nrf51822: Inductor selection

[JohnC]

I'm interested in working off the reference design for the nrf51822 to create my own board. I have a few questions about the 3 inductors specified on the schematic/BOM:

1. 0402 SMD size parts are specified. Are larger SMD parts OK? (Say, 0603 or 1005)

2. What exactly is meant by "high frequency chip inductor"? Does this relate to the resonant frequency of the inductor and, if so, what resonant frequencies would I want to consider?

3. Are there any recommended (or min/max) current rating or current saturation values?

4. I assume that a multilayer ceramic inductor is what I want. If not, what should I use?

5. I assume that the same selection criteria would also govern the selection of inductors for the antenna. If not, what are the differences?

[Asbjørn]

Great answers by @mnhs in my opinion. If I may add some comments to a couple of those answers.

Q1: Yes, you can use larger components, but keep in mind that the component values probably would have to be changed. I would not recommend anything bigger than 0603 as we haven't tried that.

Q3: Agree and just want to add that this is not a parameter we consider a lot since the currents and power is really small.

Q4: Multilayer ceramics are the preferred. We use a Murate LQP15 series in our lab. It is also recommended, that as @mnhs states, that you verify the performance on your final prototype and that you use the same inductors in prototyping as you will in your final application.