High Drive mode downsides (nRF52)

RE: High Drive mode downsides (nRF52)

ctchong — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 12:38:04 GMT

For current sinking of high drive do I use the mode

NRF_GPIO_PIN_H0H1 = GPIO_PIN_CNF_DRIVE_H0H1, ///< !< High drive '0', high-drive '1'.

NRF_GPIO_PIN_H0D1 = GPIO_PIN_CNF_DRIVE_H0D1, ///< !< High-drive '0', disconnect '1'.

Thank you

Best regards,

Chong

RE: High Drive mode downsides (nRF52)

Gordon — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 14:33:25 GMT

Great, thanks! I'm not likely to go over that. So realistically as long as I keep well within the current limit for the given voltage, there's no real problem with just using all my IOs in high drive mode.

RE: High Drive mode downsides (nRF52)

Jørn — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 14:23:37 GMT

Hello Gordon

Please see the following links for more information on the current limitations of the nRF52 devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../

devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../

To summarize we do not recommend going over 15 mA source/sink on all gpios combined, and it is better to sink than source due to a higher number of ground pads.

In addition to this using high drive may demand a higher VDD than low drive (see GPIO electrical specifications in the product specification). As you suspect it will increase the power consumption, but our measurements indicate it will not affect consumption during switching, only if you’re actively sourcing something which draws a lot of current.

Edit: Another point worth mentioning is the recommendations for usage of GPIO pins near the radio power supply and antenna pins. See section 4.3 in the product specifications.

Best regards

Jørn Frøysa