NRF52 832 POWER QUESTION

[oliverhu]

currently, i am designing a wearable device using nrf52 as core soc. i just found that the nrf52 has two internal regulators, ldo and dcdc converter. in my case, the input voltage for nrf52 is 1.8v. so which internal regulator is better?

[Øyvind Karlsen]

Hi,

See the infocenter on power management.

In general the DC/DC converter will be more energy efficient at high current draws, such as the radio going active, and the LDO will be more efficient at low current draws.

On the nRF52 you can enable something called refresh mode, this will automatically select which regulator to use to maximize energy efficiency. Note that if you want to use the DC/DC converter you need to add two external passive components.

Best regards,

Øyvind