Texas Instruments orporated WL18DBMOD User Manual
User's Guide
SWRU382–November 2014
WL1837MODCOM8I WLAN MIMO and Bluetooth®Module
Evaluation Board for TI Sitara™ Platform
The WL1837MODCOM8I is a Wi-Fi®dual-band, Bluetooth, and BLE module evaluation board (EVB) with
the TI WL1837 module (WL1837MOD). The WL1837MOD is a certified WiLink™ 8 module from TI that
offers high throughput and extended range along with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth coexistence in a poweroptimized design. The WL1837MOD offers A 2.4- and 5-GHz module solution with two antennas
supporting industrial temperature grade. The module is FCC, IC, ETSI/CE, and TELEC certified for AP
(with DFS support) and client. TI offers drivers for high-level operating systems, such as Linux®,
Android™, WinCE, and RTOS.TI.
Contents
1 Overview...................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 General Features ................................................................................................... 3
1.2 Key Benefits......................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Applications.......................................................................................................... 4
2 Board Pin Assignment ...................................................................................................... 4
2.1 Pin Description ...................................................................................................... 5
2.2 Jumper Connections ............................................................................................... 7
3 Electrical Characteristics.................................................................................................... 7
4 Antenna Characteristics..................................................................................................... 8
4.1 VSWR ................................................................................................................ 8
4.2 Efficiency............................................................................................................. 8
4.3 Radio Pattern........................................................................................................ 9
5 Circuit Design ................................................................................................................ 9
5.1 EVB Reference Schematics....................................................................................... 9
5.2 Bill of Materials (BOM)............................................................................................ 10
6 Layout Guidelines .......................................................................................................... 11
6.1 Board Layout....................................................................................................... 11
7 Ordering Information....................................................................................................... 16
List of Figures
1 WL1837MODCOM8I EVB (Top View) .................................................................................... 3
2 EVB Top View................................................................................................................ 4
3 EVB (Bottom View).......................................................................................................... 5
4 Antenna VSWR Characteristics............................................................................................ 8
5 Antenna Efficiency........................................................................................................... 8
6 EVB Reference Schematics................................................................................................ 9
7 WL1837MODCOM8I Layer 1 Layout .................................................................................... 11
8 WL1837MODCOM8I Layer 2 Layout .................................................................................... 11
9 WL1837MODCOM8I Layer 3 Layout .................................................................................... 12
10 WL1837MODCOM8I Layer 4 Layout .................................................................................... 12
11 Module Layout Guidelines (Top Layer).................................................................................. 13
Sitara, WiLink are trademarks of Texas Instruments.
Bluetooth is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc.
Android is a trademark of Google, Inc.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance.
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12 Module Layout Guidelines (Bottom Layer).............................................................................. 13
13 Trace Design for the PCB Layout........................................................................................ 14
14 Layer 1 Combined With Layer 2.......................................................................................... 14
15 Top Layer – Antenna and RF Trace Routing Layout Guidelines .................................................... 15
16 Bottom Layer – Antenna and RF Trace Routing Layout Guidelines................................................. 15
17 MIMO Antenna Spacing................................................................................................... 16
List of Tables
1 Pin Description............................................................................................................... 5
2 BOM.......................................................................................................................... 10
3 Module Layout Guidelines ................................................................................................ 13
4 Antenna and RF Trace Routing Layout Guidelines.................................................................... 15
2
WL1837MODCOM8I WLAN MIMO and Bluetooth®Module Evaluation Board SWRU382–November 2014
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1 Overview
Figure 1 shows the WL1837MODCOM8I EVB.
Overview
Figure 1. WL1837MODCOM8I EVB (Top View)
1.1 General Features
The WL1837MODCOM8I EVB includes the following features:
• WLAN, Bluetooth, and BLE on a single module board
• 100-pin board card
• Dimensions: 76.0 mm (L) x 31.0 mm (W)
• WLAN 2.4- and 5-GHz SISO (20- and 40-MHz channels), 2.4-GHz MIMO (20-MHz channels)
• Support for BLE dual mode
• Seamless integration with TI Sitara and other application processors
• Design for the TI AM335X general-purpose evaluation module (EVM)
• WLAN and Bluetooth, BLE, and ANT cores that are software- and hardware-compatible with prior
WL127x, WL128x, and BL6450 offerings for smooth migration to device
• Shared host-controller-interface (HCI) transport for Bluetooth, BLE, and ANT using UART and SDIO for
WLAN
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth single-antenna coexistence
• Built-in chip antenna
• Optional U.FL RF connector for external antenna
• Direct connection to the battery using an external switched-mode power supply (SMPS) supporting
2.9- to 4.8-V operation
• VIOin the 1.8-V domain
1.2 Key Benefits
The WL1837MOD offers the following benefits:
• Reduces design overhead: Single WiLink 8 module scales across Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• WLAN high throughput: 80 Mbps (TCP), 100 Mbps (UDP)
• Bluetooth 4.1 + BLE (Smart Ready)
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth single-antenna coexistence
• Low power at 30% to 50% less than the previous generation
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Overview
• Available as an easy-to-use FCC-, ETSI-, and Telec-certified module
• Lower manufacturing costs saves board space and minimizes RF expertise.
• AM335x Linux and Android reference platform accelerates customer development and time to market.
1.3 Applications
The WL1837MODCOM8I device is designed for the following applications:
• Portable consumer devices
• Home electronics
• Home appliances and white goods
• Industrial and home automation
• Smart gateway and metering
• Video conferencing
• Video camera and security
2 Board Pin Assignment
Figure 2 shows the top view of the EVB.
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Figure 2. EVB Top View
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Figure 3 shows the bottom view of the EVB.
Board Pin Assignment
2.1 Pin Description
Table 1 describes the board pins.
No. Name Type Description
1 SLOW_CLK I Slow clock input option (default: NU)
2 GND G Ground
3 GND G Ground
4 WL_EN I WLAN enable
5 V
BAT
6 GND G Ground
7 V
BAT
8 V
IO
9 GND G Ground
10 N.C. No connection
11 WL_RS232_TX O WLAN tool RS232 output
12 N.C. No connection
13 WL_RS232_RX I WLAN tool RS232 input
14 N.C. No connection
15 WL_UART_DBG O WLAN Logger output
16 N.C. No connection
17 N.C. No connection
18 GND G Ground
19 GND G Ground
20 SDIO_CLK I WLAN SDIO clock
Figure 3. EVB (Bottom View)
Table 1. Pin Description
P 3.6-V typical voltage input
P 3.6-V typical voltage input
P VIO1.8-V (I/O voltage) input
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Board Pin Assignment
No. Name Type Description
21 N.C. No connection
22 GND G Ground
23 N.C. No connection
24 SDIO_CMD I/O WLAN SDIO command
25 N.C. No connection
26 SDIO_D0 I/O WLAN SDIO data bit 0
27 N.C. No connection
28 SDIO_D1 I/O WLAN SDIO data bit 1
29 N.C. No connection
30 SDIO_D2 I/O WLAN SDIO data bit 2
31 N.C. No connection
32 SDIO_D3 I/O WLAN SDIO data bit 3
33 N.C. No connection
34 WLAN_IRQ O WLAN SDIO interrupt out
35 N.C. No connection
36 N.C. No connection
37 GND G Ground
38 N.C. No connection
39 N.C. No connection
40 N.C. No connection
41 N.C. No connection
42 GND G Ground
43 N.C. No connection
44 N.C. No connection
45 N.C. No connection
46 N.C. No connection
47 GND G Ground
48 N.C. No connection
49 N.C. No connection
50 N.C. No connection
51 N.C. No connection
52 PCM_IF_CLK I/O Bluetooth PCM clock input or output
53 N.C. No connection
54 PCM_IF_FSYNC I/O Bluetooth PCM frame sync input or output
55 N.C. No connection
56 PCM_IF_DIN I Bluetooth PCM data input
57 N.C. No connection
58 PCM_IF_DOUT O Bluetooth PCM data output
59 N.C. No connection
60 GND G Ground
61 N.C. No connection
62 N.C. No connection
63 GND G Ground
64 GND G Ground
65 N.C. No connection
66 BT_UART_IF_TX O Bluetooth HCI UART transmit output
67 N.C. No connection
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Table 1. Pin Description (continued)
6
WL1837MODCOM8I WLAN MIMO and Bluetooth®Module Evaluation Board for SWRU382–November 2014
TI Sitara™ Platform
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