With 3x efficiency and 2x processing performance compared to the market leading nRF52 Series, the new nRF54L15 SoC is the new go to wireless MCU for Bluetooth LE and IoT applications.
Introduction
Nordic Semiconductor's nRF54L15/L10/L05 are the latest ultra-low-power, Bluetooth 5.4, System on Chip (SoC)s from the market leader in Bluetooth LE. nRF54L Series is created for the next wave of IoT devices, and provides a new multiprotocol radio, advanced security services, and support for new Bluetooth 6.0 features like Channel Sounding. The SoCs also have a new 4 Mbps data rate option for 2.4 GHz proprietary protocols to improve throughput and latency. In this technology spotlight, we explore the strengths of these new SoCs and how it enhances the development of next generation wireless IoT products.
What is the nRF54L15 SoC?
The nRF54L15 SoC is currently the largest device in the new nRF54L Series. It is based on the Arm® Cortex®-M33 processor running at 128 MHz. It has an efficient and CoreMark winning design, which prolongs battery life or enables the use of smaller batteries for space-constrained applications. Energy management is enhanced through efficient processing, the use of an ultra-low-power radio, and minimal sleep currents.
The nRF54L15 also offers an extended communication range, making it compatible for long range IoT applications. The multiprotocol radio achieves an impressive transmission power up to 8 dBm and a reception sensitivity of -98 dBm at 1 Mbps for Bluetooth Low Energy. These features make it attractive for developers and manufacturers seeking to enhance their IoT solutions while addressing performance, security, and power efficiency challenges.
The key features of the nRF54L Series are:
- 128 MHz Arm Cortex-M33 processor, 256 KB RAM, 1.5 MB non-volatile memory
- Supports Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth mesh, Thread, and Matter
- New peripherals: Global RTC, 14-bit ADC, and a software-defined peripheral enabled by a RISC-V coprocessor.
- Designed for PSA Certified Level 3 IoT security standard.
- TrustZone isolation, side-channel protection, and tamper detection
- Support for Bluetooth 6.0 features like Channel Sounding
Join the forum discussion or comment below
How Does the nRF54L Series Compare with the nRF52 Series and nRF54H Series?
The nRF54L Series offers greater processing power, efficiency, memory, security, and new peripherals compared to the nRF52 Series. It is also housed in a more compact package. The nRF54L15 doubles the processing power of the nRF52840 SoC while reducing power consumption. This processing efficiency, combined with a low-power radio and low sleep currents, drastically extend application’s battery life and needs. The use of smaller batteries further reduces the form factor. The larger memory enables multiple RF protocols to run concurrently. The hardware and software architecture improves software portability, increases reusability, and reduces development costs.
While the nRF54L Series is versatile, the nRF54H Series provides the processing power and memory capacity needed for IoT products that were previously unfeasible. The nRF54H20 is a multicore System-on-Chip (SoC), using an asymmetric multiprocessing (AMP) configuration, with each core optimized for specific workloads. The multiple processors in the nRF54H20 provide a robust 10 dBm TX power and -100 dBm RX sensitivity for Bluetooth LE and -104 dBm for 802.15.4, respectively. To compare, the nRF54L15 radio delivers lower latency, an extended range, up to 8 dBm TX power, and -98 dBm RX sensitivity for 1 Mbps Bluetooth LE. While the nRF54L Series complements the recently launched nRF54H Series, the nRF54H20 enables developers to create advanced IoT products with simpler designs, smaller sizes, longer battery life, and the ability to execute machine learning models. Table 1 summarizes the differences:
Table 1: Comparison of nRF54L15 and nRF54H20 SoCs.
Description of Nordic 4th generation wireless SoCs
The nRF54L15 SoC’s abundance of power and efficiency makes it an optimal wireless MCU for your IoT applications. Think of it like the best performing MCU in it’s class paired with leading RF capabilities. This means that you can easily run several wireless protocols and manage complex tasks without quickly draining the power source. It strikes an excellent balance between power efficiency and performance. This results in longer battery life, and it allows more compact device designs. The series comes in ultra-compact WLCSP 300 µm and 350 µm package options, as well as a QFN package, which is pin-to-pin compatible with the nRF54L10 and nRF54L05 devices.
Figure 1a: Block diagram of nRF54L Series. Source: Nordic Semiconductor.
Figure 1b: Variants of the nRF54 Series
Figure 1 illustrates the block diagram of nRF54L Series SoC. There is a high-speed co-processor RISC-V running at 128 MHz which is used for software-defined peripherals such as QSPI, as well as offloading time-critical tasks from the main processor. The nRF54L15 SoC is powered by a 128 MHz Arm® Cortex®-M33 processor, with 1.5 MB of non-volatile memory and 256 KB of RAM. It supports Bluetooth LE, Bluetooth Mesh, Thread, Matter, ANT+, and 2.4 GHz proprietary protocols, offering a new 4 Mbps throughput option. Designed to meet the PSA Certified Level 3 IoT security standard, the SoC features advanced hardware and software security measures. It offers Secure Boot, Secure Firmware Update, Secure Storage, and other essential security services.
b) Advanced protection against security threats
TrustZone® offers advanced security protection through dedicated hardware components such as CRACEN and KMU, specifically designed for PSA Certified Level 3 independent IoT security certification. It has various countermeasures such as hardened cryptographic accelerators, tamper sensors, and other physical attack countermeasures that can detect and respond to ongoing attacks. Integrated tamper sensors can detect attacks and take protective action, while the cryptographic accelerators are hardened against side-channel attacks. The nRF54L15 SoC provides important security services, including Secure Boot, Secure Firmware Update, and Secure Storage.
c) 4th generation 2.4 GHz radio
The nRF54L15 has an advanced multiprotocol radio, delivering up to +8 dBm TX power (in 1 dB increments) and -98 dBm RX sensitivity for 1 Mbps Bluetooth LE. It also introduces a new 4 Mbps data rate option for 2.4 GHz proprietary protocols, improving throughput, efficiency, and latency. This radio supports all Bluetooth 5.4 features, including Bluetooth Mesh, Thread, and Matter, and is built to accommodate future Bluetooth specification updates.
Power consumption has significantly improved in both TX and RX modes compared to the nRF52 Series. For example, the RX current of the nRF54L15 is half that of the nRF52840 SoC when operating from a 1.8 V DC supply. This reduction permits smaller batteries or a longer battery life due to significant savings in energy.
*Specifications are preliminary and are subject to change
Table 2: Radio power consumption comparison of nRF54L15 vs nRF52840
d) New Global RTC peripheral for longer battery life
The new Global RTC peripheral can wake the SoC from its deepest sleep mode. This feature significantly reduces energy consumption for applications that stay in sleep mode for long periods.
e) Peripherals
It has general-purpose peripherals and a high-speed serial interface which includes 4-SPI/TWI/UART, I2S, PDM, 14-bit ADC, NFC, PWM, RTC, timer, QDEC, WDT, COMP, temp. It has 3 GPIO ports: the first port consists of 15 GPIO (8 MHz), the second port has 6 GPIO (8 MHz), and the third port has 11 GPIO (High-speed @ 64 MHz).
f) Hardware / Software Development Platform
The nRF Connect SDK is for developers who use Nordic Semiconductor's nRF54 Series devices to create low-power wireless applications. This SDK is compatible with Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS. It includes various applications that demonstrate the implementation of common user scenarios with Nordic Semiconductor devices. These applications can be a starting point for product development and normally feature an integrated software stack.
Figure 2: nRF54L15 DK development platform (Source: Nordic)
The nRF54L15 Development Kit hardware (Figure 2) supports the Nordic Semiconductor nRF54L15 Arm Cortex-M33 CPU and includes functions such as ADC, GPIO, TWI, MPU, NVIC, and PWM. Nordic Semiconductor provides a variety of libraries and services that can be used in samples and applications within the nRF Connect SDK. Nordic's nRF5x Development Kits, Preview Kits, and Dongles are equipped with a Debug IC (Atmel ATSAM3U2C) that offers multiple functionalities, including Segger J-Link firmware, desktop tools, SWD debugging, mass storage for image flashing, USB CDC ACM Serial Port, Segger RTT Console, and Segger Ozone Debugger.
The nRF Connect SDK is open-source software that integrates the Zephyr
real-time operating system (RTOS) and is compatible with most Zephyr applications and samples. It includes Zephyr middleware such as MQTT and Trusted Firmware-M, along with additional libraries and drivers like CoAP, LwM2M, Mbed TLS, nRF 802.15.4 Radio Driver, nRF Security, nRF Profiler, and nRF Remote Procedure Call libraries. The SDK also offers pre-certified libraries for SoftDevice, Matter, and Thread.
This SDK supports Bluetooth® Low Energy, IPv6, TCP/IP, UDP, LoRa, and other connectivity technologies. The SDK's scalability and extensibility make it usable for a wide variety of projects and applications of differing complexity. It also integrates with Nordic and third-party products. such as AWS, nRF Cloud, and Memfault for remote observability.
Nordic Semiconductor's nRF54L15 SoC redefines Bluetooth LE wireless MCU performance with 3x efficiency, 2x processing power, advanced multiprotocol capabilities for applications like Matter and Thread, and ultimately support for Bluetooth 6.0 features like Channel Sounding, and the nRF54 Series should easily be your ultimate choice for your next compact, energy-efficient IoT application.
For more Next Generation IoT Devices from Nordic Semiconductor Shop Now
About the Sponsor
Nordic Semiconductor has been the driving force for Bluetooth Low Energy MCUs and wireless SoCs since the early 2010s, and is the market leader in Bluetooth LE. With a special focus on ultra-low power wireless products, Nordic provides Wi-Fi 6 ICs, globally certified and tariff free tariff free LTE-M and NB-IoT cellular IoT SiPs, as well as power management IC portfolio optimized for long battery life. This makes Nordic Semiconductor the go to choice for the world’s leading brands in a variety of products, including wireless PC peripherals, gaming, sports and fitness, mobile phone accessories, consumer electronics, toys, healthcare and automation. Nordic is a member of the ANT+ Alliance, Bluetooth SIG, Thread Group, Connectivity Standards Alliance, Wi-Fi Alliance, and GSMA. If you plan on developing the most robust and battery-operated IoT applications, check out their hardware, software, tools, and services.
