Silicon Laboratories SLWRB4150A User Manual

UG178: EFR32MG 2400/868 MHz 13 dBm
Dual Band Radio Board

The SLWRB4150A Radio Board for the Wireless Starter Kit Main­board is an excellent starting point to get familiar with the
EFR32™ Mighty Gecko Wireless System-on-Chip

The Wireless Starter Kit Mainboard contains sensors and peripherals demonstrating
some of the Mighty Gecko's many capabilities. These together provide all necessary
tools for developing a Silicon Labs wireless application.

The WSTK Mainboard is included with all Silicon Labs Wireless Starter Kits. It is not in­cluded when purchasing a single radio board.

.

RADIO BOARD FEATURES

• EFR32 Mighty Gecko Wireless SoC with
256 kB Flash and
(EFR32MG1P233F256GM48)

• Inverted-F PCB antenna (2.4 GHz band)

• SMA connector (868 MHz band)

WSTK MAINBOARD FEATURES

• Ethernet and USB connectivity

•

Advanced Energy Monitor

• Packet Trace Interface support

• SEGGER J-Link on-board debugger

• Debug Multiplexer supporting external
hardware as well as radio board

• Silicon Labs' Si7021 Relative Humidity and
Temperature sensor

• Ultra low power 128x128 pixel Memory
LCD

• User LEDs / Pushbuttons

• 20-pin 2.54 mm header for expansion
boards

• Breakout pads for direct access to all radio
I/O pins

• Power sources includes USB, CR2032
coin cell and AA batteries.

32 kB RAM.

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SOFTWARE SUPPORT

• Simplicity Studio™

•

Energy Profiler

• Network Analyzer

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UG178: EFR32MG 2400/868 MHz 13 dBm Dual Band Radio Board

Introduction

1. Introduction

The SLWRB4150A Radio Board is a single EFR32MG 2400/868 MHz 13 dBm radio board for the Wireless Starter Kit Mainboard.

A radio board and a mainboard used together makes a complete development platform for Silicon Labs EFR32 Mighty Gecko Wireless
System-on-Chips.

The Wireless Starter Kit Mainboard features an on-board J-Link debugger, an Advanced Energy Monitor for real-time current and volt­age monitoring, a virtual COM port interface, and access to the Packet Trace Interface (PTI).

All debug functionality, including AEM, VCOM and PTI, can also be used towards an external target instead of the connected radio
board.

To further enhance the WSTK usability, the WSTK Mainboard contains sensors and peripherals demonstrating some of the Wireless
SoC's many capabilities.

The radio board features an EFR32 and the RF interface. Please refer to the Radio Board Reference Manual for detailed specifications
and RF performance figures.

1.1 Kit Contents

The following items are included with the SLWRB4150A:

• 1x BRD4150A EFR32MG 2400/868 MHz 13 dBm Radio Board

• 1x 868 MHz antenna with SMA connector

1.2 Getting Started

Detailed instructions for how to get started can be found on the Silicon Labs web pages:

http://www.silabs.com/start-efr32mg

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On-board USB and
Ethernet J-Link
Debugger

Radio Board Breakout Pads

Plug-in Radio Board

Si7021 Humidity and
T

emperature Sensor

EXP-header for
expansion

boards

Serial-port, packet trace and Advanced
Energy

Monitoring header

ARM Coresight 19-pin
trace/debug

header

Ultra-low power 128x128
pixel memory LCD,
buttons and LEDs

Battery or
USB

power

USB-serial-port
Packet-trace
Advanced

Energy

Monitoring

UG178: EFR32MG 2400/868 MHz 13 dBm Dual Band Radio Board

Kit Hardware Overview

2. Kit Hardware Overview

A view of the EFR32MG 2400/868 MHz 13 dBm Dual Band Radio Board with a Wireless STK Mainboard is shown below.

Figure 2.1. SLWRB4150A with Wireless STK Mainboard

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Debug

USB Mini-B

Connector

UART

RJ-45 Ethernet

Connector

Packet Trace

AEM

Multiplexer

Debug

UART

ETM Trace

Packet Trace

AEM

Debug

UART

Packet Trace

AEM

Simplicity

Connector

Debug

Connector

Board

Controller

OUT

IN

MCU

SMA

Connector

868 MHz RF

2.4 GHz RF

Inverted-F

PCB Antenna

EFR32MG

Wireless SoC

ETM Trace

128 x 128 pixel

Memory LCD

I2C

Si7021

Temperature

& Humidity

Sensor

SPI

8 Mbit

MX25R

Serial Flash

GPI

O

EXP

Header

User Buttons

& LEDs

GPIO

UG178: EFR32MG 2400/868 MHz 13 dBm Dual Band Radio Board

Block Diagram

3. Block Diagram

A system overview of the EFR32MG 2400/868 MHz 13 dBm Dual Band Radio Board used together with an Wireless STK Mainboard is
shown in the figure below.

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Figure 3.1. Kit Block Diagram

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Simplicity
Connector

In/Out Debug
Header

GND

GND

5V

5V

P25

P24

P27

P26

P29

P28

P31
P30

P33

P32

P35

P34

P37

P36

P39

P38

P41

P40

P43

P42

P45

P44

GND

GND

NC

NC

Radio Board

Connectors

Expansion

Header

GND

GND

VMCU

VMCU

P1

P0

P3

P2

P5

P4

P7

P6

P9

P8

P11

P10

P13

P12

P15

P14

P17

P16

P19

P18

P21

P20

GND

GND

P23

P22

VRF

VRF

3V3

3V3

GND

VMCU

P23 / NC

P21 / NC

P19 / NC

P17 / NC

GND

P15 / NC

P13 / PC11 / I2C_SDA

P11 / PA1 / VCOM_RX

P9 / PA0 / VCOM_TX

P7 / PC9

P5 / PC8 / FLASH_SCLK / DISP_SCLK

P3 / PC7 / FLASH_MISO

P1 / PC6 / FLASH_MOSI / DISP_SI

GNDGND

5V5V

NCNC

P45 / NCNC / P44

P43 / NCNC / P42

P41 / NCNC / P40

3V33V3

P39 / NCNC / P38

P37 / PD15 / SENSOR_ENABLENC / P36

P35 / PD15 / DISP_ENABLENC / P34

P33 / PD14 / DISP_SCSLED1 / PF5 / P32

P31 / PD13 / DISP_EXTCOMINNC / P30

P29 / NCDBG_TDO_SWO / PF2 / P28

P27 / NCDBG_TMS_SWDIO / PF1 / P26

P25 / NCDBG_TCK_SWCLK / PF0 / P24

GNDGND

VRF

GND

VMCU

PTI_FRAME / PB13 / P22

PTI_DATA / PB12 / P20

PTI_CLK / PB11 / P18

VCOM_ENABLE / PA5 / P16

GND

FLASH_SCS / PA4 / P14

I2C_SCL / PC10 / P12

DBG_TDI / PF3 / P10

LED0 / PF4 / P8

BTN1 / PF7 / P6

BTN0 / PF6 / P4

VCOM_RTS / PA3 / P2

VCOM_CTS / PA2 / P0

VRF

J101

J102

UG178: EFR32MG 2400/868 MHz 13 dBm Dual Band Radio Board

Connectors

4. Connectors

This chapter gives you an overview of the Wireless Starter Kit Mainboard connectivity. The placement of the connectors can be seen in
the figure below.

4.1 Breakout Pads

of the EFR32's pins are routed from the radio board to breakout pads at the top and bottom edges of the Wireless Starter Kit

Most
Mainboard. A 2.54 mm pitch pin header can be soldered on for easy access to the pins. The figure below shows you how the pins of
the EFR32 maps to the pin numbers printed on the breakout pads. To see the available functions on each, please refer to the
EFR32MG1P233F256GM48 Data Sheet.

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Figure 4.2. Radio Board Pin Mapping on Breakout Pads

Figure 4.1. Mainboard Connector Layout

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12

4

8
6

10

3

5

9
7

12

13

14

11

1516

17

18

20 19

VMCU

SPI_MOSI / PC6

SPI_MISO / PC7

SPI_CLK / PC8

SPI_CS / PC9

UART_TX / PA0

UART_RX / PA1

I2C_SDA / PC11

5V

3V3

GND

PA2 / GPIO

PA3 / GPIO

PF6 / GPIO

PF7 / GPIO

PF4 / GPIO

PF3 / GPIO

PC10 / I2C_SCL

Board ID SDA
Board ID SCL

Reserved (Board Identification)

EFR32 I/O

Pin

UG178: EFR32MG 2400/868 MHz 13 dBm Dual Band Radio Board

Connectors

4.2 Expansion Header

the right hand side of the board an angled 20-pin expansion header is provided to allow connection of peripherals or plugin boards.

On
The connector contains a number of I/O pins that can be used with most of the EFR32 Mighty Gecko's features. Additionally, the
VMCU, 3V3 and 5V power rails are also exported.

The connector follows a standard which ensures that commonly used peripherals such as an SPI, a UART and an I2C bus are available
on fixed locations in the connector. The rest of the pins are used for general purpose IO. This allows the definition of expansion boards
that can plug into a number of different Silicon Labs starter kits.

The figure below shows the pin assignment of the expansion header for the EFR32MG 2400/868 MHz 13 dBm Dual Band Radio Board.
Because of limitations in the number of available GPIO pins, some of the expansion header pins are shared with kit features.

Figure 4.3. Expansion Header

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UG178: EFR32MG 2400/868 MHz 13 dBm Dual Band Radio Board

Connectors

4.2.1 Expansion Header Pin-out

pin-routing on the EFR32 is very flexible, so most peripherals can be routed to any pin. However, many pins are shared between

The
the Expansion Header and other functions on the Wireless STK Mainboard. Table 4.1 Expansion Header Pinout on page 6 includes
an overview of the mainboard features that share pins with the Expansion Header.

Table 4.1. Expansion Header Pinout

Pin Connection EXP Header function Shared feature Peripheral mapping

20 3V3 Board controller supply

18 5V Board USB voltage

16 PC11 I2C_SDA SENSOR_I2C_SDA I2C1_SDA #16

14 PA1 UART_RX VCOM_RX_MISO USART0_RX #0

12 PA0 UART_TX VCOM_TX_MOSI USART0_TX #0

10 PC9 SPI_CS USART1_CS #11

8 PC8 SPI_SCLK FLASH_SCLK, DISP_SCLK USART1_CLK #11

6 PC7 SPI_MISO FLASH_MISO USART1_RX #11

4 PC6 SPI_MOSI FLASH_MOSI, DISP_MOSI USART1_TX #11

2 VMCU EFR32 voltage domain, included in AEM measurements.

19 BOARD_ID_SDA Connected to Board Controller for identification of add-on boards.

17 BOARD_ID_SCL Connected to Board Controller for identification of add-on boards.

15 PC10 I2C_SCL SENSOR_I2C_SCL I2C1_SCL #14

13 PF3 GPIO DBG_TDI

11 PF4 GPIO LED0

9 PF7 GPIO BTN1

7 PF6 GPIO BTN0

5 PA3 GPIO VCOM_RTS_CS USART0_CS #0

3 PA2 GPIO VCOM_CTS_SCLK USART0_CLK #0

1 GND Ground

Note: Pin PF3 is used for DBG_TDI in JTAG mode only. When Serial Wire Debugging is used, PF3 can be used for other purposes.

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1 2

4

8

6

10

3

5

9

12

13 14

11

15 16
17 18

20

19

TMS / SWDIO / C2D
TCK / SWCLK /

C2CK
TDO / SWO
TDI / C2Dps

TRACECLK
TRACED0
TRACED1
TRACED2
TRACED3

RESET / C2CKps

GND

NC

NC

GND

GND

GND

7

GND

VTARGET

Cable Detect

NC

UG178: EFR32MG 2400/868 MHz 13 dBm Dual Band Radio Board

Connectors

4.3 Debug Connector

Debug Connector serves multiple purposes based on the "debug mode" setting which can be configured in Simplicity Studio. When

The
mode is set to "Debug IN", this connector allows an external debug emulator to be used with the radio board EFR32. When set to "De­bug OUT", this connector allows the kit to be used as a debugger towards an external target. When set to "Debug MCU" (default), this
connector is isolated from the debug interface of both the Board Controller and the on-board target device.

Because this connector is automatically switched to support the different operating modes, it is only available when the Board Controller
is powered (J-Link USB cable connected). If debug access to the target device is required when the Board Controller is unpowered, this
should be done by connecting directly to the appropriate breakout pins.

The pinout of the connector follows that of the standard ARM Cortex Debug+ETM 19-pin connector. The pinout is described in detail
below. Even though the connector has support for both JTAG and ETM Trace, it does not necessarily mean that the kit or the on-board
target device supports this.

Figure 4.4. Debug Connector

Note: The

removed from the Cortex Debug+ETM connector. Some cables have a small plug that prevent them from being used when this pin is
present. If this is the case, remove the plug, or use a standard 2x10 1.27 mm straight cable instead.

Pin number(s) Function Description

1 VTARGET Target voltage on the debugged application.

2 TMS / SDWIO / C2D JTAG test mode select, Serial Wire data or C2 data

4 TCK / SWCLK / C2CK JTAG test clock, Serial Wire clock or C2 clock

6 TDO/SWO JTAG test data out or Serial Wire Output

8 TDI / C2Dps JTAG test data in, or C2D "pin sharing" function

10 RESET / C2CKps Target device reset, or C2CK "pin sharing" function

12 TRACECLK Not connected

14 TRACED0 Not connected

16 TRACED1 Not connected

pinout matches the pinout of an ARM Cortex Debug+ETM connector, but these are not fully compatible as pin 7 is physically

Table 4.2. Debug Connector Pin Descriptions

18 TRACED2 Not connected

20 TRACED3 Not connected

9 Cable detect Connect to ground

11, 13 NC Not connected

3, 5, 15, 17, 19 GND Ground

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VMCU

1
33V3
5

5V

15

GND

13

GND

11

GND

9

GND

7

GND

17

Board ID

SCL

19

Board ID

SDA

2

V

irtual COM TX / MOSI

4 V

irtual COM RX / MISO

6 Virtual COM CTS / SCLK
8

V

irtual COM RTS / CS

10

Packet T

race 0 Sync

12

Packet T

race 0 Data

14

Packet Trace 0 Clock

16

Packet T

race 1 Sync

18

Packet T

race 1 Data

20

Packet T

race 1 Clock

UG178: EFR32MG 2400/868 MHz 13 dBm Dual Band Radio Board

Connectors

4.4 Simplicity Connector

Simplicity Connector featured on the Wireless Starter Kit Mainboard enables advanced debugging features such as the AEM, the

The
Virtual COM port and the Packet Trace Interface to be used towards an external target. The pinout is illustrated in the figure below.

Figure 4.5. Simplicity Connector

Note: Current

drawn from the VMCU voltage pin is included in the AEM measurements, while the 3V3 and 5V voltage pins are not. To
monitor the current consumption of an external target with the AEM, unplug the WSTK Radio Board from the WSTK Mainboard to avoid
that the Radio Board current consumption is added to the measurements.

Table 4.3. Simplicity Connector Pin Descriptions

Pin number(s) Function Description

1 VMCU 3.3 V power rail, monitored by the AEM

3 3V3 3.3 V power rail

5 5V 5 V power rail

2 VCOM_TX_MOSI Virtual COM Tx/MOSI

4 VCOM_RX_MISO Virtual COM Rx/MISO

6 VCOM_CTS_SCLK Virtual COM CTS/SCLK

8 VCOM_RTS_CS Virtual COM RTS/CS

10 PTI0_SYNC Packet Trace 0 Sync

12 PTI0_DATA Packet Trace 0 Data

14 PTI0_CLK Packet Trace 0 Clock

16 PTI1_SYNC Packet Trace 1 Sync

18 PTI1_DATA Packet Trace 1 Data

20 PTI1_CLK Packet Trace 1 Clock

17 EXT_ID_SCL Board ID SCL

19 EXT_ID_SDA Board ID SDA

7, 9, 11, 13, 15 GND Ground

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VMCU

AEM

USB

BAT

USB Mini-B

Connector

Advanced

Energy

Monitor

3 V Lithium Battery

(CR2032 )

BAT

U

SB

AE

M

LDO

EFR32

5 V

3.3 V

UG178: EFR32MG 2400/868 MHz 13 dBm Dual Band Radio Board

Power Supply and Reset

5. Power Supply and Reset

5.1 Radio Board Power Selection

The EFR32 on a Wireless Starter Kit can be powered by one of these sources:

• the debug USB cable;

• a 3V coin cell battery; or

• a USB regulator on the Radio Board (for devices with USB support only).

The power source for the radio board is selected with the slide switch in the lower left corner of the Wireless STK Mainboard. Figure

5.1 Power Switch on page 9 shows how the different power sources can be selected with the slide switch.

Figure 5.1. Power Switch

With the switch in the AEM
again powered from the debug USB cable. The Advanced Energy Monitor is now also connected in series, allowing accurate high
speed current measurements and energy debugging/profiling.

With the switch in the USB position, radio boards with USB-support can be powered by a regulator on the radio board itself. BRD4150A
does not contain an USB regulator, and setting the switch in the USB postition will cause the EFR32 to be unpowered.

Finally, with the switch in the BAT position, a 20 mm coin cell battery in the CR2032 socket can be used to power the device. With the
switch in this position no current measurements are active. This is the recommended switch position when powering the radio board
with an external power source.

Note: The current sourcing capabilities of a coin cell battery might be too low to supply certain wireless applications.

Note: The Advanced Energy Monitor can only measure the current consumption of the EFR32 when the power selection switch is in

the AEM position.

position, a low noise 3.3 V LDO on the WSTK Mainboard is used to power the Radio Board. This LDO is

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