Programming Custom nRF5340 Board Using nRF5340 Development Kit

[nickyblanch]

Hello,

I am new to nRF53 series chips. My team and I are designing a custom IoT device based around an nRF5340 SoC and we are exploring options on how to program our devices once they are on their custom boards.

Based on what I have found in this forum, it appears that there is a way to program an nRF5340 chip using an nRF5340 development kit via SWD. Is this the case? If so, can anyone suggest which pins on the target nRF5340 device need to be connected to which pins on the nRF5340 development kit?

I am totally new to J-Link and SWD. I understand that this is a basic question but having this information clearly spelled out would benefit a lot of other people creating their first designs. Any information about the necessary pin connections and steps to flash the software is highly appreciated!

Thank you,

Nick B

[tesc]

Hi,

Based on what I have found in this forum, it appears that there is a way to program an nRF5340 chip using an nRF5340 development kit via SWD. Is this the case?

Yes, that is correct. The Interface MCU on the nRF5340 DK can be used for programming any nRF5340 SoC, for development purposes. (Note that the license covers only development, not production.)

The required connections for nRF5340 DK v2 are as follows:

DK (programmer) P19 or P20	Target board SoC	Comments
SWD CLK	SWDCLK
SWD IO	SWDIO
GND	GND
VTG	VDD	If using P20
SWD0 SEL	GND	If using P19
VDD nRF	VDD	If powering the external board from the DK
RESET	RESET	Optional

Please note that ground (GND) and voltage level (VDD) must be the same on the DK (used as programmer) and the target board (with the SoC to be programmed) for the external board to be detected, and for the programming to work.

When correctly connected, programming the external board works the same as when programming the DK. (The external SoC gets interacted with, instead of the SoC on the DK.)

Regards,
Terje

[nickyblanch]

Hi Terje,

Thank you, this is exactly the information we were looking for!