Unexpected High Current Draw on nRF54L15 DK During Sleep Mode

[PKG]

Hello team,

I attempted to measure the sleep current on the nRF54L15 DK board, but I’m seeing a very high current draw of about 74 mA.

I built and compiled the peripheral_power_profiling sample using SDK 3.1.0 and flashed it onto the DK. I also applied the code changes previously recommended by the Nordic team.

https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/ncs-latest/page/nrf/samples/bluetooth/peripheral_power_profiling/README.html

Added the following code line at the beginning of the main function.

NRF_MEMCONF->POWER[0].RET = 0;

NRF_MEMCONF->POWER[1].RET = 0;

NRF_MEMCONF->POWER[0].RET2 = 0;

NRF_MEMCONF->POWER[1].RET2 = 0;

For the measurement, I used the test point labeled "Current Measurement" on the DK board, and I still see a high current.

Could you please let me know if I’m using the wrong sample, or if there are additional settings or configurations I might be missing?

Thanks,

PG

[Kenneth]

Hello,

If you measure something as high as 74mA then it's something fundamentally wrong with the hardware, either the DK or the measurement equipment. Maybe there is a short-circuit somewhere.

Here are some suggestions you can try:

Check out the DK description if you haven't already:
https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/ug_nrf54l15_dk/page/UG/nRF54L15_DK/measurements/current_measurements.html 

Also use the board configurator to disable leds, uarts and set the board to the supply voltage you want to measure, e.g. here is a screenshot of the board configurator and the things you can disable:

If you are using the PPK2 for measurement, then I suggest to set the PPK 2 in source mode.

If you need an example you can use zephyr\samples\boards\nordic\system_off (make sure to set CONFIG_SERIAL=n to disable debugging to measure power).

Alternatively, if you want to experiment with ram retention I am attaching a project that show how it can be done. You should measure in the very low uA with this example.

ram_ret.zip

Note! Make sure to build for target nRF54l15dk/nrf54l15/cpuapp

Hope this helps,
Kenneth

[PKG]

Hi Kenneth,

We’ll test with another DK board and keep you updated.

Thanks,

PG

[PKG]

Hi Kenneth,

I’m working with the peripheral_power_profiling sample, and I noticed you recommended using system_off. Can both of these samples be used to measure sleep‑mode current?

I am getting a build failure system_off sample setting CONFIG_SERIAL=n.

Thanks,

PG

[PKG]

Hi,

Now I’m measuring a sleep current of 4.04 µA on the DK board. Could you share the hex file you use for current‑measurement on your nRF54L15 DK? I’ll measure the sleep current on your board using that file.

Thanks,

PG

[Kenneth]

Hi,

We don't have any specific hex files, there should be various examples in nRF connect sdk that can be used.

You can find typical current consumption values here for different modes:
https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/ps_nrf54L15/page/chapters/current_consumption/doc/current_consumption.html#ariaid-title4 

Kenneth