nRF21540 RF FEM

The nRF21540 is a ‘plug and play’ range extender offering enhanced link robustness with an integrated power amplifier (PA) and low noise amplifier (LNA) for use in our low power short-range wireless solutions. It is a complementary device optimized to boost the link budget of the nRF52 and nRF53 Series advanced multiprotocol wireless SoCs. When combined with an nRF52 or nRF53 Series SoC, the nRF21540 RF FEM’s +20 dBm TX output power and 13 dB RX gain ensure a superior link budget for between 16 and 20 dB improvement. This equates to a 6.3 to 10 times theoretical range improvement.

The nRF21540’s TX power is dynamically adjustable and output power can be set up to +21 dBm in small increments. This ensures that designs can run with output power within 1 dBm of the allowable range across all regions and operating conditions. The LNA has a low noise figure of 2.7 dB that ensures improved RX sensitivity.

The nRF21540 complementary device connects to an SoC’s antenna output. It includes two additional antenna ports for antenna diversity support. The TX output power, TX gain control and antenna switching can be controlled via SPI, GPIO pins or a combination of both.

The nRF21540 offers competitive numbers of 110 mA at +20 dBm TX output power, 38 mA at +10 dBm TX output power, 2.9 mA in RX and 45 nA in power down mode. The extended operating temperature range is qualified from -40 °C to 105 °C, making it an ideal choice for professional lighting along with an nRF52820, nRF52833 or nRF5340 SoCs.

Some of the main applications tailored to the nRF21540 include smart home, asset tracking, audio, as well as industrial applications.

The chip is supplied in a 4x4 QFN16 package and complementing the release of the nRF21540 RF FEM, Nordic offers development boards that enable evaluation of the RF FEM performance using lab equipment, as well as real application performance combined with an nRF52 or nRF53 Series SoC.

Download nRF21540 product brief (PDF)

Download nRF21540 product brief Simplified Chinese (PDF)

The recording of the Introduction to the nRF21540 RF FEM for range extension webinar is now available on-demand: