BoronDatasheet(v001)

Functionaldescription

TheBoronLTEisapowerfulLTECAT-M1/NB1enableddevelopmentkitthatcanactaseithera

standalonecellularendpointorLTEenabledgatewayforParticleMeshnetworks.Itisbasedonthe

NordicnRF52840andhasbuilt-inbatterychargingcircuitrysoit’seasytoconnectaLi-Poand

deployyourlocalnetworkinminutes.

TheBoronisgreatforconnectingexistingprojectstotheParticleDeviceCloudorasagatewayto

connectanentiregroupoflocalendpointswhereWi-Fiismissingorunreliable.

u-bloxSARAR410LTEmodem(BoronLTE)

LTECATM1/NB1modulewithglobalhardwaresupport(MVNOsupportforUSonly)

3GPPRelease13LTECatM1

u-bloxSARAU2012G/3Gmodem(Boron2G/3G)

HSPA/GSMqqwithglobalhardwareandSIMsupport

Bands800/850/900/1900/2100MHz

3GPPRelease7

NordicSemiconductornRF52840SoC

ARMCortex-M4F32-bitprocessor@64MHz

1MBflash,256KBRAM

IEEE802.15.4-2006:250Kbps

Bluetooth5:2Mbps,1Mbps,500Kbps,125Kbps

SupportsDSPinstructions,HWacceleratedFloatingPointUnit(FPU)calculations

ARMTrustZoneCryptoCell-310Cryptographicandsecuritymodule

Upto+8dBmTXpower(downto-20dBmin4dBsteps)

NFC-Atag

On-boardadditional2MBSPIflash

20mixedsignalGPIO(6xAnalog,8xPWM),UART,I2C,SPI

MicroUSB2.0fullspeed(12Mbps)

IntegratedLi-Pochargingandbatteryconnector

JTAG(SWD)Connector

RGBstatusLED

ResetandModebuttons

DualSIMsupport:Nano4FFandMFF2

On-boardPCBantenna

u.FLconnectorforexternalantenna

MeetstheAdafruitFeatherspecificationindimensionsandpinout

FCCandPTCRBcertified

RoHScompliant(lead-free)

OVERVIEW

FEATURES

Interfaces

USBPORT

TheUSBportistheeasiestwaytopoweruptheBoron.PleasemakesurethattheUSBportisable

toprovidedatleast500mA.PowerfromtheUSBisregulateddownto3.3VbytheonboardTorex

XC9258Astep-downregulator.

ForpoweringtheBoron2G/3Gversion,you'lleitherneedaUSBportthatisablesupport2Acurrent,

orhavetheLiPobatterypluggedinwhenpoweringoverUSB.Thisisbecausetheon-boardu-blox

modemcanconsumesupto1.8Apeakcurrentwhenoperatingin2Gmode.TheBoronwill

intelligentlysourcepowerfromtheUSBmostofthetimeandkeepthebatterycharged.During

peakcurrentrequirements,theadditionalpowerwillbesourcedfromthebattery.Thisreducesthe

charge-dischargecycleloadonthebattery,thusimprovingitslongevity.

VUSBPIN

ThepinisinternallyconnectedtotheVBUSoftheUSBport.Thenominaloutputshouldbearound

4.5to5VDCwhenthedeviceispluggedintotheUSBportand0whennotconnectedtoaUSB

source.Youcanusethispintopowerperipheralsthatoperateatsuchvoltages.Donotexceedthe

currentratingoftheUSBport,whichisnominallyratedto500mA.

LiPo

Ifyouwanttomakeyourprojectstrulywireless,youcanpowerthedevicewithasinglecellLiPo

(3.7V).TheBoronhasanonboardLiPochargerthatwillchargeandpowerthedevicewhenUSB

sourceispluggedin,orpowerthedevicefromtheLiPoaloneintheabsenceoftheUSB.

{{boxop="start"cssClass="boxedwarningBox"}}NOTE:Pleasepayattentiontothepolarityofthe

LiPoconnector.NotallLiPobatteriesfollowthesamepolarityconvention!{{boxop="end"}}

BLOCKDIAGRAM

POWER

Li+PIN

ThispinisinternallyconnectedtothepositiveterminaloftheLiPoconnector.Youcanconnecta

singlecellLiPo/LithiumIonoraDCsupplysourcetothispinforpoweringtheBoron.Remember

thattheinputvoltagerangeonthispinis3.6to4.2VDC.

FortheBoron2G/3Gversion,makesurethattheexternalDCsupplyisabletosupport2Apeak

currentreauirments.

3V3PIN

Thispinistheoutputoftheonboard3.3Vstep-downswitchingregulator(TorexXC9258A).The

regulatorisratedat1000mAmax.Whenusingthispintopowerotherdevicesorperipherals

remembertobudgetinthecurrentrequirementoftheBoronfirst.UnliketheXenonortheArgon,

thispinCANNOTbeusedtopowertheBoron.

TherearetworadiosontheBoron.AMeshradio(nRF52840)andacellularradio(u-blox).Forthe

cellularradio,wehaveprovideau.FLconnectortopluginthecellularantenna.Thisisrequiredif

youwishtousethecellularconnectivity.

TherearetwooptionsfortheMeshantennaontheBoron.Itcomeswithanon-boardPCBantenna

whichisselectedbydefaultinthedeviceOSandau.FLconnectorifyouwishtoconnectan

externalantenna.Ifyouwishtousetheexternalantenna,you'llneedtoissueanappropriate

commandinthefirmware.

Mesh

ParticleDevice Frequency AntennaType Manufacturer MFG.Part# Gain

Boron 2400-2500MHz PCBAntenna Particle ANT-FLXV2 2.0dBipeak

Cellular

ParticleDevice Frequency AntennaType Manufacturer MFG.Part# Gain

Boron 698-3000MHz PCBAntenna Taoglas FXUB63.07.0150C 5.00dBipeak

PeripheralType Qty Input(I)/Output(O)

Digital 20 I/O

Analog(ADC) 6 I

UART 1 I/O

SPI 1 I/O

I2C 2 I/O

USB 1 I/O

PWM 8 O

Note:AllGPIOsareonlyratedat3.3VDCmax.

TheBoronhasadedicated10pindebugconnectorthatexposestheSWDinterfaceofthe

nRF5280.ThisinterfacecanbeusedtodebugyourcodeorreprogramyourBoronbootloader,

deviceOS,ortheuserfirmwareusinganystandardSWDtoolsincludingourMeshDebugger.

ANTENNA

FCCAPPROVEDANTENNAS

PERIPHERALSANDGPIO

SWD

Memorymap

Bootloader(48KB,@0xF4000)

UserApplication(128KB,@0xD4000)

System(656KB,@0x30000)

SoftDevice(192KB)

OTA(1500KB,@0x00289000)

Reserved(420KB,@0x00220000)

FAC(128KB,@0x00200000)

LittleFS(2M,@0x00000000)

NRF52840FLASHLAYOUTOVERVIEW

EXTERNALSPIFLASHLAYOUTOVERVIEW(DFUOFFSET:0X80000000)

Pinsandbuttondefinitions

PINMARKINGS

PINOUTDIAGRAM

YoucandownloadahighresolutionPDFversionofthepinouthere.

Pin Description

Li+ ThispinisinternallyconnectedtothepositiveterminaloftheLiPobatteryconnector.

VUSB ThispinisinternallyconnectedtotheUSB(+ve)supply.

3V3 Thispinistheoutputoftheon-board3.3Vregulator.

GND Systemgroundpin.

EN Deviceenablepinisinternallypulled-up.Todisablethedevice,connectthispintoGND.

RST Active-lowsystemresetinput.Thispinisinternallypulled-up.

MD ThispinisinternallyconnectedtotheMODEbutton.TheMODEfunctionisactive-low.

RX PrimarilyusedasUARTRX,butcanalsobeusedasadigitalGPIO.

TX PrimarilyusedasUARTTX,butcanalsobeusedasadigitalGPIO.

SDA PrimarilyusedasdatapinforI2C,butcanalsobeusedasadigitalGPIO.

SCL PrimarilyusedasclockpinforI2C,butcanalsobeusedasadigitalGPIO.

MO,MI,SCK ThesearetheSPIinterfacepins,butcanalsobeusedasadigitalGPIO.

D2-D8 ThesearegenericGPIOpins.D2-D8arePWM-able.

A0-A5 TheseareanaloginputpinsthatcanalsoactasstandarddigitalGPIO.A0-A5arePWM-able.

PINDESCRIPTION

SystemRGBLED

ForadetailedexplanationofdifferentcolorcodesoftheRGBsystemLED,pleasetakealookhere.

ChargestatusLED

State Description

ON Charginginprogress

OFF Chargingcomplete

Blinkat1Hz Faultcondition[1]

Rapidblinking Batterydisconnected[2]

Notes:

[1]Afaultconditioncanoccurduetoseveralreasons,forexample,batteryover/undervoltage,

temperaturefaultorsafetytimerfault.Youcanfindtherootcausebyreadingthefaultregisterof

thepowermanagementICinfirmware.

[2]YoucanstopthisbehaviorbyeitherpluggingintheLiPobatteryorbydisablingchargingusing

firmwarecommand: PMIC().disableCharging(); .

LEDSTATUS

Technicalspecifications

Parameter Symbol Min Typ Max Unit

SupplyInputVoltage VIN-MAX +6.2 V

BatteryInputVoltage VLiPo +6.5 V

SupplyOutputCurrent I3V3-MAX-L 1000 mA

StorageTemperature Tstg -30 +75 °C

ESDSusceptibilityHBM(HumanBodyMode) VESD 1 kV

[1]Stressesbeyondthoselistedunderabsolutemaximumratingsmaycausepermanentdamage

tothedevice.Thesearestressratingsonly,andfunctionaloperationofthedeviceattheseorany

otherconditionsbeyondthoseindicatedunderrecommendedoperatingconditionsisnotimplied.

Exposuretoabsolute-maximum-ratedconditionsforextendedperiodsmayaffectdevicereliability.

Parameter Symbol Min Typ Max Unit

LiPoBatteryVoltage VLiPo +3.3 +4.4 V

SupplyInputVoltage V3V3 +3.0 +3.3 +3.6 V

SupplyOutputVoltage V3V3 +3.3 V

OperatingCurrent(uCon,RadioON) ILi+avg 100 200 mA

PeakCurrent(BoronLTE) ILi+pk 120 490 mA

PeakCurrent(Boron2G/3G) ILi+pk 800[1] 1800[2] mA

OperatingCurrent(uCon,RadioOFF) ILi+avg 6 60 mA

OperatingCurrent(ENpin=LOW) Idisable 70 75 uA

SleepCurrent(4.2VLiPo,RadioOFF) IQs TBD TBD mA

DeepSleepCurrent(4.2VLiPo,RadioOFF) IQds TBD TBD uA

OperatingTemperature Top -20 +60 °C

HumidityRangeNoncondensing,relativehumidity 95 %

Notes:

[1]3Goperation

[2]2Goperation

Boronhastworadiomodules.

NordicSemiconductornRF52840forMesh.

Feature Description

OperatingFrequencies 2360to2500MHz

OutputPower Programmable-20dBmto+8dBm

PLLchannelspacing 1MHz

Ontheairdatarate 125to2000kbps

ABSOLUTEMAXIMUMRATINGS[1]

RECOMMENDEDOPERATINGCONDITIONS

RADIOSPECIFICATIONS

u-bloxSARAU201(2G/3G)andR410(LTE)forcellular.

BORON CompatibleCountries

2G/3G Worldwide

LTE USAonly

ThesespecificationsarebasedonthenRF52840datasheet.

Parameter Symbol Conditions Min Typ Max Unit

Inputhighvoltage VIH 0.7*3.3 -- 3.3 V

Inputlowvoltage VIL 0 0.3*3.3 V

CurrentatGND+0.4V,outputsetlow,highdrive IOL,HDL V3V3>=2.7V 6 10 15 mA

CurrentatV3V3-0.4V,outputsethigh,highdrive IOH,HDH V3V3>=2.7V 6 9 14 mA

Pull-upresistance RPU 11 13 16 kΩ

Pull-downresistance RPD 11 13 16 kΩ

I/OCHARACTERISTICS

Mechanicalspecifications

Weight=10grams

TheBoronusestwosinglerow0.1"pitchmaleheaderpins.Oneofthemis16pinwhiletheotheris

12pin.Itcanbemountedwithmatching0.1"pitchfemaleheaderswithatypicalheightof0.335"

(8.5mm).Whenyousearchforpartsliketheseitcanbedifficulttonavigatethethousandsofparts

availableonlinesohereareafewgoodchoicesfortheBoron:

Description MFG MFGPartNumber

16-pin0.1"(2.54mm)FemaleHeader Sullins PPTC161LFBN-RC

16-pin0.1"(2.54mm)FemaleHeader TE 6-535541-4

12-pin0.1"(2.54mm)FemaleHeader Sullins PPTC121LFBN-RC

12-pin0.1"(2.54mm)FemaleHeader TE 6-534237-0

DIMENSIONSANDWEIGHT

MATINGCONNECTORS

RecommendedPCBlandpattern

TheBoroncanbedirectlysolderedontothePCBorbemountedwiththeabovementionedfemale

headers.

Schematic

ThecompleteschematicandboardfilesareopensourceandavailableonParticle'sGitHub

repositoryhere.

POWER

NRF52840

U-BLOX

SIM

SPIFLASH

FUELGAUGE

INTERFACES

Orderinginformation

Boronsareavailablefromstore.particle.ioinsinglequantitiesin2G/3GandLTEversions.

Qualificationandapprovals

BORONLTE

ModelNumber:BRN402

RoHS

CE

PTCRB

FCCID:2AEMI-BRN402

IC:20127-BRN402

BORON2G/3G

ModelNumber:BRN310

RoHS

CE

FCCID:2AEMI-BRN310

IC:20127-BRN310

ProductHandling

TheBoroncontainshighlysensitiveelectroniccircuitryandisanElectrostaticSensitiveDevice

(ESD).HandlingBoronwithoutproperESDprotectionmaydestroyordamageitpermanently.

ProperESDhandlingandpackagingproceduresmustbeappliedthroughouttheprocessing,

handlingandoperationofanyapplicationthatincorporatesBoron.ESDprecautionsshouldbe

implementedontheapplicationboardwheretheBoronismounted.Failuretoobservethese

precautionscanresultinseveredamagetotheBoron!

TherearefourconnectorsontheBoronthatwillgetdamagedwithimproperusage.TheJST

connectoronthecircuitboard,whereyouplugintheLiPobattery,isverydurablebutthe

connectoronthebatteryitselfisnot.Whenunpluggingthebattery,takeextraprecautiontoNOT

pulltheconnectorusingthewires,butinsteadholdtheplugatitsbasetoavoidputtingstresson

thewires.Thiscanbetrickywithbarehands-nosepliersareyourfriendhere.

ThemicroBUSBconnectorontheBoronissolderedonthePCBwithlargesurfacepadsaswellas

coupleofthroughholeanchorpoints.Despitethisreinforcement,itisveryeasytoripoutthe

connectoriftoomuchstressisputonintheverticaldirection.

Theu.FLantennaconnectorisaveryfragilepieceofhardware(andisfancytoowithallthegold

plating).Theconnectorwasnotdesignedtobeconstantlypluggedandunplugged.Caremustbe

ESDPRECAUTIONS

CONNECTORS

takennottoputstressonitatanytime(yes,swingingtheBoronbytheantennaisaverybadidea,

thisisnotyourcat).Theantennapinisalsothemoststaticsensitiveandyoucandestroytheradio

withimproperhandling.Ifyouarefeelingadventurous,wehighlyrecommendputtingatinydab

ofglue(epoxy,rubbercement,liquidtapeorhotglue)ontheconnectortosecurelyholdtheplug

inplace.

The10pinSWDconnectorprovidesaneasyin-systemdebuggingaccesstothedevice.Thepinson

theconnectorcaneasilybedamagedifthematingconnectorcableisinsertedimproperly.Ifyou

aretryingtodebugthedevice,youprobablyarenotinagoodmoodtobeginwith.Thelastthing

youwantistorendertheconnectoruseless.Benice,andbegentleontheconnector.Goodluck

withthedebugging!

ThebreadboardprovidedwiththeBoronisspecificallydesignedtorequirelowinsertionforce.This

makesiteasytoplugtheBoroninandoutofthebreadboard.Ifyouendupusingadifferent

breadboard,rememberthatitmayrequiremoreforce.Inthiscase,alwaysremembertopinch-

holdyourpreciousBoronbythesides(alongtheheaderpins)whenplugging-unpluggingandnot

bytheUSBconnector(don'tbethisperson).

BREADBOARDING

Defaultsettings

TheBoroncomespreprogrammedwithabootloaderandauserapplicationcalledTinker.This

applicationworkswithaniOSandAndroidappalsonamedTinkerthatallowsyoutoveryeasily

toggledigitalpins,takeanaloganddigitalreadingsanddrivevariablePWMoutputs.

Thebootloaderallowsyoutoeasilyupdatetheuserapplicationviaseveraldifferentmethods,USB,

OTA,SerialY-Modem,andalsointernallyviatheFactoryResetprocedure.Allofthesemethods

havemultipletoolsassociatedwiththemaswell.

FCCICCEWarningsandEndProductLabelingRequirements

FederalCommunicationCommissionInterferenceStatementThisequipmenthasbeentested

andfoundtocomplywiththelimitsforaClassBdigitaldevice,pursuanttoPart15oftheFCC

Rules.Theselimitsaredesignedtoprovidereasonableprotectionagainstharmfulinterferenceina

residentialinstallation.Thisequipmentgenerates,usesandcanradiateradiofrequencyenergy

and,ifnotinstalledandusedinaccordancewiththeinstructions,maycauseharmfulinterference

toradiocommunications.However,thereisnoguaranteethatinterferencewillnotoccurina

particularinstallation.Ifthisequipmentdoescauseharmfulinterferencetoradioortelevision

reception,whichcanbedeterminedbyturningtheequipmentoffandon,theuserisencouraged

totrytocorrecttheinterferencebyoneofthefollowingmeasures:

Reorientorrelocatethereceivingantenna.

Increasetheseparationbetweentheequipmentandreceiver.

Connecttheequipmentintoanoutletonacircuitdifferentfromthattowhichthereceiveris

connected.

Consultthedealeroranexperiencedradio/TVtechnicianforhelp.

FCCCaution:Anychangesormodificationsnotexpresslyapprovedbythepartyresponsiblefor

compliancecouldvoidtheuser'sauthoritytooperatethisequipment.Thisdevicecomplieswith

Part15oftheFCCRules.Operationissubjecttothefollowingtwoconditions:

1. Thisdevicemaynotcauseharmfulinterference,and

2. Thisdevicemustacceptanyinterferencereceived,includinginterferencethatmaycause

undesiredoperation.

FCCRadiationExposureStatement:ThisequipmentcomplieswithFCCradiationexposurelimits

setforthforanuncontrolledenvironment.Thistransmittermodulemustnotbeco-locatedor

operatinginconjunctionwithanyotherantennaortransmitter.ThisEndequipmentshouldbe

installedandoperatedwithaminimumdistanceof20centimetersbetweentheradiatorandyour

body.

IMPORTANTNOTE:Intheeventthattheseconditionscannotbemet(forexamplecertainlaptop

configurationsorco-locationwithanothertransmitter),thentheFCCauthorizationisnolonger

consideredvalidandtheFCCIDcannotbeusedonthefinalproduct.Inthesecircumstances,the

OEMintegratorwillberesponsibleforre-evaluatingtheendproduct(includingthetransmitter)

andobtainingaseparateFCCauthorization.

EndProductLabelingThefinalendproductmustbelabeledinavisibleareawiththefollowing:

ContainsFCCID:2AEMI-BRN402(BORONLTE)

ContainsFCCID:2AEMI-BRN310(BORON2G/3G)

ManualInformationtotheEndUserTheOEMintegratorhastobeawarenottoprovide

informationtotheenduserregardinghowtoinstallorremovethisRFmoduleintheuser’s

manualoftheendproductwhichintegratesthismodule.

CanadaStatementThisdevicecomplieswithIndustryCanada’slicence-exemptRSSs.Operationis

subjecttothefollowingtwoconditions:

1. Thisdevicemaynotcauseinterference;and

2. Thisdevicemustacceptanyinterference,includinginterferencethatmaycauseundesired

operationofthedevice.

LeprésentappareilestconformeauxCNRd’IndustrieCanadaapplicablesauxappareilsradio

exemptsdelicence.

L’exploitationestautoriséeauxdeuxconditionssuivantes:

1. l’appareilnedoitpasproduiredebrouillage;

2. l’utilisateurdel’appareildoitacceptertoutbrouillageradioélectriquesubi,mêmesilebrouillage

estsusceptibled’encompromettrelefonctionnement.

CautionExposure:Thisdevicemeetstheexemptionfromtheroutineevaluationlimitsinsection

2.5ofRSS102anduserscanobtainCanadianinformationonRFexposureandcompliance.Le

dispositifrépondàl'exemptiondeslimitesd'évaluationderoutinedanslasection2.5deRSS102et

lesutilisateurspeuventobtenirdesrenseignementscanadienssurl'expositionauxRFetlerespect.

Thefinalendproductmustbelabelledinavisibleareawiththefollowing:TheIndustryCanada

certificationlabelofamoduleshallbeclearlyvisibleatalltimeswheninstalledinthehostdevice,

otherwisethehostdevicemustbelabelledtodisplaytheIndustryCanadacertificationnumberof

themodule,precededbythewords“Containstransmittermodule”,ortheword“Contains”,or

similarwordingexpressingthesamemeaning,asfollows:

ContainstransmittermoduleIC:20127-BRN402(BORONLTE)

ContainstransmittermoduleIC:20127-BRN310(BORON2G/3G)

ThisEndequipmentshouldbeinstalledandoperatedwithaminimumdistanceof20centimeters

betweentheradiatorandyourbody.Cetéquipementdevraitêtreinstalléetactionnéavecune

distanceminimumde20centimètresentreleradiateuretvotrecorps.

Theendusermanualshallincludeallrequiredregulatoryinformation/warningasshowninthis

manual.

Revisionhistory

Revision Date Author Comments

v001 26Oct2018 MB Initialrelease

KnownErrata

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