Power components for Thingy:91X

[Kyle]

We're designing a board using the Thingy:91X as a reference design. We're trying to determine if all of the power components are required.

The nPM1300 appears to provide the necessary power requirements for all components. The nPM6001 seems unnecessary. Is there something we're missing here, or can the nPM6001 safely be removed from the design?

[Priyanka]

Hi Jordan,

The npM6001, as mentioned here in the documentation, is used to provide supply to the nRF7002 IC on board the Thingy:91 X.

So in case you are using the Wi-Fi chip, we would suggest following the reference design ad components.

Regards,

Priyanka

[Scott Edwards]

Hi Priyanka,

Following up on the same question I'm hoping to understand why the nPM6001 is required. The nRF7002 requires 3.3Vdc, which the nPM1300 provides. I don't understand the reason why the nPM6001 is required when the nPM1300 provides all necessary power requirements for all components.

Many thanks,

Scott

[TriciaRLittle]

war the knights: Thank your answers! Amazing

[Priyanka]

Hi Scott,

You can see here, that the nPM6001 PMIC steps down the unregulated nPM1300 PIMIC VSYS output to 3.6 V. 

The nPM1300 does provide a regulated 3.3 V via VOUT2, but that rail is used for other purposes, and may not have sufficient current capacity or headroom to also power the nRF7002 directly.

From the nPM6001 documentation, you can see that it is designed for complex applications with multiple power domains requiring separate voltage regulation, and its buck regulators can deliver up to 550 mA, hence making it well-suited to handle the power demands of the nRF7002.

-Priyanka