Ublox NINA-B4 Series Quick setup guide

UBX-19052230 - R06
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NINA-B4 series
Stand-alone Bluetooth 5.1 low energy modules
System integration manual

Abstract
Used together with the respective module data sheets that describe the pinout and module
functions, this manual provides a functional overview combined with best-practice design guidelines
for integrating the short-
range module in an end product. With several supporting examples, the
document explains how applications are developed for NINA-B4 open cpu solutions using the Nordic
SDK. It also describes the options for flashing the u-
connectXpress module software in production
environments.

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Document information
Title NINA-B4 series
Subtitle Stand-alone Bluetooth 5.1 low energy modules
Document type System integration manual
Document number UBX-19052230
Revision and date R06 22-Jan-2021
Disclosure restriction C1-Public
Document status Description
Functional sample Draft For functional testing. Revised and supplementary data will be published later.
In development /
Prototype
Objective specification Target values. Revised and supplementary data will be published later.
Engineering sample Advance information Data based on early testing. Revised and supplementary data will be published later.
Initial production Early production information Data from product verification. Revised and supplementary data may be published later.
Mass production /
End of life
Production information Document contains the final product specification.
This document applies to the following products:
Product name Document status
NINA-B400 Early Production Information
NINA-B401 Prototype
NINA-B406 Early Production Information
NINA-B410 Early Production Information
NINA-B411 Prototype
NINA-B416 Early Production Information
☞For information about the related hardware, software, and status of listed product types, refer to
the respective data sheets [2][3].
u-blox or third parties may hold intellectual property rights in the products, names, logos and designs included in this
document. Copying, reproduction, modification or disclosure to third
parties of this document or any part thereof is only
permitted with the express written permission of u
-blox.
The information contained herein is provided “as is” and u
-blox assumes no liability for its use. No warranty, either express or
implied, is given
, including but not limited to, with respect to the accuracy, correctness, reliability and fitness for a particular
purpose of the information. This document may be revised by u
-blox at any time without notice. For the most recent
documents, visit www.u
-blox.com.
Copyright © u
-blox AG.
u-blox or third parties may hold intellectual property rights in the products, names, logos and designs included in this
document. Copying, reproduction, modification or disclosure to third parties of this document or any part
thereof is only
permitted with the express written permission of u
-blox.
The information contained herein is provided “as is” and u
-blox assumes no liability for its use. No warranty, either express or
implied, is given, including but not limited
to, with respect to the accuracy, correctness, reliability and fitness for a particular
purpose of the information. This document may be revised by u
-blox at any time without notice. For the most recent
documents, visit www.u
-blox.com.
Copyright © u
-blox AG.

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Contents
Document information .............................................................................................................................2
Contents .......................................................................................................................................................3
1Functional description.......................................................................................................................5
1.1 Overview........................................................................................................................................................5
1.2 Applications .................................................................................................................................................6
1.3 Block diagrams ............................................................................................................................................7
1.3.1 NINA-B40..............................................................................................................................................7
1.3.2 NINA-B41..............................................................................................................................................8
1.4 Product description ....................................................................................................................................9
1.4.1 NINA-B40 series..................................................................................................................................9
1.4.2 NINA-B41 series..................................................................................................................................9
1.5 Hardware options........................................................................................................................................9
1.6 Software options.......................................................................................................................................10
1.6.1 Open CPU............................................................................................................................................11
1.6.2 u-connectXpress software .............................................................................................................11
1.7 Bluetooth device address ........................................................................................................................12
1.8 Pin configurations and functions ..........................................................................................................12
1.8.1 NINA-B40 pins...................................................................................................................................12
1.8.2 NINA-B41 pins...................................................................................................................................13
1.9 Low power clock ........................................................................................................................................13
1.9.1 External crystal .................................................................................................................................14
1.9.2 Internal oscillator..............................................................................................................................14
1.9.3 External clock source .......................................................................................................................14
2Design-in............................................................................................................................................. 15
2.1 NINA family migration design.................................................................................................................15
2.2 Supply interfaces ......................................................................................................................................15
2.2.1 Main supply input .............................................................................................................................15
2.2.2 Digital I/O interfaces reference voltage (VCC_IO)......................................................................15
2.2.3 VCC application circuits ..................................................................................................................15
2.3 Antenna interface.....................................................................................................................................16
2.3.1 External antenna selection.............................................................................................................17
2.3.2 NINA-B4x6 design-in........................................................................................................................21
2.4 NFC interface.............................................................................................................................................22
2.4.1 Battery protection ............................................................................................................................23
2.5 Debug interface .........................................................................................................................................23
2.6 General layout guidelines ........................................................................................................................24
2.6.1 General considerations for schematic design and PCB floor-planning.................................24
2.6.2 Layout and manufacturing.............................................................................................................24
2.6.3 Thermal guidelines ...........................................................................................................................25
2.6.4 ESD guidelines...................................................................................................................................25

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2.7 Product testing..........................................................................................................................................26
2.7.1 u-blox in-series production tests...................................................................................................26
2.7.2 OEM manufacturer production test .............................................................................................27
3Open CPU software ......................................................................................................................... 28
3.1 Nordic SDK .................................................................................................................................................28
3.1.1 Getting started with the Nordic SDK............................................................................................28
3.1.2 Bluetooth device (MAC) address and other production data..................................................31
3.1.3 Definition of Low Frequency clock source ...................................................................................31
3.2 Flashing open CPU software ..................................................................................................................31
3.2.1 Flashing over the SWD interface...................................................................................................31
3.2.2 Flashing over the UART interface .................................................................................................32
4u-connectXpress software............................................................................................................ 34
4.1 Flashing NINA-B41 u-connectXpress software..................................................................................34
4.1.1 Software flashing using s-center..................................................................................................34
4.1.2 Software flashing using AT command.........................................................................................35
4.2 Low frequency clock source....................................................................................................................37
5Handling and soldering................................................................................................................... 38
5.1 Packaging, shipping, storage, and moisture preconditioning .........................................................38
5.2 Handling......................................................................................................................................................38
5.3 Soldering .....................................................................................................................................................38
5.3.1 Reflow soldering process ................................................................................................................38
5.3.2 Cleaning ..............................................................................................................................................39
5.3.3 Other remarks ...................................................................................................................................40
Appendix .................................................................................................................................................... 41
AGlossary .............................................................................................................................................. 41
Related documents ................................................................................................................................ 43
Revision history ....................................................................................................................................... 44
Contact....................................................................................................................................................... 45

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1Functional description
1.1 Overview
The NINA-B4 series is comprised of small, standalone Bluetooth low energy wireless modules
featuring full Bluetooth 5.1.
Based on the Nordic Semiconductor nRF52833 chip that includes an integrated RF core and powerful
Arm® Cortex®-M4 processor with FPU, NINA-B4 modules include the S140 SoftDevice radio stack
that operates as a Bluetooth 5.1 low energy central and peripheral protocol stack solution – as well as
in Thread, Zigbee 802.15.4, and Nordic proprietary modes (NINA-B40 only).
For a flexible and innovative approach to application design, two conceptually different architecture
solutions are available: u-connectXpress (B41) or open cpu (B40). End-user products based on either
architecture are developed on pre-certified u-blox reference designs that are qualified with the
regional regulatory bodies for your chosen product markets. This approach to application
development provides good opportunity for less compliance testing, lower development cost, and
reduced time to market.
With an operational temperature range that spans from -40 up to +105°C, NINA-B4 modules are ideal
for harsh industrial or lighting applications that must operate at high ambient temperatures. NINA-
B41 also caters towards applications in smart buildings, smart cities, industrial automation systems,
sensor networks and asset tracking solutions.
Featuring Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Angle of Departure (AoD) transceivers, the NINA-B40 series
supports the Bluetooth 5.1 Direction Finding service. The service can be used for indoor positioning,
wayfinding, and asset tracking.
NINA-B4 modules integrates internal power management circuitry requiring only a single supply
voltage in the range of 1.7 – 3.6 V. The broad supply range also makes the modules particularly useful
in battery powered systems.
With the same pinout, physical size, and mechanical design of NINA-B3 modules, NINA-B4 offers a
natural upgrade path for existing NINA applications.
Table 1 describes the various models in the NINA-B40 series.
Model Description
NINA-B400 Bluetooth 5.1 module that includes a powerful Arm® Cortex®-M4 with FPU and delivers state-of-the-
art
power performance. All NINA-B40 variants are open CPU modules
that enable customer applications to
run on the built-in Arm® Cortex®-
M4 with FPU. With 512 kB flash and 128 kB RAM, these modules offer
respectable capacity for customer applications on top of the Bluetooth Low Energy stack.
NINA-B400 has a U.FL connector for use with an external antenna.
NINA-B401 Bluetooth 5.1 module that includes a powerful Arm® Cortex®-M4 with FPU and delivers state-of-the-
art
power performance. All NINA-B40 variants are open CPU modules
that enable customer applications to
run on the built-in Arm® Cortex®-M4 with FPU. With
512 kB flash and 128 kB RAM, these modules offer
respectable capacity for customer applications on top of the Bluetooth Low Energy stack.
NINA-B401 has an RF pin for use with an external antenna.
NINA-B406 Bluetooth 5.1 module that includes a powerful Arm® Cortex®-M4 with FPU and delivers state-of-the-
art
power performance. All NINA-
B40 variants are open CPU modules that enable customer applications to
run on the built-in Arm® Cortex®-
M4 with FPU. With 512 kB flash and 128 kB RAM, these modules offer
respectable capacity for customer applications on top of the Bluetooth Low Energy stack. NINA-
B406 has
an internal PCB trace antenna with an extensive range. The antenna is
specifically designed for embedded
devices.
Table 1: NINA-B40 series

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Table 2 describes the different models in the NINA-B41 series.
Model Description
NINA-B410 Bluetooth 5.1 module that includes a powerful Arm® Cortex®-M4 with FPU and delivers state-of-the-
art
power performance. All NINA-B41 variants have u-connectXpress software pre-flashed.
NINA-B410 has a U.FL connector for use with an external antenna.
NINA-B411 Bluetooth 5.1 module that includes a powerful Arm® Cortex®-M4 with FPU and delivers state-of-the-
art
power performance. All NINA-B41 variants have u-connectXpress software pre-flashed.
NINA-B411 has an RF pin for use with an external antenna.
NINA-B416 Bluetooth 5.1 module that includes a powerful Arm® Cortex®-M4 with FPU and delivers state-of-the-
art
power performance. All NINA-B41 variants have u-connectXpress software pre-flashed.
NINA-B416 has an internal PCB trace antenna with an extensive range. The antenna is
specifically
designed for embedded devices.
Table 2: NINA-B41 series
☞Already globally certified for use with an internal antenna or range of external antennas, the time,
cost, and effort spent on deploying NINA-B4 modules into customer applications is reduced
significantly.
1.2 Applications
•Industrial automation
•Smart buildings and cities
•Low power sensors
•Wireless-connected and configurable equipment
•Point-of-sales
•Health devices
•Real-time Location, RTLS
•Indoor positioning
•Asset tracking

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1.3 Block diagrams
Block diagrams of the NINA-B40 and NINA-B41 module designs are shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2.
1.3.1 NINA-B40
A block diagram of the NINA-B40 open-cpu module design showing the alternative U.FL connector
(B400), antenna pin (B401), and PCB trace antenna (B406) solutions is shown in Figure 1.
☞NINA-B400 modules include a U.FL connector for connecting an external antenna. The module size
is 10 x 15 x 2.2 mm.
☞NINA-B401 modules include an ANT pad on the footprint for connecting an external antenna. The
module size is 10 x 11.6 x 2.2 mm.
☞NINA-B406 module support an internal PCB trace antenna using antenna technology from Proant
AB. The module size is 10 x 15 x 2.2 mm.
Figure 1: NINA-B40 series block diagram
DC/DC and LDO regulators
512 kB flash
Bluetooth LE
baseband
IO buffers
Arm® Cortex®-M4
with FPU
PLL
VCC_IO (1.7
– 3.6 V)
VCC (1.7
– 3.6 V)
32 MHz
Reset
2x UART
SPI
GPIO
1.3 V
System
power
I2C
PWM
I2S
ADC and
comparator
Analog
Passive NFC tag
NFC
128 kB
RAM
PLL
32.768 kHz
RTC, timers
and counters
RF
Nordic Semiconductor
nRF52833
USB device
USB 2.0
QDEC
PDM
(NINA-B406)
PCB trace antenna
(NINA-B400)
U.FL antenna connector
(NINA-B401)
Antenna pin

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1.3.2 NINA-B41
A block diagram of the NINA-B4 u-connect module design showing the alternative U.FL connector
(B410), antenna pin (B411), and PCB trace antenna (B416) solutions is shown in Figure 2.
☞NINA-B410 modules support a U.FL connector to accommodate an external antenna. The module
size is 10 x 15 x 2.2 mm.
☞NINA-B411 modules have a footprint arrangement that includes an ANT pad for connecting an
external antenna. The module size is 10 x 11.6 x 2.2 mm.
☞NINA-B416 modules support an internal PCB trace antenna using antenna technology from
Proant AB. The module size is 10 x 15 x 2.2 mm.
Figure 2: NINA-B41 series block diagram
DC/DC and LDO regulators
512 kB flash
Bluetooth LE
baseband
IO buffers
Arm® Cortex®-M4
with FPU
PLL
VCC_IO (1.7
– 3.6 V)
VCC (1.7
– 3.6 V)
32 MHz
Reset
2x UART
GPIO
1.3 V
System
power
ADC and
comparator
Passive NFC tag
NFC
128 kB
RAM
PLL
32.768 kHz
RTC, timers
and counters
RF
Nordic Semiconductor
nRF52833
USB device
(NINA-B416)
PCB trace antenna
(NINA-B410)
U.FL antenna connector
(NINA-B411)
Antenna pin

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1.4 Product description
Please see the data sheet for the respective product family [2] [3] for the latest data.
1.4.1 NINA-B40 series
Item NINA-B400 NINA-B401 NINA-B406
Bluetooth version 5.1 5.1 5.1
Band support 2.4 GHz, 40 channels 2.4 GHz, 40 channels 2.4 GHz, 40 channels
Typical conducted output power +8 dBm +8 dBm -
Radiated output power (EIRP) +11 dBm (with typical
antenna)
+11 dBm (with typical
antenna)
+11 dBm
RX sensitivity (conducted) -95 dBm -95 dBm -95 dBm
RX sensitivity, long range mode
(conducted)
-102 dBm -102 dBm -102 dBm
Supported 2.4 GHz radio modes Bluetooth Low Energy
IEEE 802.15.4
Proprietary 2.4 GHz modes
Bluetooth Low Energy
IEEE 802.15.4
Proprietary 2.4 GHz modes
Bluetooth Low Energy
IEEE 802.15.4
Proprietary 2.4 GHz modes
Supported Bluetooth LE data rates 1 Mbps
2 Mbps
500 kbps
125 kbps
1 Mbps
2 Mbps
500 kbps
125 kbps
1 Mbps
2 Mbps
500 kbps
125 kbps
Module size 10.0 x 15.0 mm 10.0 x 11.6 mm 10.0 x 15.0 mm
Table 3: NINA-B40 series characteristics summary
1.4.2 NINA-B41 series
Item NINA-B400 NINA-B401 NINA-B406
Bluetooth version 5.1 5.1 5.1
Band support 2.4 GHz, 40 channels 2.4 GHz, 40 channels 2.4 GHz, 40 channels
Typical conducted output power +8 dBm +8 dBm -
Radiated output power (EIRP) +11 dBm (with typical
antenna)
+11 dBm (with typical
antenna)
+11 dBm
RX sensitivity (conducted) -95 dBm -95 dBm -95 dBm
RX sensitivity, long range mode
(conducted)
-102 dBm -102 dBm -102 dBm
Supported 2.4 GHz radio modes Bluetooth Low Energy
IEEE 802.15.4
Proprietary 2.4 GHz modes
Bluetooth Low Energy
IEEE 802.15.4
Proprietary 2.4 GHz modes
Bluetooth Low Energy
IEEE 802.15.4
Proprietary 2.4 GHz modes
Supported Bluetooth LE data rates 1 Mbps
2 Mbps
500 kbps
125 kbps
1 Mbps
2 Mbps
500 kbps
125 kbps
1 Mbps
2 Mbps
500 kbps
125 kbps
Module size 10.0 x 15.0 mm 10.0 x 11.6 mm 10.0 x 15.0 mm
Table 4: NINA-B41 series characteristics summary
1.5 Hardware options
Except for the different antenna solutions, NINA-B4 series modules use an identical hardware
architecture based on nRF52833.

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1.6 Software options
NINA-B4 modules are integrated with an Arm® Cortex®-M4 application processor with FPU, 512 kB
flash memory and 128 kB RAM.
The structure of any software running on either NINA-B4 module variant includes the following
components:
•Radio stack
•Boot loader (optional)
•Application software
Figure 3 shows the software architecture and implementation of software components for NINA-B40
and NINA-B41 modules:
•NINA-B40 modules host the customer application and optional boot loader software, developed
using the Nordic SDK, in an open-CPU configuration on the module. See also section 1.7.1.
•NINA-B41 modules are pre-flashed with boot loader and u-connectXpress software that
interfaces through an AT command interpreter for control by customer application software
running on host MCUs. See also section 1.7.2.
•Both module variants include the Nordic S140 SoftDevice Bluetooth low energy protocol stack
that supports GATT client and server, central and peripheral roles, and multidrop connections.
Figure 3: NINA-B4 software structure