unicore UM960 User manual

UM960 User Manual
i
WWW.UNICORECOMM.COM
Copyright© 2009-2023, Unicore Communications, Inc.
Data subject to change without notice.
UM960
GPS/BDS/GLONASS/Galileo/QZSS
All-constellation Multi-frequency
High Precision RTK Positioning Module
INSTALLATION AND OPERATION
USER MANUAL

UM960 User Manual
i
Revision History
Version
Revision History
Date
R1.0
First release
Sep., 2022
R1.1
Add section 3.1 Recommended Minimal Design
Optimize section 3.2 Antenna Feed Design
Optimize section 3.3 Power-on and Power-off
Add section 3.5 Recommended PCB Package Design
Jun., 2023

ii
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All rights, title and interest to this document and the information such as data, designs, layouts
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Information, such as product specifications, descriptions, features and user guide in this
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Should you purchase our product and encounter any inconsistency, please contact us or our
local authorized distributor for the most up-to-date version of this manual along with any
addenda or corrigenda.

UM960 User Manual
iii
Foreword
This document describes the information of the hardware, package, specification and the use of
Unicore UM960 modules.
Target Readers
This document applies to technicians who possess the expertise on GNSS receivers.

I
Contents
1Introduction............................................................................................1
1.1 Key Features.....................................................................................................................2
1.2 Key Specifications ...........................................................................................................2
1.3 Block Diagram..................................................................................................................4
2Hardware................................................................................................5
2.1 Pin Definition....................................................................................................................5
2.2 Electrical Specifications..................................................................................................8
2.2.1 Absolute Maximum Ratings........................................................................................8
2.2.2 Operating Conditions...................................................................................................9
2.2.3 IO Threshold .................................................................................................................9
2.2.4 Antenna Feature...........................................................................................................9
2.3 Dimensions ....................................................................................................................10
3Hardware Design ..................................................................................12
3.1 Recommended Minimal Design....................................................................................12
3.2 Antenna Feed Design ....................................................................................................13
3.3 Power-on and Power-off ..............................................................................................14
3.4 Grounding and Heat Dissipation ..................................................................................14
3.5 Recommended PCB Package Design ..........................................................................15
4Production Requirement .......................................................................16
5Packaging ............................................................................................18
5.1 Label Description...........................................................................................................18
5.2 Product Packaging ........................................................................................................18

UM960 User Manual
UC-00-M34 EN R1.1 Introduction 1
1Introduction
UM960 is a new generation of GNSS high precision positioning RTK module from
Unicore. It supports all constellations and multiple frequencies, and can simultaneously
track BDS B1I/B2I/B3I/B1C/B2a + GPS L1/L2/L5 + GLONASS G1/G2+Galileo
E1/E5a/E5b + QZSS L1/L2/L5 + SBAS. The module is mainly used in UAVs, lawn mower,
handheld device, high precision GIS, precise agriculture, and intelligent drive.
UM960 is based on NebulasⅣTM, a GNSS SoC which integrates RF-baseband and high
precision algorithm. Besides, the SoC integrates a dual-core CPU, a high speed floating
point processor and an RTK co-processor with 22 nm low power design, and it supports
1408 super channels and realizes 20 Hz RTK positioning output. All these above enable
stronger signal processing.
UM960 features a compact size of 16.0 mm × 12.2 mm. It adopts SMT pads, supports
standard pick-and-place and fully automated integration of reflow soldering.
Furthermore, UM960 supports interfaces such as UART, I2C, which meets the
customers’ needs in different applications.
Figure 1-1 UM960 Module
Reserved interface, not supported currently.

2 Introduction UC-00-M34 EN R1.1
1.1 Key Features
High precision, compact size and low power consumption
Based on the new generation GNSS SoC -NebulasIVTM, with RF-baseband and high
precision algorithm integrated
16.0 mm × 12.2 mm × 2.6 mm, surface-mount device
Supports all-constellation multi-frequency on-chip RTK positioning solution
Supports BDS B1I/B2I/B3I/B1C/B2a + GPS L1/L2/L5 + GLONASS G1/G2 + Galileo
E1/E5b/E5a + QZSS L1/L2/L5 + SBAS
All constellations and multiple frequencies RTK engine, and advanced RTK
processing technology
Independent tracking of different frequencies, and 60 dB narrowband anti-jamming
Advanced function of jamming detection
1.2 Key Specifications
Table 1-1 Technical Specifications
Basic Information
Channels
1408 channels, based on NebulasIVTM
Constellations
GPS/BDS/GLONASS/Galileo/QZSS
Frequency
GPS: L1C/A, L2P(W), L2C, L5
BDS: B1I, B2I, B3I, B1C, B2a
GLONASS: G1, G2
Galileo: E1, E5b, E5a
QZSS: L1, L2, L5
Power
Voltage
+3.0 V~ +3.6 V DC
Power Consumption
450mW（Typical）
Performance
Positioning Accuracy
Single Point
Positioning (RMS)
Horizontal: 1.5 m
Vertical: 2.5 m
DGPS (RMS)
Horizontal: 0.4 m
Vertical: 0.8 m
RTK (RMS)
Horizontal: 0.8 cm + 1 ppm
Vertical: 1.5 cm + 1 ppm

UM960 User Manual
UC-00-M34 EN R1.1 Introduction 3
Observation Accuracy（RMS）
BDS
GPS
GLONASS
Galileo
B1I/ L1C/A /G1/E1 Pseudorange
10 cm
10 cm
10 cm
10 cm
B1I/ L1C/A /G1/E1 Carrier Phase
1 mm
1 mm
1 mm
1 mm
B2I/L2P/G2/E5b Pseudorange
10 cm
10 cm
10 cm
10 cm
B2I/L2P/G2/E5b Carrier Phase
1 mm
1 mm
1 mm
1 mm
B3I/L5/E5a Pseudorange
10 cm
10 cm
10 cm
10 cm
B3I/L5/E5a Carrier Phase
1 mm
1 mm
1 mm
1 mm
Time Pulse Accuracy (RMS)
20 ns
Velocity Accuracy (RMS)
0.03 m/s
Time to First Fix (TTFF)
Cold Start < 30 s
Initialization Time
< 5 s (Typical)
Initialization Reliability
> 99.9%
Data Update Rate
20 Hz Positioning
Differential Data
RTCM 2.3, RTCM3.x, CMR
Data Format
NMEA-0183; Unicore
Physical Specifications
Package
24 pin LGA
Dimensions
16.0 mm × 12.2 mm × 2.6 mm
Environmental Specifications
Operating Temperature
-40 °C~ +85 °C
Storage Temperature
-55 °C~ +95 °C
Humidity
95% No condensation
Vibration
GJB150.16A-2009; MIL-STD-810F
Shock
GJB150.18A-2009; MIL-STD-810F
Functional Ports
UART x 3
I2Cx 1
Reserved interface, not supported currently.

4 Introduction UC-00-M34 EN R1.1
1.3 Block Diagram
UM960
SAW
Filter
TCXO
RESET_N
EVENT
PPS
I2C
UART1/2/3
LNA
ANT1_IN
RTC
Nebulas IV
CLOCK
RTK_STAT
GNSS
RF
GNSS
BB
Interface
PMU
Figure 1-2 UM960 Block Diagram
RF Part
The receiver gets filtered and enhanced GNSS signal from the antenna via a coaxial
cable. The RF part converts the RF input signals into the IF signal, and converts IF
analog signals into digital signals required for NebulasIV chip.
NebulasIV SoC
NebulasIV is UNICORECOMM’s new generation high precision GNSS SoC with 22 nm low
power design, supporting all constellations, multiple frequencies and 1408 super
channels. It integrates a dual-core CPU, a high speed floating point processor and an
RTK co-processor, which can fulfill the high precision baseband processing and RTK
positioning independently.
External Interfaces
The external interfaces of UM960 include UART, I2C, PPS, EVENT, RESET_N, etc.
Reserved interface, not supported currently.

UM960 User Manual
UC-00-M34 EN R1.1 Hardware 5
2Hardware
2.1 Pin Definition
Figure 2-1 UM960 Pin Definition

6 Hardware UC-00-M34 EN R1.1
Table 2-1 Pin Definition
No.
Pin
I/O
Description
1
RSV
—
Reserved, must be floating; cannot connect
ground or power supply or peripheral I/O
2
RSV
—
Reserved, must be floating; cannot connect
ground or power supply or peripheral I/O
3
PPS
O
Pulse per second, with adjustable pulse width
and polarity
4
EVENT
I
Event Mark, with adjustable frequency and
polarity
5
RSV
—
Built-in function; recommended to add a
through-hole testing point and a 10 kΩ pull-up
resistor; cannot connect ground or power
supply or peripheral I/O, but can be floating.
6
TXD2
O
UART2 output
7
RXD2
I
UART2 input
8
RESET_N
I
System reset; active Low. The active time should
be no less than 5 ms.
9
VCC_RF1
O
External LNA power supply
10
GND
—
Ground
11
ANT_IN
I
GNSS antenna signal input
12
GND
—
Ground
13
GND
—
Ground
14
RTK_STAT
O
High level: RTK Fix;
Low level: RTK No Fix
15
RXD3
I
UART3 input
16
TXD3
O
UART3 output
17
RSV
—
Built-in function; recommended to add a
through-hole testing point and a 10 kΩ pull-up
resistor; cannot connect ground or power
supply or peripheral I/O, but can be floating.
18
SDA
I/O
I2C data
1
Not recommended to take VCC_RF as ANT_BIAS to feed the antenna See section 3.1 for more details.

UM960 User Manual
UC-00-M34 EN R1.1 Hardware 7
No.
Pin
I/O
Description
19
SCL
I/O
I2C clock
20
TXD1
O
UART1 output
21
RXD1
I
UART1 input
22
V_BCKP
I
When the main power supply VCC is cut off,
V_BCKP supplies power to RTC and relevant
register. Level requirement: 2.0 V ~ 3.6 V, and
the working current is less than 60 μA at
25 °C. If you do not use the hot start function,
connect V_BCKP to VCC. Do NOT connect it to
ground or leave it floating.
23
VCC
I
Supply voltage
24
GND
—
Ground

8 Hardware UC-00-M34 EN R1.1
2.2 Electrical Specifications
2.2.1 Absolute Maximum Ratings
Table 2-2 Absolute Maximum Ratings
Parameter
Symbol
Min.
Max.
Unit
Power Supply (VCC)
VCC
-0.3
3.6
V
Voltage Input
Vin
-0.3
3.6
V
GNSS Antenna Signal Input
ANT_IN
-0.3
6
V
RF Input Power of Antenna
ANT_IN input
power
+10
dBm
External LNA Power Supply
VCC_RF
-0.3
3.6
V
VCC_RF Output Current
ICC_RF
100
mA
Storage Temperature
Tstg
-55
95
°C

UM960 User Manual
UC-00-M34 EN R1.1 Hardware 9
2.2.2 Operating Conditions
Table 2-3 Operational Conditions
Parameter
Symbol
Min.
Typ.
Max.
Unit
Condition
Power Supply (VCC)
VCC
3.0
3.3
3.6
V
Maximum Ripple Voltage
Vrpp
0
50
mV
Working Current2
Iopr
136
218
mA
VCC = 3.3 V
VCC_RF Output Voltage
VCC_RF
VCC-0.1
V
VCC_RF Output Current
ICC_RF
50
mA
Operating Temperature
Topr
-40
85
°C
Power Consumption
P
450
mW
2.2.3 IO Threshold
Table 2-4 IO Threshold
Parameter
Symbol
Min.
Typ.
Max.
Unit
Condition
Low Level Input
Voltage
Vin_low
0
VCC × 0.2
V
High Level Input
Voltage
Vin_high
VCC × 0.7
VCC + 0.2
V
Low Level Output
Voltage
Vout_low
0
0.45
V
Iout= 4 mA
High Level Output
Voltage
Vout_high
VCC - 0.45
VCC
V
Iout =4 mA
2.2.4 Antenna Feature
Table 2-5 Antenna Feature
Parameter
Symbol
Min.
Typ.
Max.
Unit
Condition
Optimum Input Gain
Gant
18
30
36
dB
2
Since the product has capacitors inside, inrush current occurs during power-on. You should evaluate
in the actual environment in order to check the effect of the supply voltage drop caused by inrush
current in the system.

10 Hardware UC-00-M34 EN R1.1
2.3 Dimensions
Table 2-6 Dimensions
Symbol
Min.(mm)
Typ. (mm)
Max. (mm)
A
15.80
16.00
16.50
B
12.00
12.20
12.70
C
2.40
2.60
2.80
D
0.90
1.00
1.10
E
0.20
0.30
0.40
F
1.40
1.50
1.60
G
1.00
1.10
1.20
H
0.70
0.80
0.90
J
3.20
3.30
3.40
N
2.90
3.00
3.10
P
1.30
1.40
1.50
R
0.99
1.00
1.10
X
0.72
0.82
0.92
φ
0.99
1.00
1.10

UM960 User Manual
UC-00-M34 EN R1.1 Hardware 11
C
X
NG
D
E
φ
R
R
A
P
P
B
F
H
D
G
E
D
J
J
Figure 2-2 UM960 Mechanical Dimensions

12 Hardware Design UC-00-M34 EN R1.1
3Hardware Design
3.1 Recommended Minimal Design
UM982
ANT
HOSTUM960
3.3V
VCCV_BCKP
ANT_BIAS
ANT_IN
TXD
RXD
RESET_N
GND GND
L1
C1
C2
C3
BIFBIF
3.3V
R1 R1
TXD (UART)
RXD (UART)
IO
Figure 3-1 UM960 Minimal Design
Remarks:
L1: 68 nH RF inductor in 0603 package is recommended
C1: 100 nF + 100 pF capacitors connected in parallel is recommended
C2: 100 pF capacitor is recommended
C3: n × 10 μF + 1 × 100 nF capacitors connected in parallel is recommended, and
the total inductance should be no less than 30 μF
R1: 10 kΩ resistor is recommended

UM960 User Manual
UC-00-M34 EN R1.1 Hardware Design 13
3.2 Antenna Feed Design
UM960 just supports feeding the antennal from the outside of the module rather than
the inside. It is recommended to use devices with high power and that can withstand
high voltage. Gas discharge tube, varistor, TVS tube and other high-power protective
devices may also be used in the power supply circuit to further protect the module from
lightning strike and surge.
If the antenna feed supply ANT_BIAS and the module’s main supply VCC use the
same power rail, the ESD, surge and overvoltage from the antenna will have an
effect on VCC, which may cause damage to the module. Therefore, it is
recommended to design an independent power rail for the ANT_BIAS to reduce the
possibility of module damage.
UM960
ANT_IN
ANT
VCC_RF
GND
C2
ANT_BIAS
L1
C1D1 D2
Figure 3-2 UM960 External Antenna Feed Reference Circuit
Remarks:
L1: feed inductor, 68nH RF inductor in 0603 package is recommended.
C1: decoupling capacitor, it is recommended to connect two capacitors of
100nF/100pF in parallel.
C2: DC blocking capacitor, recommended 100pF capacitor.
Not recommended to take VCC_RF as ANT_BIAS to feed the antenna (VCC_RF is not
optimized for the anti-lightning strike and anti-surge due to the compact size of the
module).
D1: ESD diode, choose the ESD protection device that supports high frequency
signals (above 2000 MHz).

14 Hardware Design UC-00-M34 EN R1.1
D2: TVS diode, choose the TVS diode with appropriate clamping specification
according to the requirement of feed voltage and antenna voltage.
3.3 Power-on and Power-off
VCC
The VCC initial level when power-on should be less than 0.4 V.
The VCC ramp when power-on should be monotonic, without plateaus.
The voltages of undershoot and ringing should be within 5% VCC.
VCC power-on waveform: The time interval from 10% rising to 90% must be within
100 μs to 1 ms.
Power-on time interval: The time interval between the power-off (VCC < 0.4 V) to
the next power-on must be larger than 500 ms.
V_BCKP
The V_BCKP initial level when power-on should be less than 0.4 V.
The V_BCKP ramp when power-on should be monotonic, without plateaus.
The voltages of undershoot and ringing should be within 5% V_BCKP.
V_BCKP power-on waveform: The time interval from 10% rising to 90% must be
within 100 μs to 1 ms.
Power-on time interval: The time interval between the power-off (V_BCKP < 0.4 V)
to the next power-on must be larger than 500 ms.
3.4 Grounding and Heat Dissipation
Figure 3-3 Grounding and Heat Dissipation Pad
The 55 pads in the rectangle in Figure 3-3 are for grounding and heat dissipation.
In the PCB design, they must be connected to a large sized ground to strengthen the
heat dissipation.
Grounding and heat
dissipation pad

UM960 User Manual
UC-00-M34 EN R1.1 Hardware Design 15
3.5 Recommended PCB Package Design
See the following figure for the recommended PCB package design of the module
UM960.
Unit：mm
Detail A
1.00 1.10 3.00 1.10 1.00
16.00
12
1.00
3.30
12.20
13 24
1
1.50 2.00 1.40 3.30
1.40 1.00
Detail C
Detail B
Detail C
Detail B
0.76 0.91
2.49
2.64
Detail A
Copper Solder
1.12 1.22
0.51 0.66
1.12 3.50
1.22 3.66
Figure 3-4 Recommended PCB Package Design
Remark:
For the convenience of testing, the soldering pads of the pins are designed long,
exceeding the module border much more. For example:
The pads denoted as detail C are 1.50 mm longer than the module border.
The pad denoted as detail A is 0.49 mm longer than the module border. It is
relatively short as it is an RF pin pad, so we hope the trace on the surface is as
short as possible to reduce the impact of interference.
In order to effectively reduce the possibility of solder bridge during the soldering,
the pin pads are designed narrower than the pins. However, the pad denoted as
detail A has the same width as the pin, as we hope the resistance is as continuous
as possible at the RF pin.