Remove top ground planes from nrf52810 reference design

[Diego Garcia]

Hello there

I'm developing a custom board for the nrf52810 and I need my product to be as small as possible. The dimensions of the reference design are just what I need, but I need to add some resistors for an RGB LED and a Button and these elements could fit perfectly in the ground plane space.
Do I have to keep it or can I remove it to put these elements?

Thanks in advance.

[Kaja]

Hi, 

how many layers does you pcb have? 
Are you planning to have an antenna? - If yes what kind of an antenna? 

Have you look at the nRF52840 Dongle, is one of the most compact designs we have? 

Best regards,
Kaja

[Diego Garcia]

Since my board is using the nRF52810-QCAA reference design, my board is going to have only 2 too.

Of course, I'm planning to use an antenna, but I've not made my decision yet: PCB antenna is cheaper but occupies more space than chip antenna, so in view of the limited space condition I think that I'll go for the chip antenna.

I just want to know if the ground planes on the top can be safely removed or their elimination could lead to malfunction
Thank you!

[Kaja]

Hi again,

the ground is a counterweight for the antenna, so less ground in the outer layers gives a less efficient antenna. But removing parts of the ground plane is fine to get room for the components you need, as long as you design with the awareness of the antenna design, return path for noise and that you make sure that you shield the RF part, under the matching network in the bottom layer. 

We are happy to review the design when you have a first layout and/or schematic ready! And then it will be easier to say if something will be critical. 

*Also when it comes to chip vs pcb antenna, the chip antennas usually requires three matching components, while a printed quarter-wave only needs one shunt component (and the length to tune). 

Best regards,
Kaja

[Diego Garcia]

That's just what I wanted to hear!
and of course that I'll be sharing my design with you once is finished.

Thank you a lot!

[Kaja]

Good!