Nordic introduces Bluetooth 5.1 SoC for multi-protocol applications
Temperature-qualified, the nRF52833 SoC joins Nordic’s nRF52 series. The multi-protocol SoC includes a Bluetooth 5.1 Direction Finding-capable radio for low power Bluetooth Low Energy, Thread, Zigbee, and 2.4GHz proprietary wireless connectivity. It is qualified for operation across a -40 to +105 degrees C temperature range.
The nRF52833 features a powerful 64MHz 32bit Arm Cortex-M4 processor with a floating-point unit (FPU) and includes 512kbyte of flash and 128kbyte of RAM, suitable for use in commercial and industrial wireless applications including professional lighting, asset tracking, smart home products, wearables, and gaming.
The SoC’s memory capacity also supports a dynamic multi-protocol capability, suitable for applications such as professional lighting where concurrent Bluetooth Low Energy and Bluetooth mesh, Thread or Zigbee support enables provisioning, commissioning, and interaction with a lighting mesh network from a smartphone using Bluetooth Low Energy. The temperature range also enables the nRF52833 to operate in professional lighting applications which typically feature elevated ambient temperatures, adds Nordic.
The nRF52833’s radio is capable of all Bluetooth 5.1 Direction Finding features and its memory can support both receiver and transmitter roles for angle-of-arrival (AoA) and angle-of-departure (AoD) applications. Direction Finding enables positioning applications that not only rely on received signal strength indication (RSSI) but also the signal direction. Applications include real-time location systems (RTLS) and indoor positioning systems (IPS).
The nRF52833 includes full-speed USB, high-speed SPI, and +8dBm output power. The increased output power together with Bluetooth 5 technology’s long-range (LoRa) feature enables the nRF52833 to be used in smart home applications.
The SoC includes up to 42 general-purpose I/Os (GPIOs) and a range of analogue and digital interfaces such as an NFC-A Tag, ADC, UART, SPI, TWI, PWM, I2S, and PDM. Additionally, a two-stage LDO voltage regulator and a DC/DC converter with a 1.7 to 5.5V input supply range allows the nRF52833 SoC to be powered by coin cells, rechargeable batteries, or the on-chip USB.
The nRF52833 is supported by the S113 or S140 SoftDevices, Nordic’s Bluetooth RF protocol stacks. The S140 is a qualified Bluetooth 5.1 stack and includes support for 2Mbits per second throughput, Bluetooth LoRa and improved coexistence through Channel Selection Algorithm #2.
The nRF5 SDK for Mesh and nRF5 SDK for Thread and Zigbee are scheduled for release in Q4 2019.
An nRF52833 development kit is for Bluetooth LE, Bluetooth mesh, 802.15.4, Thread, Zigbee, and 2.4GHz proprietary applications running on the nRF52833 SoC. It is compatible with the Arduino Uno Rev3 standard.
The SoC will be made available in three packages: a 7.0 x 7.0mm aQFN73 with 42 GPIOs, a 5.0 x 5.0mm QFN40 with 18 GPIOs and a 3.2 x 3.2mm wlCSP with 42 GPIOs.
nRF52833 engineering samples are available now with volume production due Q4, 2019.
