Internal DCDC vs LDO for nRF52 series

[Lakerno]

I will be using a 3.7V LiPo to power my NRF52 system. As far I understand, using the internal DCDC regulator is a better choice as it can save power compared to internal LDO. I assume this the case for most applications.

Can anyone enlighten me what is the use case for internal LDO when you have a internal DCDC already?

[Øyvind Karlsen]

Hi,

Using the internal DCDC is better when you have high current draws, such as the radio TX current spikes.

The LDO is more efficient at low current draws. When DCDC is enabled, our system will automatically switch between these two modes (LDO and DCDC) to ensure maximum power efficiency.

For more information about this see the infocenter section on power management.

As discussed in this post, you need to somehow reduce your 3.7V to somewhere between 1.8 and 3.6V.

Best regards,

Øyvind

[puz_md]

Hi Øyvind,

your link to infocenter doesn't work anymore. What is "refresh mode" and how is it enabled/disabled? And does the SoftDevice (currently using s132_nrf52_2.0.0-4.alpha) automatically configure the system for use with DCDC?

Is it possible that we will get radio problems if we don't place the coils between DCC and DEC4 on the PCB?