Rutronik UK introduces development kit for Nordic’s SoC nRF5340
A preview development kit (PDK) from Nordic Semiconductor is now available at Rutronik UK. Developers can test and evaluate designs based on the dual processor SoC. The nRF5340 supports Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth 5.1 and Bluetooth 5, as well as Bluetooth mesh, Thread, Zigbee, NFC, ANT, 802.15.4 and 2,4GHz proprietary.
The nRF5340 SoC combines a 128MHz Arm Cortex-M33 with 1Mbyte flash and 256kbyte RAM as application processor with a 64MHz Arm Cortex-M33 with 256kbyte flash and 64kbyte RAM as programmable, low power network processor. Arm TrustZone offers secure execution while Arm Cryptocell 312 functions as root of trust. The SoC has an extended operating temperature of up to 105 degrees C and digital interfaces. The nRF5340 is ideal for applications such as professional lighting and industrial, wearables, medical, smart home, asset tracking and RTLS (real-time locating systems).
To testing the nRF5340 NFC-A tag peripheral, the PDK includes a NFC antenna. There is a Segger J-Link debugger for programming and debugging the integrated SoC and external targets. The PDK is hardware compatible with the Arduino Uno Revision 3, so standard external shields, such as the Power Profiler Kit, can be interfaced. Four user-programmable LEDs and four buttons are for input and output. The PDK can be powered by USB or an external source, and also includes a CR2032 battery holder and a Li-Po battery connector for in-field testing.
The nRF Connect software development kit (SDK) for the nRF5340 SoC provides broad support for the PDK. It includes Zephyr RTOS, protocol stacks, application examples and hardware drivers. Source code management with Git and free Segger Embedded Studio IDE support are available.
When the nRF5340 SoC is closer to being production-ready the PDK will be replaced by the nRF5340 development kit.
Rutronik UK is an independent distributor. Its parent company Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente is the third largest distributor in Europe and number 11 worldwide. The broadline distributor supplies semiconductors, passive and electromechanical components as well as boards, storage, displays and wireless products for the automotive, medical, industrial, home appliance, energy and lighting industries.