nRF52832 Custom board designing on single side pcb

[KYUBEEN]

Hi, I'm designing nRF52832 custom board, on 'single side' pcb.

To make VDD and GND lines connect, I used 4 jumpers, which have 0 ohms.

I designed with nRF52832-QFAB reference layout and pcb layout for internal LDO setup, but little difference from pcb layout to make on single side pcb.

But for some reason, I cannot use this pcb when I connect it to my DK board, using Keil. Everytime I connect and loading the example code on it, I got this error message.

I am absolutely have no idea what is the problem for this error, since with double side pcb with reference layout and pcb layout from this Nordic, there was no error like this.

Hope anyone can tell me what brings that kind of error. In my opinion, its because of soldering problem or the design problem, since same code is work for double side pcb.

Any recommends for the design or error will be very appreciated for me. Thank you. 

[KYUBEEN]

The error message shows up when I connect my custom board to my DK board with this configuration.

DK board                                                 Custom board

VDD, VTG  -------------------------------->          VDD

GND ----------------------------------------->          GND

SWDIO -------------------------------------->          SWDIO

SWDCLK ------------------------------------>          SWDCLK

As followed the recommendations in error message, I got log file(inserted on this reply) but still have no idea what brings this problem.

Also, trying to find out how to using Segger tools and scope my power supply to check drooping. 

Thank you for your kind replys 'awneil' and 'Nguyen Hoan Hoang'

[KYUBEEN]

Sorry, the file is not uploaded as Insert with unknown reason. I copy the all lines in the log.log file.

2019-Oct-03 22:28:39 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019-Oct-03 22:28:39 nrfjprog --family nrf52 --eraseall --log
2019-Oct-03 22:28:39 nrfjprog version 9.8.1
2019-Oct-03 22:28:39 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019-Oct-03 22:28:39 nRF_open_dll
2019-Oct-03 22:28:39 . nRF52_open_dll
2019-Oct-03 22:28:39 . . nRF52_dll_version
2019-Oct-03 22:28:39 nRF_enum_emu_snr
2019-Oct-03 22:28:39 . nRF52_enum_emu_snr
2019-Oct-03 22:28:39 . . nRF52_enum_emu_snr
2019-Oct-03 22:28:39 nRF_enum_emu_snr
2019-Oct-03 22:28:39 . nRF52_enum_emu_snr
2019-Oct-03 22:28:39 . . nRF52_enum_emu_snr
2019-Oct-03 22:28:39 nRF_close_dll
2019-Oct-03 22:28:39 . nRF52_close_dll
2019-Oct-03 22:28:39 . . nRF52_is_connected_to_emu
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 nrfjprog --family nrf52 --eraseall --log
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 nrfjprog version 9.8.1
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 nRF_open_dll
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . nRF52_open_dll
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . nRF52_dll_version
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 nRF_enum_emu_snr
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . nRF52_enum_emu_snr
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . nRF52_enum_emu_snr
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 nRF_enum_emu_snr
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . nRF52_enum_emu_snr
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . nRF52_enum_emu_snr
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 nRF_connect_to_emu_with_snr
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . nRF52_connect_to_emu_with_snr
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . nRF52_is_connected_to_emu
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . nRF52_enum_emu_snr
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_with_snr
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: Firmware: J-Link OB-SAM3U128-V2-NordicSemi compiled Jul 12 2018 11:44:41
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: Hardware: V1.00
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: S/N: 682584698
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: TELNET listener socket opened on port 19021
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: WEBSRV Starting webserver
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: (0060ms, 0073ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: WEBSRV Webserver running on local port 19080
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: (0064ms, 0077ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: returns O.K.
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: (0066ms, 0079ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: JLINK_GetHWStatus(...)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: returns 0x00
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: (0003ms, 0083ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: There is no generic nRF52 device in J-Link, so we select NRF52832_xxAA.

2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: JLINK_ExecCommand("Device = NRF52832_xxAA", ...).
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: XML file found at: C:\Program Files (x86)\SEGGER\JLink_V640\JLinkDevices.xml
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: (0003ms, 0089ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: C:\Program Files (x86)\SEGGER\JLink_V640\JLinkDevices.xml evaluated successfully.
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: Device "NRF52832_XXAA" selected.
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: Device "NRF52832_XXAA" selected.
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: returns 0x00
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: (0155ms, 0241ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: JLINK_ExecCommand("SetRestartOnClose = 0", ...).
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: returns 0x01
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: (0001ms, 0244ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: JLINK_ExecCommand("DisableFlashDL", ...).
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: returns 0x00
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: (0001ms, 0247ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: JLINK_ExecCommand("SetDbgPowerDownOnClose = 1", ...).
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: returns 0x01
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: (0001ms, 0250ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: JLINK_ExecCommand("ExcludeFlashCacheRange 0x0-0xFFFFFFFF", ...).
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: returns 0x00
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: (0001ms, 0253ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: JLINK_TIF_Select(JLINKARM_TIF_SWD)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: returns 0x00
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: (0002ms, 0256ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: JLINK_SetSpeed(2000)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:47 . . . nRF52_connect_to_emu_without_snr: JLink: (0002ms, 0259ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 nRF_read_device_version
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . nRF52_read_device_version
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . nRF52_is_connected_to_emu
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . nRF52_is_connected_to_emu: JLink: JLINK_IsOpen()
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . nRF52_is_connected_to_emu: JLink: returns 0x01
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . nRF52_is_connected_to_emu: JLink: (0002ms, 0263ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . nRF52_is_connected_to_device
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . nRF52_is_connected_to_device: JLink: JLINK_IsConnected()
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . nRF52_is_connected_to_device: JLink: returns FALSE
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . nRF52_is_connected_to_device: JLink: (0002ms, 0266ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . nRF52_readback_status
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . nRF52_is_ctrl_ap_available
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . . nRF52_read_access_port_register
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . . . nRF52_coresight_configure
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . . . nRF52_coresight_configure: JLink: JLINK_CORESIGHT_Configure()
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . . . nRF52_coresight_configure: JLink: returns 0
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . . . nRF52_coresight_configure: JLink: (0103ms, 0371ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . . . nRF52_power_debug_and_system_regions
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . . . . nRF52_write_debug_port_register
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . . . . nRF52_write_debug_port_register: JLink: JLINK_CORESIGHT_WriteAPDPReg(DP reg 0x02, 0x00000000)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . . . . nRF52_write_debug_port_register: JLink: returns -1
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . . . . nRF52_write_debug_port_register: JLink: (0003ms, 0375ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . . . . nRF52_write_debug_port_register: JLinkARM.dll CORESIGHT_WriteAPDPReg returned error -1.

2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . . . nRF52_power_debug_and_system_regions: JLinkARM.dll CORESIGHT_WriteAPDPReg returned error -102.

2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 nRF_close_dll
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . nRF52_close_dll
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . nRF52_is_connected_to_emu
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . nRF52_is_connected_to_emu: JLink: JLINK_IsOpen()
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . nRF52_is_connected_to_emu: JLink: returns 0x01
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . nRF52_is_connected_to_emu: JLink: (0002ms, 0378ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . nRF52_disconnect_from_emu
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . nRF52_is_connected_to_device
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . nRF52_is_connected_to_device: JLink: JLINK_IsConnected()
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . nRF52_is_connected_to_device: JLink: returns FALSE
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . nRF52_is_connected_to_device: JLink: (0002ms, 0381ms total)
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . . nRF52_unpower_debug_and_system_regions
2019-Oct-03 22:28:48 . . nRF52_disconnect_from_emu: JLink: JLINK_Close()

[awneil]

You didn't follow the suggestion on how to post it so it's legible.

[awneil]

Segger have some suggestions on resolving connection issues:

https://wiki.segger.com/J-Link_cannot_connect_to_the_CPU

[Nguyen Hoan Hoang]

The log shows that the link was not able to talk to your board.  There are no responses from your board.  Verify that the power VDD on your board is correct first.

[KYUBEEN]

I tried to check the power on my board by multimeter ( not sure its a right way to verifying). and found out that VDD is 2.8V. 

Technically, with multimeter I checked the voltage of line which is supposed to connected to VDD of nRF chip. So I think If my soldering is not perfect, it could be the VDD on my nRF chip.

Is there any other method to verify the power?

Thank you.

[awneil]

KYUBEEN said:

by multimeter ( not sure its a right way to verifying).

A multimeter won't show you if you have noise of glitches on your power supply!

As I said earlier, these - and brown-outs - are a high risk on your design.

[Nguyen Hoan Hoang]

Probably a bad solder. Try reflow it.

May I suggest you to use a module such as this https://www.crowdsupply.com/i-syst/blyst-nano.

Everything is builtin all you need to do is to connect power and SWD. With this you can even reduce your current PCB size by half.

[awneil]

KYUBEEN said:

by multimeter ( not sure its a right way to verifying).

A multimeter won't show you if you have noise, glitches, drop-outs, etc on your supply.

As noted earlier, you single-sided design with thin tracks is quite likely to suffer from such things!

KYUBEEN said:

Is there any other method to verify the power?

As mentioned earlier, you need an oscilloscope!

[awneil]

Nguyen Hoan Hoang said:

May I suggest you to use a module

Absolutely!!

It seems that you don't have much experience with designing or testing PCBs.

And this is not just any PCB - it is a radio system!

RF design is a specialist subject, requiring specialist skills, experience, and test equipment.

devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../191537

Unless you have those skills - a module really is the answer!

Nordic have a list of modules here:

https://www.nordicsemi.com/Software-and-Tools/3rd-Party/3rd-party-modules

[KYUBEEN]

Thank you guys recommendation for a well made Nordic modules I can use.

But, I am trying to make my own pcb substrate, lines to make my own module. I know my skill and knowledge with designing or testing PCB is too lack to make a one, but want to make working anyway module.

Thank you by the way