nrf5x part numbers

RE: nrf5x part numbers

George — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 14:30:28 GMT

Well, in reality this problem is not exclusive to Nordic, other manufactures have similar problems but for some reason in 20 years the only other parts I remember having similar issues with were the atmel xmega when they were just released (they had a lot of bugs at the time),I think they had changed partnumbers for the most problematic parts. Digikey often has PCN documents specific to the orderable part but I don't remember seeing this for Noridic devices. Some other parts such as atmel SAM processors have a revision code within the main partnumber. I think the issue is more pronounced with the nrf5x because of the softdevice in/compatibility to specific chip revisions. With full custom code the differences between revisions are less likely to be a problem. Also most other devices I tend to use are more 'seasoned' so different revisions will only have minor changes.

RE: nrf5x part numbers

Wojtek — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 13:45:50 GMT

Yep, that is true. I wonder how other IC manufacturers approach to that problem.

RE: nrf5x part numbers

George — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 13:36:10 GMT

If I'm ordering parts myself I can ask (although still not always a guarantee), but most of the time the ordering is handled by third parties and somewhere down the supply chain the issue with different revisions can be overlooked. This is just what happened to me on the nrf51822-qfaa, nobody picked up the wrong revision and we ended up having to rework many boards. Yes the marking on the chip is clear, but by the time I can read the marking on the chip its just too late :) ...if I have to read it at all it probably means I have a big problem at hand! Yes true with nrf52 there is only one revision but already the revision is not indicated at distributors so when a new revision comes out we'll likely be in the same situation.

RE: nrf5x part numbers

Wojtek — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 13:10:31 GMT

I think you should ask supplier about that, but if you are buying from some popular suppliers (like mouser or digikey etc) there is a little chance they still have old revision chips - I really doubt it. Markings on nrf5x chips are really clear, but they are just not fully shown in the product info on suppliers sites.

There should be no problem with nRF52832, as there is only one version (revision 1) which is sold as separate chips till now.