description
3.3.1 Wireless MCU
BRD4174B Mighty Gecko Radio Board incorporates an EFR32MG13P733F512GM48 Wireless System-on-Chip featuring 32-bit
The
Cortex®-M4 with FPU core, 512 kB of flash memory, 64 kB of RAM, an integrated 2.4 GHz band, and an integrated sub-GHz ISM band
transceiver with output power up to 19 dBm. For additional information on the EFR32MG13P733F512GM48, refer to the EFR32MG13
data sheet.
3.3.2 LF Crystal Oscillator (LFXO)
The BRD4174B Radio Board has a 32.768 kHz crystal mounted. For details regarding the crystal configuration, refer to Application
Note "AN0016.1: Oscillator Design Considerations".
3.3.3 HF Crystal Oscillator (HFXO)
The BRD4174B Radio Board has a 38.4 MHz crystal mounted. For details regarding the crystal configuration, refer to Application Note
"AN0016.1: Oscillator Design Considerations".
3.3.4 Matching Network for Sub-GHz
The BRD4174B Radio Board incorporates a sub-GHz matching network which connects both the sub-GHz TX and RX pins of the
EFR32MG13 to the SMA connector to be able to transmit and receive with one antenna. The component values have been optimized
for the 169.4 MHz band RF performance and current consumption with 19 dBm output power.
For a detailed description of the matching network see section 4.2.1 Description of the Sub-GHz RF Matching.
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3.3.5 Matching Network for 2.4 GHz
BRD4174B Reference Manual
Radio Board Block Summary
The BRD4174B
Radio Board incorporates a 2.4 GHz matching network which connects the 2.4 GHz TRX pin of the EFR32MG13 to the
one on-board printed inverted-F antenna. The component values have been optimized for the 2.4 GHz band RF performance and current consumption with 19 dBm output power.
For a detailed description of the matching network, see section 4.2.2 Description of the 2.4 GHz RF Matching.
3.3.6 SMA Connector
To be able to perform conducted measurements or mount external antenna for radiated measurements, range tests, etc., Silicon Labs
added an SMA connector to the Radio Board. The connector allows an external 50 Ohm cable or antenna to be connected during design verification or testing.
3.3.7 UFL Connector
To be able to perform conducted measurements, Silicon Labs added a UFL connector to the Radio Board. The connector allows an
external 50 Ohm cable or antenna to be connected during design verification or testing.
Note: By default, the output of the matching network is connected to the printed inverted-F antenna by a series component. It can be
connected to the UFL connector as well through a series 0 Ohm resistor, which is not mounted by default. For conducted measurements through the UFL connector, the series component to the antenna should be removed and the 0 Ohm resistor should be mounted
(see section 4.2.2 Description of the 2.4 GHz RF Matching for further details).
3.3.8 Radio Board Connectors
Two dual-row, 0.05” pitch polarized connectors make up the BRD4174B Radio Board interface to the Wireless Starter Kit Mainboard.
For more information on the pin mapping between the EFR32MG13P733F512GM48 and the Radio Board Connector, refer to section
2.2 Radio Board Connector Pin Associations.
3.3.9 Inverted-F Antenna
The BRD4174B Radio Board includes a printed inverted-F antenna (IFA) tuned to have close to 50 Ohm impedance at the 2.4 GHz
band.
For detailed description of the antenna, see section 4.6 Inverted-F Antenna.
3.3.10 Serial Flash
The BRD4174B Radio Board is equipped with an 8 Mbit Macronix MX25R SPI flash that is connected directly to the EFR32MG13 to
support over-the-air (OTA) updates. For additional information on the pin mapping see the BRD4174B schematic.
3.3.11 Serial EEPROM
The BRD4174B Radio Board is equipped with a serial I2C EEPROM for board identification and to store additional board related information.
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4. RF Section
GND
GND
VBIAS
GND
GND
GNDGND
GND
GND
VDCDC
PAVDD
GND
GND
VBIAS
GND
C10
L5
L10
TP1
C14
C3
L1
C13C11
C103
10P
AT1
INVERTED_F
C4
C1
C12
C8
L2
R1
0R
X1
38.400 MHz
31
2
4
C106
220N
C9
Ground
RF I/ORF Crystal
RF Analog Power
PA Power
U1B
EFR32
2G4RF_IOP
20
2G4RF_ION
19
RFVDD
9
HFXI
10
HFXO
11
PAVDD
21
RFVSS
17
PAVSS
18
SUBGRF_OP
13
SUBGRF_ON
14
SUBGRF_IP
15
SUBGRF_IN
16
P2
U.FL
3
2
1
C107
10P
L4
L7
L8
L102
BLM18AG601SN1
1 2
C6
C2
L6
L3
L9
L103
BLM18AG601SN1
1 2
R2
0R
NM
C5
C102
100P
BAL1
ATB2012-50011
14
3 2
P1
SMA
3
2
1
4
5
C7
Filter
Sub-GHz Matching Network
TRX Matching & Filter
Inverted-F
Antenna
UFL
Connector
TRX Matching
Discrete Balun
Supply Filtering
High Frequency
Crystal
Sub-GHz PA
Power Supply
2.4 GHz Matching
Network
2.4 GHz Path
Selection
SMA
Connector
4.1 Introduction
This section gives a short introduction to the RF section of the BRD4174B Radio Board.
4.2 Schematic of the RF Matching Network
The schematic of the RF section of the BRD4174B Radio Board is shown in the following figure.
BRD4174B Reference Manual
RF Section
Figure 4.1. Schematic of the RF Section of the BRD4174B
4.2.1 Description of the Sub-GHz RF Matching
The sub-GHz
matching network connects the differential TX outputs and RX inputs of the sub-GHz RF port to the SMA connector while
transforming the impedances to 50 Ohm. Careful design procedure was followed to ensure that the RX input circuitry does not load
down the TX output path while in TX mode and that the TX output circuitry does not degrade receive performance while in RX mode.
The matching includes a differential impedance matching circuitry, a discrete balanced-unbalanced transformer, and a filter section. The
targeted output power is 19 dBm at 169.4 MHz.
4.2.2 Description of the 2.4 GHz RF Matching
The 2.4 GHz matching connects the 2G4RF_IOP pin to the on-board printed Inverted-F Antenna. The 2G4RF_ION pin is connected to
ground. For higher output powers (13 dBm and above) beside the impedance matching circuitry, the recommendation is to use additional harmonic filtering as well at the RF output. The targeted output power of the BRD4174B board is 19 dBm. Therefore, the RF output of
the IC is connected to the antenna through a four-element impedance matching and harmonic filter circuitry.
For conducted measurements, the output of the matching network can also be connected to the UFL connector by relocating the series
R1 resistor to the R2 resistor position between the output of the matching and the UFL connector.
4.3 RF Section Power Supply
On the BRD4174B Radio Board the supply pin of the radio (RFVDD) is connected directly of the output of the on-chip DC-DC converter
while the supply for the sub-GHz and 2.4 GHz power amplifiers (SUBGRF_ON, SUBGRF_OP and PAVDD pins) is provided directly by
the Motherboard. This way, by default, the DC-DC converter provides 1.8 V for the RF analog section, the Motherboard provides 3.3 V
for the PAs (for details, see the schematic of the BRD4174B).
4.4 Bill of Materials for the sub-GHz Matching
The Bill of Materials of the sub-GHz matching network of the BRD4174B Radio Board is shown in the following table.
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