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Table Of Contents

EFR32xG24 2.4 GHz 10 dBm Radio Board

BRD4186C Reference Manual

The BRD4186C Radio Board is an excellent starting point to get familiar with the

EFR32™ Wireless Gecko Wireless System-on-Chip. The board enables developers to

develop smart home, lighting, building automation, and AI/ML applications. It is opti-

mized for operating in the 2.4 GHz band at 10 dBm output power. Radiated and conduc-

ted testing is supported with the on-board printed antenna and UFL connector.

The BRD4186C Radio Board is a plug-in board for the Wireless Starter Kit Mainboard

(BRD4001A) and the Wireless Gecko Pro Kit Mainboard (BRD4002A) that gives access

to debug interface, Virtual COM port, packet trace, display, buttons, LEDs, and addition-

al features from expansion boards. With the supporting Simplicity Studio suite of tools,

developers can take advantage of graphical wireless application development and visu-

al energy profiling and optimization. The board also serves as a reference design for the

EFR32xG24 Wireless SoC with matching network and a PCB antenna optimized for op-

erating at 10 dBm output power in the 2.4 GHz band.

RADIO BOARD FEATURES

• Wireless SoC:

EFR32MG24B210F1536IM48

•

CPU core: ARM

Cortex

-M33

• Flash memory: 1536 kB

• RAM: 256 kB

• Operation frequency: 2.4 GHz

• Transmit power: 10 dBm

• Integrated PCB antenna, UFL connector

(optional)

• Crystals for LFXO and HFXO: 32.768 kHz

and 39 MHz

• 8 Mbit low-power serial flash for over-the-

air updates

This document contains a brief introduction and description of the BRD4186C Radio

Board features, focusing on the RF sections and performance.

Summary of content (19 pages)

PAGE 1
EFR32xG24 2.4 GHz 10 dBm Radio Board BRD4186C Reference Manual The BRD4186C Radio Board is an excellent starting point to get familiar with the EFR32™ Wireless Gecko Wireless System-on-Chip. The board enables developers to develop smart home, lighting, building automation, and AI/ML applications. It is optimized for operating in the 2.4 GHz band at 10 dBm output power. Radiated and conducted testing is supported with the on-board printed antenna and UFL connector.
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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 . . . . .
PAGE 3
8.1 Recommendations for 2.4 GHz ETSI EN 300-328 Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 8.2 Recommendations for 2.4 GHz FCC 15.247 Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 9. Board Revision History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 10. Errata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11. Document Revision History silabs.com | Building a more connected world. 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Rev. 1.
PAGE 4
BRD4186C Reference Manual Introduction 1. Introduction The BRD4186C Radio Boards provide a development platform (together with the Wireless Starter Kit Mainboard or the Wireless Pro Kit Mainboard) for the Silicon Labs EFR32MG24 Wireless System-on-Chips and serve as reference designs for the matching network of the RF interface. The BRD4186C Radio Board is designed to operate in the 2400-2483.5 MHz band with the RF matching network optimized for operating at 10 dBm output power.
PAGE 5
BRD4186C Reference Manual Radio Board Connector 2. Radio Board Connector 2.1 Introduction The board-to-board connector scheme allows access to all EFR32MG24 GPIO pins as well as the RESETn signal. For more information on the functions of the available pins, see the EFR32MG24 data sheet. 2.2 Radio Board Connector Pin Associations The figure below shows the mapping between the connector and the EFR32MG24 pins and their function on the Wireless Starter Kit Mainboard.
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BRD4186C Reference Manual Radio Board Block Summary 3. Radio Board Block Summary 3.1 Introduction This section introduces the blocks of the BRD4186C Radio Board. 3.2 Radio Board Block Diagram The block diagram of the BRD4186C Radio Board is shown in the figure below. I2C UFL Connector 2.4 GHz RF GPIO UART Debug EFR32 EFR32 Wireless SoC Packet Trace 24AA024 Serial EEPROM 2.4 GHz RF SPI SPI I2C Radio Board Connectors 2.4 GHz RF AEM 8 Mbit MX25R Serial Flash 8k .4M .
PAGE 7
BRD4186C Reference Manual Radio Board Block Summary 3.3.4 Matching Network for 2.4 GHz The BRD4186C Radio Board incorporates a 2.4 GHz matching network which connects the 2.4 GHz RF input/output of the EFR32MG24 to the one on-board printed Inverted-F antenna. The component values were optimized for the 2.4 GHz band RF performance and current consumption with 10 dBm output power. For a detailed description of the matching network, see section 4.2.1 2.4 GHz RF Matching Description. 3.3.
PAGE 8
BRD4186C Reference Manual RF Section 4. RF Section 4.1 Introduction This section gives a short introduction to the RF section of the BRD4186C Radio Board. 4.2 RF Section Schematic BRD4186C Radio Board RF section schematic is shown in the following figure.
PAGE 9
BRD4186C Reference Manual RF Section 4.4 Inverted-F Antenna The BRD4186C Radio Board includes an on-board, printed inverted-F antenna, tuned for the 2.4 GHz band. Due to the design restrictions of the radio board, the input of the antenna and the output of the matching network can't be placed directly next to each other. Therefore, a 50 Ohm transmission line was necessary to connect them. The resulting impedance that is presented to the matching network output is shown in the following figure.
PAGE 10
BRD4186C Reference Manual Mechanical Details 5. Mechanical Details The BRD4186C Radio Board is illustrated in the figures below. DCDC Inductor 30 mm PAVDD 2.4 GHz EFR32xG24 Supply Matching RF Output Filtering Network Selection DCDC & Supply Filter Caps. LFXTAL Antenna Tuning Component Frame of the Optional Shielding Can Printed HFXTAL RFVDD UFL Supply Inverted-F OTA Filtering Connector Antenna Flash 45 mm Figure 5.1. BRD4186C Top View 5 mm 24 mm Board Identification 27.
PAGE 11
BRD4186C Reference Manual EMC Compliance 6. EMC Compliance 6.1 Introduction BRD4186C Radio Board fundamental and harmonic levels compliance is tested against the following standards: • 2.4 GHz: • ETSI EN 300-328 • FCC 15.247 6.2 EMC Regulations for 2.4 GHz 6.2.1 ETSI EN 300-328 Emission Limits for the 2400-2483.5 MHz Band Based on ETSI EN 300-328, the allowed maximum fundamental power for the 2400-2483.5 MHz band is 20 dBm EIRP. For the unwanted emissions in the 1 GHz to 12.
PAGE 12
BRD4186C Reference Manual RF Performance 7. RF Performance 7.1 Conducted Power Measurements During measurements, the BRD4186C Radio Board was attached to a Wireless Starter Kit Mainboard which was supplied by USB. The voltage supply for the radio board (VMCU) was 3.3 V and for the power amlifier (PAVDD), it was 1.8 V. 7.1.1 Conducted Power Measurements with Unmodulated Carrier The transceiver was operated in unmodulated carrier transmission mode. The output power of the radio was set to 10 dBm.
PAGE 13
BRD4186C Reference Manual RF Performance 7.1.2 Conducted Power Measurements with Modulated Carrier Depending on the applied modulation scheme and the spectrum analyzer settings specified by the relevant EMC regulations, the measured power levels are usually lower compared to the results with unmodulated carrier. These differences are measured and used as relaxation factors on the results of the radiated measurement performed with unmodulated carrier.
PAGE 14
BRD4186C Reference Manual RF Performance 7.2.1 Maximum Radiated Power Measurements For the transmitter antenna, the on-board printed inverted-F antenna of the BRD4186C Radio Board was used (the R1 resistor was mounted). The supply for the RF section (RFVDD) and the 2.4 GHz power amplifier (PAVDD) was 1.8 V provided by the on-chip DCDC converter; for details, see the BRD4186C schematic. The transceiver was operated in unmodulated carrier transmission mode.
PAGE 15
BRD4186C Reference Manual EMC Compliance Recommendations 8. EMC Compliance Recommendations 8.1 Recommendations for 2.4 GHz ETSI EN 300-328 Compliance As shown in section 7.2 Radiated Power Measurements, the power of the BRD4186C fundamental with 10 dBm output is compliant with the 20 dBm limit of the ETSI EN 300-328 regulation. With the supported modulation schemes, the harmonics are also compliant with the relevant limits.
PAGE 16
BRD4186C Reference Manual Board Revision History 9. Board Revision History The board revision is laser engraved in the Board Info field on the bottom side of the PCB, as outlined in the figure below. The revision printed on the silkscreen is the PCB revision. PCB Revision Board Revision PCB4186C Rev. A01 BRD4186C Rev. A01 184500348 Figure 9.1. Revision Info Table 9.1. BRD4186C Radio Board Revision History Board Revision Description A01 U1 with new factory calibrations. A00 Initial release.
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BRD4186C Reference Manual Errata 10. Errata There are no known errata at present. silabs.com | Building a more connected world. Rev. 1.
PAGE 18
BRD4186C Reference Manual Document Revision History 11. Document Revision History Revision 1.0 April, 2022 • Initial document release. silabs.com | Building a more connected world. Rev. 1.
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